interview
Deepak Lal on Indian Liberal Tradtition
2016
Summary
Deepak Lal argues that India has always had some classical-liberal voices but never a vibrant tradition. He points to the Swatantra Party, founded around 1960 and briefly allied with the Jana Sangh, and notes that after its decline Masani was left almost alone in carrying the liberal flag in politics until his death. He identifies the dominant obstacle as a deeply ingrained 'Nehruvian mindset', with Gandhian thought as the main alternative, and is dismissive of the trio of thinkers Modi reportedly praised as India's greatest, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Mahatma Gandhi, and Ram Manohar Lohia, warning against grounding economic policy in any of them.
He singles out B. R. Shenoy as the most vocal liberal economist, recalling that Shenoy wrote a dissenting note on the Second Plan and was ostracised by the planning establishment but stuck to his position. Lal notes Shenoy was a member of the Mont Pelerin Society and attended IEA gatherings, where he found relief that his free-market views, treated as insane in India, were not mad. He mentions a successor, Vyas, who tried to continue Shenoy's work but was of lesser calibre, and concludes that while more Indians now lean toward free markets, classical liberalism remains a weak tradition.
Key points
- India has always had some classical-liberal voices but never a vibrant liberal tradition.
- The Swatantra Party, formed around 1960 and briefly allied with the Jana Sangh, represented an early liberal force.
- After Swatantra's decline, Masani was nearly the last classical liberal in Indian politics until his death.
- Lal blames a deeply ingrained 'Nehruvian mindset', with Gandhian thought as the main alternative.
- He rejects grounding economic policy in Modi's cited trio of Deendayal Upadhyaya, Gandhi, and Ram Manohar Lohia.
- B. R. Shenoy was the most vocal liberal, writing a dissenting note on the Second Plan and being ostracised for it.
- Shenoy belonged to the Mont Pelerin Society and found validation abroad that his views were not insane.
- A successor named Vyas tried to sustain Shenoy's work but lacked his calibre.
Transcript
Deepak Lal on Indian Liberal Tradtition
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAexZJvm8Jk Duration: 175.5s
Speaker (00:00): India is a puzzle.
Speaker 1 (00:10): India has always had some classical liberal voices. After all, the Swatandra party, Radhika Bhattacharya, when they set it up, they were the second artist party just before the Garibhita Tower election in 1960. And the Jansang at that state had joined up with them. So there were these, but then once they were devastated, I think the only classical liberal left here in politics in Minnesota was Muzami. And he held a flag right till the end till he died. And there was no one else. So it didn’t change.
Speaker 2 (00:45): Now the terrible thing is that this whole Nehruvian mindset that is so deeply ingrained in this country, that when you, I mean it’s either that or you go to some variant of Gandhian stuff which is quite true. I read something I read, the report I read today, that Modi was in Mafra and he says there are three great thinkers in India, Adin Deolupadiya, Mahatma Gandhi and Ram Manu
Speaker 1 (01:10): Alohiya. Now I think all three are completely, the last thing I want to form is to break your economic policies in the thought of either, any of those gentlemen. The liberal tradition, you see the Shinoy was the most vocal in this and he actually wrote this dissenting note on the second plan and after that he was completely pillied because by that time everyone was planning the planner you know all the people are with the old ones they all attacked shinoi for being anti-planning but he stuck to his guns and i remember him i don’t know i don’t know whether he was there when i met him but anyway there’s a story that used to come to the international IEA and he was also a member of the Mont Paginant Society which is the Society of Retire Setup. And he said that he was to come there just to realize that the few days he was there,
Speaker 2 (02:01): he was not completely mad because when he sat in India, he thought he must have been crazy because he was just completely cut off and he was, his views are looked upon as completely insane. Now he then, now there was, there was one other professor, I think, he was a student and then took over the chain in the draft.
Speaker 1 (02:24): Vyas, I think it was Vyas, and he’s, he must be dead now, but he was the one who was, he was not of the same calibre as Shinoi. He tried to keep that going.
Speaker 2 (02:35): But no, there was hardly anyone here in the living as chain marketing. There are many more people now who are much closer to the classical liberalization, in
Speaker 1 (02:46): terms of believing in free markets, etc. it’s not it’s not a vibrant addition here anyway still
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