Minoo Masani dies, aged 92

However, post Independence, Masani8217;s political conviction propelled him to form the Swatantra Party which stood for laissez-faire at a time when the international Communist movement was at its peak and India was treading the path of Nehruvian mixed economy. He was one of the few politicians to the abolition of privy purses and nationalisation of banks by Indira Gandhi.

After Masani8217;s retirement from active politics, his thinking found a new voice when Sharad Joshi decided to revive the Swatantra party in a new avtar, as SwatantraBharat Party. Though Masani refrained from making any public statement on the India8217;s economic liberalisation programme, his views were paraphrased by Nani Palkhiwala who said, quot;Minoo Masani lived to see the day when our arthritic economy behaved like an athletic economy.8221; Masani who was a great friend of Zulfilkar Ali Bhutto and even wrote a book on him, joined the freedom struggle with the Quit India Movement. His career in public life began with the Bombay Municipal Corporation where he was elected Mayor in 1943. He was also a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly which was later converted into the constituent assembly. And that was where his ability as a Parliamentarian blossomed.

As a member of the then largest Opposition group, the Swatantra Party, he often initiated debate on finance bills forcing the ruling Congress to be rigorous with its homework. Many of his speeches were published under the titles Congress Misrule and Swatantra Alternative. His last political assignment was during theJanata Party rule, when he was appointed as the chairman of minority commission, a post he soon quit after differences with the leadership of the day.

He was also a prolific writer. Masani8217;s book Our India was in its time a best seller and a prescribed text book. Freedom First, the magazine that he edited, had opposed Emergency and Masani had moved the court against press censorship.