[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This two-page handwritten letter from C. Rajagopalachari to Minoo Masani, dated 9 April 1964, discusses current political and press matters. Rajagopalachari refers to arrangements involving Sarvodaya workers and forthcoming travel, before turning to a recent special article in The Times of India concerning the Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, and the Union budget.

The letter is sharply critical of what Rajagopalachari presents as favourable or evasive newspaper treatment of the government. He questions an article that appears to describe the Finance Minister as a “22 carat” figure and asks whether readers should expect the press to defend or “salvage” Morarji Desai when the budget is before the country. The second page closes with a brief, partly illegible continuation and Rajagopalachari’s signature. Several passages are difficult to decipher because of the handwriting, fading, and page damage.

Key points

• The letter is addressed to Minoo Masani and written on C. Rajagopalachari’s Madras letterhead.
• The visible date marking reads 9 April; the archival metadata associates the letter with 1964.
• Rajagopalachari discusses arrangements concerning Sarvodaya people and planned travel by air.
• The letter then turns to a special article in The Times of India concerning the Prime Minister and Morarji Desai.
• He questions newspaper efforts to defend or “salvage” Morarji Desai during the budget discussion.
• The letter refers to the Finance Minister in the phrase “22 carat Finance Minister.”
• The closing portion of the second page is only partly legible because of faint ink and image degradation.