[Letter to RS Bharati]

Summary

A short typed letter, dated 5 January 1976, from Minoo Masani (signing as M. R. Masani) to R. S. Bharati, General Secretary of the U.P. Swatantra Party, who is being held as a political detenu in the District Jail at Shahjahanpur during the Emergency. Masani acknowledges Bharati’s letter of 1 December 1975, written from prison, and expresses his sorrow at Bharati’s “needless” detention and at the news of ill health afflicting both Bharati and his wife.

On the substantive query Bharati has raised, Masani excuses himself on the ground that he is “out of touch with Party affairs” and has therefore forwarded the letter to Girish Munshi of the Swatantra Party’s office at 143 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay, to reply. A closing copy-line confirms that Bharati’s original letter has been sent on to Munshi with the enquiry marked in red for his attention.

Key points

• Personal letter from Minoo Masani to R. S. Bharati, dated 5 January 1976, six months into the Emergency.
• Bharati is identified as General Secretary of the U.P. Swatantra Party and a political detenu at the District Jail, Shahjahanpur (U.P.).
• Masani calls Bharati’s imprisonment ‘needless’ and expresses concern for the ill health of Bharati and his wife.
• Masani declares himself ‘out of touch with Party affairs’ and delegates the substantive reply to Girish Munshi at the Swatantra Party’s Bombay office (143 Mahatma Gandhi Road).
• A copy of the letter, together with Bharati’s original of 1 December 1975 (enquiry marked in red), is forwarded to Munshi for a substantive answer.