[Letter to P S Sridhara Murthy]

Summary

This three-page correspondence file contains S. V. Raju’s typed letter of March 19, 1985, to advocate P. S. Sridhara Murthy, followed by Murthy’s two-page handwritten reply dated March 1, 1985. Raju thanks Murthy for his letter, hopes to seek his assistance with party work in Karnataka, and notes that he has already written to N. K. Ganapaiah regarding papers.

Murthy’s reply concerns Raju’s proposed thesis on the Swatantra Party. He questions the usefulness of his available material, criticises the inactivity and irresponsibility of the party’s legislative wing in Karnataka, and recalls the failure of its MLAs to attend a party-workers’ meeting. He describes a 1980 Kannada biography of C. Rajagopalachari and explains that his own work concentrated on Rajaji’s life, ideals, policies, and the Swatantra Party’s philosophy, including its opposition to statist and socialist policies. He also mentions sketches of prominent Swatantrites and expresses regret that he cannot provide further papers or records.

Key points

• Raju’s letter is dated March 19, 1985, and is addressed to advocate P. S. Sridhara Murthy in Bangalore.
• Raju seeks Murthy’s future assistance with party work in Karnataka and refers to papers requested from N. K. Ganapaiah.
• Murthy’s reply discusses Raju’s proposed thesis on the Swatantra Party.
• The reply criticises the inactivity and irresponsibility of the party’s legislative wing in Karnataka.
• Murthy describes a Kannada biography of C. Rajagopalachari published in 1980 for Rajaji’s birth-centenary celebrations.
• Murthy says his own research addressed Rajaji’s life, ideals, policies, the Swatantra Party’s philosophy, and opposition to statist and socialist policies.
• The correspondence records the difficulty of locating party papers and other historical material.