A 10-point “Manifesto of Indian Conservatism”

Ṡiṡira-Tapas-K06, 5126 K.E.

It is that time of the year to reflect upon my own views on politics, society, religion, economics and culture. It is no surprise that my views are aligned with the likes of C.Rajagopalachari and Minoo Masani of the erstwhile Swatantra Party. The seminal book, Swatantra Party and Indian Conservatism by Howard L. Erdman highlights their tenets of classical liberalism and cultural conservatism, or what I would call [[Liberal Conservatism]]. It is a “center-right” ideology whose basis is firmly Conservatism of the Indian kind tempered with economic liberalism. It is not the same as Conservative liberalism, Libertarian conservatism, Progressive conservatism or Left conservatism. This platform appeals to the urban middle class, the entrepreneur, and the spiritual intellectual who wants a modern India that hasn’t lost its soul.

Manifesto of India Conservatism

Motto: Individual Liberty, Secular Law, Cultural Pride

Label: Classical Liberal Conservative

I. Rule of Law

All persons, regardless of position or authority, are subject to the same laws. No individual stands above the law; no office grants immunity from legal accountability. The Constitution of India is supreme. No person – Prime Minister, Chief Minister, bureaucrat, or industrialist – stands above the law. All citizens, regardless of caste, religion, wealth, or position, face identical legal accountability. The law is sovereign; individuals are not.

II. Freedom of Expression

Freedom of speech and expression is inviolable. The state protects offensive, unpopular, and dissenting expression. No blasphemy laws, no censorship for religious or political sensitivities. Ideas are challenged by better ideas, not by state power. Free expression may be legally restricted only for direct, intentional incitement to imminent violence or clear unlawful action.

Citizens may criticize any religion, burn any religious text, challenge any belief system, or express unpopular opinions without state interference. No sedition laws for dissent, no blasphemy provisions, no bans on “hurting religious sentiments.” A Muslim may legally slaughter cows; a Hindu may legally burn the Quran. Ideas are defeated by better ideas, not by Section 295A or mob violence.

“Hate Speech” laws are used to silence dissent and hence incompaitble with free speech. If speech is offensive, the remedy is samajik bahishkar (social boycott), not imprisonment. The Right to Offend is the Price of Liberty.

III. Democracy and Decentralization

All State insitutions must be democratic. Transparency and accountability are required to fight corruption (“babudom”). Exemplary and severe punishment for corrupt government employees. Democracy must evolve from the grassroots. This is achieved by federalisation of power. Decisions regarding schools, water, and policing should be made at the municipal corporation and panchayat level, not by bureaucrats in New Delhi. A strong Centre is for Defense; a strong local body is for daily life. More autonomy and responsibility on district governments to create a friendly-competitive environment.

IV. Cultural Trusteeship, Secular Law

The state acknowledges and sponsors the dharmic cultural heritage through public celebrations, preservation of historical sites, and educational curricula. However, law remains completely secular. The intent is to ensure that our history is not erased by colonial or Marxist revisionism.

The State has a custodial duty to fund, maintain and celebrate India’s civilizational assets – festivals, temples, classical arts, monuments and Sanskrit scholarship. However, the law remains completely secular. No beef bans, no blasphemy prosecutions, no religious personal laws, no temple administration by government. Cultural celebration does not translate into legal enforcement of Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or any religious norms.

V. Legal Equality

All citizens possess identical legal rights and obligations regardless of religion, ethnicity, or socio-economic background. No group receives special legal provisions, exemptions, or restrictions. The law is blind to identity; it sees only individuals.

No SC/ST/OBC reservations – assistance is poverty-based, time-limited, and individual, not caste-determined or permanent. No special provisions for religious minorities beyond protection from discrimination. No different personal laws by religion – one Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all. The Constitution sees individuals, not groups. Only Economic Reservations (EWS) are supported; scholarships and coaching for the financially needy of all backgrounds. The idea is to ensure equality of starting point, not equality of outcome.

VI. Property and Markets

Wealth creation is a virtue, not sinful. Private property rights are fundamental and strongly protected. The State may not expropriate land or assets without substantial, fair compensation. Free markets propel the engine of social welfare, regulated only to prevent monopolies and preserve genuine competition.

Land acquisition requires full, fair, and prompt compensation – no state usurpation for “public purpose” at token prices. Free markets drive prosperity: privatize loss-making PSUs, reduce “License Raj” remnants, lower barriers to business formation. However, the State must act as a referee to break up crony capitalism and monopolistic cartels that stifle competition, ensuring a free market for small businesses and startups. Both public and private enterprises coexist where evidence supports it (railways, defense manufacturing, plus private competition).

VII. Minimal Welfare, Maximum Dignity

The state provides time-limited safety nets for housing, education, and healthcare to those in genuine need. Assistance is minimal, targeted, and designed to restore self-sufficiency, not create dependency. Work and enterprise are dignified; permanent reliance on state support is not.

The state provides targeted safety nets – subsidized housing, primary education, and basic healthcare – only for the genuinely poor, time-limited (2-5 years), and means-tested by income, not caste or religion. No permanent dependency: no indefinite rations, no multi-generational welfare, no free electricity for farmers that bankrupts states. MGNREGA-style employment programs acceptable only if genuinely productive, not make-work schemes. Emergency healthcare for all residents but basic healthcare only for the poor and needy. Populist “freebies” (electricity / bus rides / cash) bankrupt the exchequer and create a dependency culture; they must be opposed. Aid must be temporary and aimed at capacity building.

VIII. Merit and Evidence

Public policy follows evidence, not ideology or populism. Nuclear energy is embraced as clean and carbon-free. Immigration is merit-based, controlled, and requires civic integration. Decisions are made pragmatically, measuring what works rather than what sounds appealing.

Nuclear energy is India’s path to carbon-free baseload power – expand Kudankulam, fast-track thorium reactors, reject coal romanticism and solar-only fantasy. Environmental protection through market mechanisms (pollution taxes, tradeable permits) and innovation, not through banning industry or development. Rational cost-benefit analysis, not Luddism or greenwashing.

Regarding animals (like the Cow), secular Animal Welfare Laws (against cruelty/torture) applicable to all species shall be pomoted, but reject religious bans on slaughter. The State shall establish cow shelters and pet shelters, enumerate all such animals (e.g. street cows and street dogs) and regulate cow slaughter aggressively. Campaigns against cow slaughter shall be actively pursued but action rests upon one’s individual conscience and voluntariness.

IX. Sovereignty and Self-Determination

National sovereignty is paramount. The State pursues its interests independently, refusing subordination to any superpower or international bloc. Treaties are honored, but national security and self-determination take absolute precedence over foreign international pressure or agreements. All forms of imperialism and colonial domination are rejected. Nations have the inherent right to self-governance (swaraj) without foreign interference, extraction, or civilizing missions.

India pursues its national interest independently, subordinate to neither Washington nor Beijing. Strategic autonomy in foreign policy, refusing to become a junior partner in any bloc. Economic openness to all, defense cooperation where beneficial, but no compromises on sovereignty. Reject all neo-colonialism – whether Western “democracy promotion” or Chinese debt traps. India trades peacefully with all, aligns with none, and bows to no superpower. It remains vigilant against neo-colonial influence via foreign NGOs or international bodies. Anti-development activism is rejected.

X. Continuity, Conservatism and Anti-Imperialism

Historical colonialism and foreign invasions are acknowledged honestly, neither glorified nor weaponized. Education teaches history truthfully – celebrating achievements and confronting failures. National heritage is honored without myth-making. The past is studied to learn, not to manufacture grievances or false superiority. Society is an intergenerational trust; prefer incremental reform, experiment and local solutions to ideological overhaul.

Summary: Maximise individual liberty under equal law; preserve cultural inheritance without coercion; govern prudently with markets, targeted social support and scientific stewardship.

Summary table: difference from others

Ideology	Economic freedom	Welfare state	Cultural heritage	Free expression	Legal equality	Anti-imperialism
INDIAN CONSERVATIVE	✓✓✓ High	✓ Minimal	✓✓ Strong state role	✓✓✓ Absolute	✓✓✓ Absolute	✓✓✓ Strong
National Conservative	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓ Welfare chauvinism	✓✓✓ Very Strong	✗ Restricted	✓ Majoritarian	✓✓ Selective
Progressive Conservative	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓✓ Generous	✓ Moderate	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓✓ Strong	✓✓ Moderate
Neo-conservative	✓✓✓ High	✓ Minimal	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓ Moderate	✗ Pro-American Empire
Libertarian	✓✓✓✓ Maximum	✗ None	✗ Neutral	✓✓✓ Absolute	✓✓✓ Absolute	✓✓ Moderate
Social Liberal	✓ Low	✓✓✓ Generous	✗ Neutral/Multi	✓✓ Moderate	✓ Group-Based	✓✓ Moderate
Classical Conservative	✓✓ Moderate	✓✓ Paternalistic	✓✓✓ Strong	✓ Limited	✓ Hierarchical	✗ Pro-Colonial (Burke)

ECONOMIC AXIS (Left ←→ Right)

Social Liberal ← Progressive Conservative ← National Conservative ←    OURS           ← Libertarian
                                            (Welfare Chauvinism)   (Minimal Welfare)    (No Welfare)


CULTURAL AXIS (Secular/Multicultural ←→ Traditional/National)

Social Liberal  ←  Libertarian ←       OURS      ← Progressive Conservative ← National Conservative
(Multicultural)    (Neutral)     (Heritage +       (Moderate)                 (Religious Law)
                                  Secular Law)


LEGAL EQUALITY AXIS (Group Rights ←→ Individual Rights)

Social Liberal      ←   National Conservative  ← Progressive Conservative ← OURS = Libertarian
(Group-based            (Majority Preference)    (Moderate)                 (Absolute Individual)
Affirmative Action)


EXPRESSION AXIS (Restricted ←→ Absolute)

National Conservative   ← Social Liberal      ← Classical Conservative ← Progressive Conservative ← OURS = Libertarian
(Blasphemy Laws)          (Hate Speech laws)    (Decency Standards)      (Moderate)                 (Absolute)

National Conservatives prefer Religion IN law (religious laws, restrictions), strong ethnic/cultural nationalism, and “our people first” policies. But our philosophy (Indian conservatism = classical liberal conservative) says Religion in CULTURE (holidays, ceremonies, heritage, festivals, museums) while maintaining legal equality. Civic nationalism at most.

Uniqueness and Rarity

This ideology is unique because it is a distinct combination of:

Economic right (like libertarians, neocons)
Cultural conservative (like classical conservatives)
Legally liberal (like social liberals)
Anti-imperial (unlike neocons, classical conservatives)
Minimal welfare (unlike progressive conservatives, social liberals)
Absolute free expression (unlike all conservatives, social liberals)

This combination is rare because:

Those who want cultural heritage usually want religious law too (classical conservatives)
Those who want free markets usually ignore culture (libertarians)
Those who want secular law usually reject cultural heritage (social liberals)
Those who want welfare usually want lots of it (progressive conservatives)
Those who want majoritarian culture usually want preferential treatment over minorities (national conservatives)

Historical precedent:

Rajaji/Swatantra (Indian)
Ordoliberals (German – Röpke, Eucken)
Cobden-ite Liberals (British 19^th century)
Post-WWII Christian Democrats (at their best – Adenauer)