[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

A brief typed letter from C. Rajagopalachari, written from his 60, Bazlullah Road, T. Nagar (Madras) address on 5 March 1963 to Minoo Masani at 40, Canning Lane, New Delhi, with a copy noted to Bombay. Rajaji tells Masani that he proposes to insert a paragraph in the “Dear Reader” column of Swarajya on the subject at hand and encloses a copy of the intended text.

The substantive request is organisational: Rajaji urges that a circular letter be sent to “all our branches” — the Swatantra Party’s — instructing them to arrange public meetings that both protest the taxes newly imposed and express sympathy for the goldsmiths affected. A handwritten postscript asks Masani what he thinks of the plan. The received stamp records the letter’s arrival on 8 March 1963.

Key points

• One-page typed letter from C. Rajagopalachari to Minoo Masani, dated 5 March 1963, sent from Rajaji’s 60 Bazlullah Road, T. Nagar, Madras-17 address.
• Rajaji announces he will run a paragraph in the “Dear Reader” column of Swarajya to publicise the position; a copy of that intended paragraph is enclosed.
• He proposes a circular letter to all party branches instructing them to convene public meetings against the newly imposed taxes.
• The meetings are also meant to express sympathy for the goldsmiths hit by the tax measures — a reference to the 1963 gold-control regime.
• A handwritten postscript solicits Masani’s view before the plan is put into effect, indicating this is an intra-leadership consultation.
• The letter is addressed to Masani at 40, Canning Lane, New Delhi, with a copy noted for Bombay, and bears a received stamp dated 8 March 1963.