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India is a unique country where political parties have different views on issues related to society, caste, religion, domestic policies, etc. but when it comes to the economy all political parties speak in one language: from the left with their socialist policies and to the right with their swadeshinomics or regional parties with their muddled ideology of both. It is very rare in India to hear a politician speak out publicly and say he or she believes in free markets, free trade, and privatization. This takes us back to the 1960s when there used to be a political force that was formed after C. Rajagopalachari left Congress because of its increasingly statist and socialist policies. It was the Swatantra Party; a party that believed in classical liberalism. The party had many eminent people in Minoo Masani, NG Ranga, Maharani Gayatri Devi and India is in desperate need of its rebirth.
Despite the 1991 reforms which gave India 30 years of good economic growth we still have a situation where privatizing PSUs is equally to ‘selling family silver’ and reforms are seen as ‘pro rich and anti-poor’. Today you have the congress party which considers itself to be a liberal party and has turned left on the political economy while on the other hand, we have the BJP which through its actions has made it clear it does not believe very much in an open liberal society. This makes a perfect case for a Swatantra party that is liberal on issues related to society and is of the ‘right’ when it comes to the economy. India needs a political party that offers an alternative view on the economy, and this might also help shift the narrative from identity politics to economics.
With the decline of India’s economy and the rise in dominance of BJP across the political spectrum, India needs an opposition that can provide an alternative to the voters. Congress party under the Gandhis’ has not shown the fight to stay relevant, and the other worrying aspect is the shift Rahul Gandhi has given the party by taking it far to the left. This became evident with the return of UPA 2 in 2009 with Manmohan Singh losing grip over the government and the NAC passing one populist scheme after another and stopping many reformist moves. Many expected the BJP to focus more on economic reforms like it did during the Vajpayee regime but under 7 years of Modi government, it has failed to live up to the expectations. This BJP government is more interventionist in the economy, more protectionist and lets the swadeshi lobby dictate its political economy.
Hence our politics is currently stuck between the socialist forces of Congress and the swadeshi forces of the bjp. And here is where the ‘liberals’ in the congress party need to step up their game and do what Rajaji did in the late 50s if they want India to have an alternative political force that believes genuinely in classical liberal values. In the recent Freedom house Index report, India slipped from a free to party free country, which is deeply worrying, and we need politicians and political parties which advocates for free markets, free trade, individual rights, liberties, and taking government out of people’s lives to be more vocal. Starting the Swatantra Party could just be the right beginning.
Also read: SubscriberWrites: Free market capitalism leads to greater economic democracy than socialism
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