indian party old

The only pure liberal political effort in the past 30 years was the effort of a few, essentially small-town or rural based liberals led by the outstanding economist fluent in French, Sharad Joshi. The liberal message has been articulated consistently and clearly by Swatantra Bharat Party for over 9 years now. But they have never received a single paisa from any industrialist nor a single rupee of membership fee from urban based liberals. On their own, with almost no resources they have battled many electoral battles against vicious Goliaths and done their best. They are not perfect, but they are totally, totally, clean. (When you have no resources you are obviously clean, too!). They have also learnt numerous lessons over the past nine years, and we can learn enormously from them.

Urban liberals have paid little heed to our citizen-responsibility in a democracy for providing a consistent, professional, and ideologically sound liberal party to the voter, but have spent considerable time casting stones at others who have at least done something, even the Shiv Sena, for instance. When good people stay away, they have no right to point fingers at those who at least have gone out to the voter and somehow sustained our democracy. In a duel, the person who walks out and therefore forfeits the battle cannot then point fingers at the winner for having won.

We have the choice either of waiting for a really wealthy and competent Liberal to descend on us from the heavens and start a brand-new Liberal party with the critical mass of resources that is needed to take the message out to the people, or the alternative of putting our shoulder on this lively “bullock cart Party” (no offence meant!) and converting it into an effective vehicle for the entire country. I suspect that if we have waited for 30 years and not found that Magical Leader with the Magic Wand, indications are that there is little possibility of such miracle occurring in the next 30 years. Indeed, even if such a magical leader were to emerge, where would he or she find the 450 good candidates needed unless a large liberal platform already existed?

Instead of finding one million excuses to postpone our responsibility, it is time for us to consider building SBP into the professional vehicle we demand, and put into place systems that will continuously throw up better and better leaders and candidates.

Liberal political parties abroad work like well oiled machines, run by responsible citizens, doing hundreds of things that political parties need to do. Almost all of that is voluntary work, since citizenship demands the use of our skills, networks and time in building social capital. India has never had a truly participative and professional Liberal party. Do we wait forever?

In my opinion, it is time that we put aside our innate hesitation, put our minds in one direction, and permit our own creative energies to be deployed in strengthening and improving this platform that, while it may not be the ideal and "Perfect" one of our dreams, can easily become one with the combined energy of this generation of liberals. If, instead, we do not apply our energy now, we lose possibly the greatest opportunity that we have had for providing a durable and sound liberal alternative since independence. (Swatantra never came close to becoming a "people's party" -- this one is already a people's party, and by putting our minds into this effort, we will make it a genuine large-scale "People's" party)