The Indian Libertarian

Summary

This 1 September 1957 issue (Vol. V No. 13) of The Indian Libertarian, the Bombay journal ‘standing for free economy and liberal democracy’ edited by Miss Kusum Lotwala, opens with an editorial, ‘Double Law in Kashmir — A Matter of Double Standard,’ attacking the special constitutional position of Kashmir as a betrayal of the principle of one law for all Indians. The rendered pages carry the issue’s lead pieces: M. A. Venkata Rao’s ‘Liberty and Limited Government,’ J. K. Dhairyawan’s ‘Congress Capitulates to Communism,’ K. D. Valicha’s ‘The Challenge of Nepal,’ and A. D. Gorwalla’s ‘Our Foreign Policy Under Fire,’ alongside reprinted commentary from Guy Wint and Milovan Djilas and a research supplement from the R. L. Foundation. Throughout, the journal presses a classical-liberal case for limited government and individual liberty and against the Congress government’s perceived drift toward communism and socialist economic policy.

Essays

Liberty and Limited Government

By MA Venkata Rao

M. A. Venkata Rao argues that liberty depends on limited government, opening from the proposition that an Opposition’s central duty is to keep the state within bounds. He sets out a ‘fundamental definition’ of liberty as freedom from arbitrary power and contends that the remedy for the erosion of freedom in India is a strict constitutional limitation of government’s economic and political reach.

• Defines liberty as freedom from arbitrary state power
• Holds that an Opposition exists to keep government limited
• Prescribes constitutional limitation as the remedy for declining freedom

Congress Capitulates to Communism

By J. K. Dhairyawan

J. K. Dhairyawan charges that the Congress has ‘capitulated to communism,’ arguing that the ruling party’s economic programme and its tolerance of communist influence amount to a surrender of liberal and constitutional principle. He reads Congress policy as drifting toward a totalitarian model under the banner of democratic socialism.

• Indicts Congress for accommodating communism
• Reads its economic programme as creeping totalitarianism
• Contrasts liberal constitutionalism with Congress socialism

The Challenge of Nepal

By K. D. Valicha

K. D. Valicha examines ‘the challenge of Nepal,’ weighing the Himalayan kingdom’s political instability and its drift in foreign alignment as a strategic problem for India. He treats Nepal’s situation as a test of India’s neighbourhood policy and of the wider contest between democratic and communist influence in the region.

• Frames Nepal’s instability as a strategic challenge for India
• Situates Nepal in the regional democracy-versus-communism contest
• Questions the soundness of India’s neighbourhood policy

Our Foreign Policy Under Fire

By A. D. Gorwalla

A. D. Gorwalla puts India’s foreign policy ‘under fire,’ subjecting the government’s professed non-alignment and idealism to critical scrutiny. The piece argues that the gap between foreign-policy rhetoric and outcome leaves India exposed, and faults the government for confusing posture with strategy.

• Criticises Indian foreign policy as rhetoric outpacing results
• Questions the practical value of professed non-alignment
• Faults the government for mistaking posture for strategy

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