Letter to Raja

Summary

A political letter from Prof. N. G. Ranga, President of the Swatantra Party and Member of Parliament from Nidubrolu (Andhra Pradesh), to C. Rajagopalachari (“Rajaji”), dated 26 March 1963 — Telugu New Year’s Day. Ranga opens with New Year greetings and immediately turns to party business, reporting on the Gujarat parliamentary by-election and the Gujarat unit’s decision not to field a candidate in Bhavnagar against Balvantroy Mehta, which he thinks will helpfully force Mehta and the present Chief Minister to “face each other in their party”.

He next reports Socialist Party outreach: Shri Rajnarain telephoned to feel out Swatantra’s attitude to Ram Manohar Lohia’s candidacy. Swatantra would be glad to see Lohia elected, but declined to bankroll Palivalji standing again in that constituency; Masani agreed such assistance would be wrong.

The letter’s central concern is press independence. Ranga warns Rajaji that the ‘Patriot’ — a ‘Link’-cum-Krishna Menon, Dr. Baliga and Malaviya combination — will launch on the 30th, that Gopalareddy justified the paper’s advance newsprint sanction against previous practice, and that government advertisements will fill up to 25% of its space from day one. More broadly, he judges that the whole Delhi press has already “veered down in support of the Government”, so ‘Patriot’ can only be the coping stone for that shift.

Ranga closes with parliamentary business: he is sending Rajaji extracts of his Atomic Energy debate exchange with Jawahar on atomic power stations, plans to speak on the Gulhati Commission report and on Defence (with Rao Krishnapal Singh), and flags a promising Indo-American development in which Patnaik of Orissa is negotiating for US “second hand and so called outdated arms and Planes” as gifts in addition to lend-lease allotments. He acknowledges Andhra friends’ complaints that the party is not agitating enough against new taxes, and apologises for the letter’s length as compensation for his long silence.

Key points

• Written on 26 March 1963 (Telugu New Year’s Day) by N. G. Ranga, Swatantra Party President, to Rajaji, on party strategy and current parliamentary business.
• The Swatantra Gujarat Unit will not contest Bhavnagar against Balvantroy Mehta; Ranga welcomes the resulting Congress-internal contest between Mehta and the sitting Chief Minister.
• Rajnarain phoned on behalf of the Socialist Party regarding Ram Manohar Lohia’s candidacy; Swatantra offered goodwill via Palivalji and Mankapur but declined financial help to Palivalji standing again in the same constituency — a decision Masani endorsed.
• Ranga warns that the new pro-government paper ‘Patriot’ — a ‘Link’-cum-Krishna Menon, Dr. Baliga and Malaviya combination — will launch on the 30th, backed by advance newsprint quota (justified by Gopalareddy against past practice) and heavy government advertising.
• He judges that the whole Delhi press has already turned pro-Government, so ‘Patriot’ will merely be the coping stone for a broader capture.
• Ranga sends Rajaji separate extracts of his Atomic Energy debate exchange with Jawahar on atomic power stations, and previews his upcoming interventions on the Gulhati Commission report and on Defence, requesting talking points.
• He flags Patnaik of Orissa’s work in America to channel US ‘second hand and so called outdated arms and Planes’ as gifts to India in addition to lend-lease, hinting at deeper Indo-American cooperation.
• Andhra friends complain that Swatantra is not agitating enough against new taxes; Ranga apologises for the letter’s length as making up for his long silence.