The Forum of Free Enterprise (FFE) was set up in the year 1956 by A D Shroff. It was established with the idea of organizing like-minded people to counter the socialistic and anti-private sector propaganda of the Nehru government. His vision was to keep the organization non-partisan and non-political in nature. His unequivocal statement was that “We are not a political organization. Our main, if not the only, objective is of an educative character.”
The forum believed in educating and shaping public opinion towards ideas of a free society and to dismantle the myths about free enterprise that were created by the government.
The council of management included some prominent liberals of the time including S K Sen, M A Sreenivasan, Sardar Mohan Singh, Narayan Dandekar, Minoo Masani, F S Mulla, T M Desai, K C Cooper, F P Mehta, M A Master and many more liberals championing the cause of free enterprise.
Since its establishment in July 1956 till January 2010, the forum has published a total of 674 booklets on vital subjects related to economics and free enterprise. Prominent economists, businessmen and industrialists, educationists and numerous scholars have penned these booklets. They reached a great number of readers in over 9,500 colleges and management institutes, members of parliament, over 25 chambers of commerce.
The legendary budgetary speeches given by the great liberal Nani A Palkhivala were first delivered from the platform of Forum of Free Enterprise in March of 1958. The attendance reached a staggering 100,000 during the last three budgetary speeches that Palkhivala delivered. These attendees were a part of one of the biggest gatherings of people anywhere in the world on an economic subject.
The Forum is still alive and active in educating and spreading ideas of free enterprise as visualized by its founding fathers.
