There’s so much talk of India’s post-1991 economic growth, but here I want to highlight another growth area: it’s pro-freedom movement. I’ve been overwhelmed this past week in New Delhi with the sheer number of highly impressive groups, think tanks, and organizations fighting to increase the sphere of human freedom in India. From traditional policy wonks, to aggressive student unions, to grass-roots property rights activists, the network spreads out across the country, working in dozens of languages and attacking state control from 1,000 different directions.
Groups, such as the Centre for Civil Society, are working to erode the government’s monopoly on educational choice, as well as making it easier for street entrepreneurs to join the legal economy. Barun Mitra’s Liberty Institute has been working tirelessly to solidify India’s democratic institutions. The Liberal Youth Forum is targeting univeristy campuses in an effort to engage India’s next generation of pro-liberty politicians and activists.
As in the US, they face a skeptical public and an entrenched state apperatus. Yet their optimism appears undiminished. I’ll be heading to Mumbai in a few days to meet with more groups and individuals, and if they are half as impressive as the groups I’ve met so far, India’s future is bright indeed.
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