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ParveenYadav
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But the current scene is no sociology of melancholy or despair for an enthusiastic band of thought leaders led by noted writer and journalist Sandipan Deb, who see in these testing times a great opportunity to rationally and humanely build a ―liberal right-of-centre discourse,‖ as he put it, which they hope will redefine both tradition and modernity in India and give the country far greater self-esteem in the comity of nations.
Big ambitions, but thought processes, begin somewhere. Calling themselves
―India‟s new liberal right,‖ Mr. Deb and his team are all set to shortly relaunch the Swarajya magazine, which was started in 1956 by the veteran journalist, Khasa Subba Rao, with the patronage of C. Rajagopalachari, popularly known as Rajaji, one of the tallest leaders of the freedom movement and Mahatma Gandhi‟s „conscience keeper.‟
Rajaji gave Swarajya its Charter, to champion the cause of ―individual liberty, private enterprise, the minimal state and cultural rootedness,‖ Mr. Deb explained in an hour-long interview to The Hindu in New Delhi recently. Those core principles will continue to guide the new Swarajya, 59 years since its inception, he said, while underscoring that Rajaji‟s vehicle of communication was ―the first coherent and consistent intellectual response to Nehruvian socialism and the ever expanding Big
State in newly independent India.‖
Aiming at a formal launch in early February 2015, Swarajya in its new avatar will be a glossy monthly instead of a weekly, have a strong digital presence and hopes to be on a par with magazines like The Economist in generating top quality content, including commentary, opinion and essays. It will ―naturally be a magazine of ideas,‖ says Mr. Deb, whose fame as an author spread with his book ―The IITians: The Story of a Remarkable Indian Institution and How its Alumni are Reshaping the World.‖
On January 15, it was an extremely cold evening in Delhi as Mr. Deb and I tried in vain to spot the noted Barista Coffee shop at Connaught Place.