Manifesto for Indian Liberals

(DRAWN UP AT THE CONFERENCE OF INDIAN LIBERALS WELD ON NOVE:4SER 211 1985 AT THE ROYAL BOMBAY YACHT CLUB).

We, the liberals of Intlis assembled in Eolnbay on Novcmber 21, 1985 at a time of gross violritior~sof human and persistent grave tensions wliich thrcatcn pcacc and dcrnocracy, arc convinccd thnt this condition is largely due to the abandonment OF liberal principles and affirm our faith in this Declaration.

I. Democracy & i) blan is first and forcrnost a being endowed with the power of independent thought and action, and with the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

ii) Respect for the individual as guaranteed under the original Constitution of 1950 is the true basis of society.

iii) The State is only the instrument of the community : it should assume no power which conflicts with the fundamental rights of the citizens and with the conditions essential for a responsible and creative life; namely :

a) Personal Erccclom, gnnrantccd by the indcpenclence of the administration of law and justice. b) Frcedom of \\lorship rind conscience.

cl) Freedom to associate or not tc~nssociatc. c) Free choice of occupation. f) The right to free and compulsory education for all upto a uinimum basic level. g) The right to private ownership of property and the right to embark on individual enterprise. h) Consumer's free choicc and thc opportunity to reap the full benefit of thc productivity of the soil and the enterprise of man.

i) Equality of riglrts between nicn and women.

iv) 'I'hcse rights and conditions can be secured only by true democracy which is inseparable from political and is based on the conscious, free and enlightened consent of the majority, expressed through a free and 'secret ballot, with due rcspcct for the and opinions of minorities and even the ii~dividual.

v) T!le wide-spread discnchantniellt or disaffection, prevalent especially among chc young, is thc result of the failure to crcntc, support and promote desirable values as wcll as of t.hc incapacity to adapt institutions and to ensure more justicc and 3 bcttc!13 quality of living. In extreme cases, this disaffection llns lcrl to tcrrorisn~,in otllcrs, to anarchism or to a refusal to participntc in public Lifc. 'The valucs of frccdoln ant1 intlcpendcncc, prornotcd by libcrnlisrn, can ovcrconle this void, particularly if liberals make it clear thnt frcedom for Chc i.rtdivirlu:~l is not to be confuscd with egoism, but is f~.ccdorn.witllili the contcxt of ccln~nuiiity, in~plyingresponsibility and solidarity wit11 fcllo~rncn.

11. Decentra l isation and Freedom i) Co-operation and solidarity between free men are a growing necessity in the modern world. Ilowcver, thc drive towards unhealthy centralisation has er~couragedthe dormgrading of parliamentary institutions, the excessive dependence of thc individual on the State and the growth of new forms of absolutisnr and of irscsponsil~lecentrcs of powcr throug11-.uncontrolled bureaucratic gro~th,the form:~tion of pub1 ic and pri\'atc mo110p01ics and the restsictivcnc:ss of somu coi:lbinat io11~;of cn~ploycrs,of \.;orkcrs, or of both togcthcr ii) Kc bcli.cvc tl~nt~llcsc tc~iclc~lcics can only bc fought by dcvotcJ conccntsntion on the overri'dirig ilccd for f'rccdom in all its aspccts, n~id in particular by :

(a) thc greatest possiblc devolution and sprcad of po\ccr in thc cconomic social and governrncntnl fields, cspccinlly by cletcrmincd action against monopolics. (b) maintcnancc of thc widcst multiplicity of cspression and initiative in all matters of crluctaion and culture, including Inass mcdia of cornnun icat ion . (c) niaking a11 ncccssary information available to cnablc cacli citizen to form objective judgments on all matters of public interest. (d) protcction of thc i'ights of minorities to cnjoy thc csscntinl libcrtics. (c) clilni~lationol' i,aci;ll and all other forms oC op~~rcssivcdiscrimination.

iii) One area wllicll requires irnn~cdiatcconsideration is the rclationsllip bctwccn the Centre and the St:~tes. '1'11~ C~~~sLitlltionof India enacted in 1950 has balanced fairly the nccds of national unity \+lit11 yhosc of reasonal)lc authority for Statcs. During thc last 30 pears, howevcr, a11 major economic po\vcr has been conccntratecl in the hnncls of the Unj.on Governr!lc.nt, 3:; a consequcncc of ccntraliscd planning. , . lhis imbalance lins to bc scctificrl by 3 greater mcasurc of autonomy for thc Statcs and local sclf Govcrnn\cnt \iitliin the frnrnc-\\,ork of tllc sl~ij.in;ilConstit~~tion of thc IIcpc11)lic. 'I'l~ercis 140 rcnson r\ll~.ya st. song Ccntrc sliotlld mcan weak Stntcs 01. v ice-.L'CTS;L. iii) Institutional Issues In Modern Democracies.

(a) the cffcctivc representation of thc peoplc's !r.i 11 in thc lcgislativc po\ver, c. g . through proportional reprcsc~itatio~l\

(b) tllc dcceritral isazio11 of power by thc proper and clearly rlcf inccl organisat ion of Stntc and local sclf govcrlilncnt ;

[i) thc ii~clusio~lof' tr;~dcul~ions :\rid I~usil~cssn11d psofcssional associations 111 thc 1 ibcral cleiilocr;ltic systc~nof chccks and balances, ill ordcr to acl~icvchc~ltllicr a~ld mosc just industrial relations;

(d) rvithoirt individual inj tintivc a~ldrcsponsibi 1 ity both in thc prlvatc and public sectors, thc Statc turns itself into n soul less bur-caucratic macl~illcanJ rnpidl!. loscs cf L'icicncy. iv) Educational and Cultural Issues ij hlodcrn libcrnlism is facccl wit11

!c) tl~cncctl for frcctiom and plurol ism in thc rncclin. ii) 'I'hc main instrument with \~hichto brcak down barriers to culturc and to Economic Issues

i) 'Thc following are of crucial ilnportancc today :

iii) The link which exists for libcrnls bct~ccna social and libcral dcinoci.:~cy also implies ;L constant battlp against monopolies, cartels, restrictive trusts, sestrictivc practises and so-called "dominant positions", open or disguised, privatc or l~uhlicexcept for cascs authoriscd by law for justified and' defiuctl social nccds.

iv) 'The liberal concept of the jnarket is not that of an economy controlled by purely monetary means but to the contrary it includes and is closely associated with the interests of the poor and of thc community 3s a ~1101~.

v) 'I'hc state controlled and dolllill;~ted syst~ln;IS 1,r;ict i>cd in India for thc past over three dccadcs is the root of s lorq econor~~icgrowth, rampant lawlessness and corruption and proliferation of the black mnrkct cconorny. l'hc only solution is a changeover to a libcral systc~nrtllich can undo thc drunagc.

'y vi) Planning, in thc liberal sense of thc word, rncans indicative planning of and for liberty leading to a minilnm or limitcd govcrnmcnt. A strong vestcd intcrcst has devclopccl in thc cxistillg systclrl r,-hcrc thc public scctor has bccomc the prixfntc scctor of thc politician, thc bureaucrat, the trader and entrepreneur who thrive on it and thc clisciplilled worker with thc consuncr left to fcnd for himself and livc in a dcspondcnt lllilicu of 'clloicclcss~lcss' and resulting '~oic~lessncssI.

ii) Nith r his u~lclop!latic appro~~chtoi,;~l:~ls the role of tllc Statc in thc cconorny, liberals do not scc t11c relations bctwccn thc private a~~dfhc public scctor in a given cconorny ~~rldat a given timc as static or final. Ii'hilst thc Statc or local authoritics can bc at times forccd by their obligations to public \vclfarc to take ovcr econon~icactivities, thcrc lnust bc a constant review of thc public nctilpitics, to Jccitlc whicll of tllcrl~ should bc I-cturnccl in sonic form to privatc cntrcprisc or to voluntary organisutio~ls.

viii) 'I'hc col.rcctivc 1-olc of thc state ~i~ustnot mnkc cvcrybody dcpcndcnt on it. Thc mairl cl:lngcrs inhcrcrlt i!l :ln ovcrcstcndcd 1 f:~rcSt:it~ arc : (c) by taxcs or by wnstc, it substracts too large a portion of thc national incor~~cfrom the growing nccds for productive invcstmcnt , resc:lrch and dcvelopmcnt;

(d) it can feed inflation and, therefore, make cmployrncrlt and irlvcstrncnt more difficult. tix) Liberals believe that taxation should be fairly balanccd betrvccn tlic nccds @f thc. inciiviclual and tile nccds of society for snvint: alld invcstmc~lt. l'asation 'should, thercforc, play a positive rolc in cncoul.nging cntcrpl-isc and in ensuring 'a greater equality of opportunity. s) 'To try to eliminate povcrty and social injustice is not to accept egalitaria- nism viz. the abstract right to rigid equality of conditions for all, independent of talent, work or forethought. Nhile liberals strongly support nlcasurcs to reduce differences in wealth, to protect each citizen and to incrcasc equality of opportunity, thcy decidedly oppose which degrades the individual, whercas the recognition of merit in conditions of social justice is stimulating.

The Test of Character India's dcvcloprnent by a dcrnocratic and liberal philosophy and action presupposes and requires that thc clectcd representatives filmly bclicvc in integrity and cornpctence. India also nccds men and women who uphold valucs and cxcellcr~c~, protect public interest, whose motivation is achievcrncnt - not powcr - and whose faith is outside partisan politics. To develop such rrrcn and women with such faith and 121-inciplcs is the real task and goal bcforc liberals. If 1rldi:l has to reach its full potential, the test of Character is of prirnc importance.