[Letter to NG Ranga]

Summary

In this typed letter of 17 June 1963, Minoo Masani writes from home to Professor N. G. Ranga at Nidubrolu, Guntur District, acknowledging three recent letters from Ranga and reporting on party correspondence in flight. Masani encloses a fresh reply he is sending to Kripalani, whose renewed moves he reads as an attempt to force a set-back, along with a copy of a letter to Rajaji that recounts his discussions of the previous day with Lohia.

The body of the letter is given over to two scheduling questions inside the Swatantra Party. On the Parliamentary Group, Masani accepts Ranga’s proposal of 12 August, suggesting a late-morning start and asking, in a deliberative aside, why nominations must be invited in writing in advance rather than proposed from the floor — a handwritten marginal note defers final procedure to Ranga’s own judgement. On the Central Organising Committee, he pushes back against Ranga’s 9 August date in Delhi: he would rather not drag Rajaji up to the capital, prefers a Saturday–Sunday sitting on 3rd and 4th August in Madras to allow proper Parliamentary strategy and draft resolutions, and points out that a 9 August Delhi meeting would clash awkwardly with Northern members travelling on with their baggage and families. He undertakes to consult Rajaji and settle the question within a fortnight, and asks Ranga for a forwarding address to keep correspondence moving.

Key points

• One-page typed letter of 17 June 1963 from Minoo Masani to N. G. Ranga, signed ‘M. R. Masani’, with two handwritten marginalia (‘from home’ and a deferral of procedure to Ranga).
• Masani reports enclosing a fresh reply to Kripalani, whose latest communication he characterises as an attempt to press the party into a set-back.
• He also encloses a copy of a letter to Rajaji summarising his previous day’s discussions with Lohia.
• On the Swatantra Parliamentary Group meeting, he accepts 12 August but questions the need to invite nominations in writing rather than allow proposals from the floor.
• On the Central Organising Committee, he prefers 3rd–4th August in Madras over Ranga’s suggestion of 9 August in Delhi, to spare Rajaji the journey and to give time to plan Parliamentary strategy and draft resolutions.
• He notes the logistical inconvenience for Northern members of a 9 August Delhi sitting given onward travel with ‘baggage and families’.
• Offers Saturday 10 August as a Delhi fall-back and undertakes to consult Rajaji before deciding within the next week or two.
• Closes by asking Ranga for a current address to facilitate ongoing correspondence.