Minocher Rustom Masani

Minocheher Rustom Masani (born 20 November 1905 in Mumbai, died 27 May 1998), popularly known as Minoo Masani, was a politician and leader of the Swatantra Party in India. He was a member of the second, third and fourth Lok Sabha, representing Rajkot constituency in Gujarat. Masani was a Parsi from Rajkot. He founded the Indian Liberal Group, a think tank to promote Liberalism in India^{[citation needed]}.

A barrister trained in London, Masani joined the freedom struggle with the Quit India Movement and was drawn into the Communist Party in the 1930s. However, he moved away to become a Socialist and a supporter of the mixed economy. Post Independence, Masani's political conviction propelled him to support "democratic socialism" in India as it "avoided monopoly, private or public." ^[1]

His public life began in the Bombay Municipal Corporation, where he was elected as Mayor in 1943. He also became a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly.^[1] In August 1960, he along with C. Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga formed the Swatantra Party, while international Communism was at its peak. He was one of the few politicians who opposed the nationalisation of banks by Indira Gandhi.^[1]

While his Swatantra Party was India's largest Opposition group, Masani often initiated debate on finance bills and forced the Congress government to work rigorously. A collection of his speeches was published as Congress Misrule and Swatantra Alternative.

Works

• Our India (1940)
• Socialism Reconsidered (1944)
• Picture of a Plan (1945)
• A Plea for a Mixed Economy (1947)
• Our Growing Human Family (1950)
• Neutralism in India (1951)
• The Communist Party of India: A Short History (1954)
• Congress Misrule and Swatantra Alternative (1967)
• Too Much Politics, Too Little Citizenship (1969)
• Liberalism (1970)
• The Constitution, Twenty Years Later (1975)
• Bliss was it in that Dawn ... (1977)
• Against the tide (1981)
• We Indians (1989)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} The Indian Express dated Thursday, Apr 8, 1948, Advance Towards Democratic Socialism online

External links

• Biography
• Profile in the Indian Liberal Group website

Persondata
Name	Masani, Minocher Rustom
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	20 November 1905
Place of birth
Date of death	27 May 1998
Place of death