[Memoradum]

Summary

This one-page memorandum, dated April 9, 1972, is addressed to the President of the Swatantra Party by unidentified signatories. It argues that the party’s leadership has departed from its foundational principles by failing to define democracy as its central objective and by treating development and democracy as separate rather than mutually connected aims.

The memorandum particularly criticizes the omission of Gram Swaraj from the party manifesto, despite Mahatma Gandhi’s identification of it as the principal means of achieving democracy. It calls for an unequivocal commitment to mass production through free enterprise and production by the masses through Gram Swaraj. The signatories warn that unless these deviations are corrected, workers will be unable to build the party and the manifesto will remain a collection of policies without a unifying purpose.

Key points

• The memorandum claims that Swatantra Party leadership has deviated from the party’s fundamental principles.
• It criticizes the failure to define democracy as the party’s sole objective in the manifesto.
• It argues that development and democracy should be understood as means and ends, rather than isolated issues.
• It invokes Mahatma Gandhi’s concept of Gram Swaraj as the means of achieving democracy.
• It demands the inclusion of Gram Swaraj in the party manifesto.
• It calls for mass production through free enterprise alongside production by the masses through Gram Swaraj.
• It warns that unresolved deviations will leave the manifesto without a guiding spirit and hinder the mobilisation of party workers.