scorecardresearch
Add as a preferred source on Google
Friday, November 28, 2025
HomeOpinionIndian Liberals Matter

Indian Liberals Matter

Nothing suits dictatorship more than a subservient judiciary: Justice HR Khanna

The totalitarian states indeed are never tired of claiming a legal basis for their action and are too eager to make use of conventional legal institutions to further their ends, said Justice HR Khanna in 1980.

The Press is not artillery — neither for the ruling party nor the Opposition: Sachin Sen

The Press in a liberal democracy has to be a forum for the expression of different points of view. It must not suppress, taint or adulterate news, wrote Sachin Sen in 1960.

Hitlerite vegetarianism is not virtue. India’s food debates need more science, less sentiment

Vegetarianism is as much a fad as prohibition. To say that man by nature is vegetarian is baseless and misguiding, wrote Tahir Siddiqui in 1953.

If fundamental right to property can be taken away, so can all the others: AG Mulgaokar

If this step even partially achieves its desired results, there will be so much dislocation in the country’s economic structure as to prove a national calamity, advocate AG Mulgaokar wrote in 1969.

English didn’t enslave India. It was the harbinger of a new creative consciousness: A Ranganathan

Rabindranath Tagore stood apart from his contemporaries by infusing poetry and universalism into Indian nationalism, opposing chauvinism and blind obedience, wrote A Ranganathan in 1962.

Economist DR Pendse’s 7-point plan to cut expenditure and control budget deficit

Revenue generation is not the answer for us. In fact, it aggravates the malady. We must concentrate on curbing expenditure, wrote DR Pendse in 2000.

Was India’s public sector born out of European envy?

For all its obvious blemishes, capitalism alone holds out the most creative and dynamic force that any civilization has ever discovered, wrote BP Godrej in 1980.

Russian-style socialism dominated Nehru’s imagination. It was disastrous

It is necessary to break the spell of socialist dogma on the imagination of those attracted by its Utopia as the only scientific way of progress, wrote MA Venkatarao in 1963.

State control blocks India’s progress and exploits its people: C Rajagopalachari

The Swatantra Party wants the removal of the permit-licence-quota raj, which sits heavily over all national production and trade, Rajagopalachari wrote in 1963.

From Vedanta, India turned to Nehruvian socialism and buried its liberal roots: Sharad Joshi

An Indian Hitler will have to be exceptionally lucky to survive for any length of time. This much hope ought to be enough for seekers of liberty and equality, wrote Sharad Anantrao Joshi, president of Swatantra Bharat Paksh party, in 1995.

On Camera

Is Bangladesh ready for ‘developed country’ status? It’s all optics for Sheikh Hasina

The graduation is meant to bolster the legacy and legitimacy of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, even as the real-world preparedness lagged behind the glossy narrative.

Karnataka startups feel the chill as global funding winter sets in. Fintech emerges as sole bright spot

The state raises just $2.7 billion in first nine months of 2025 compared to $4.5 billion last year, with late-stage investments hit hardest.

India and Indonesia inch closer to BrahMos deal, defence ties to ramp up

Indonesia delegation led by Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin visited BrahMos facility & met with top officials & undertook a detailed briefing on the missile system.

A tribute to Tejas. India’s delay culture is the real enemy in the skies

It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.