Minoo Masani, India (1905-1998)

Minoo Masani was born in Bombay in 1905. He was active in the Quit India movement and was consequently imprisoned for two years. Following his release he was elected Mayor of Bombay in 1943. After Indian independence Masani was appointed the country's Ambassador to Brazil. He was also the Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Discrimination and Minorities before founding his own Freedom Party. The party had socialist leanings and emerged as the single largest party in 1967. However Masani began to believe that socialism would not work and advocated market reform policies in an atmosphere of protectionism and economic insularity. Masani was twice elected an MP (1957 and 1963) and used this position to oppose the socialist policies of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In the 1970s Masani opposed the policies of the government of Indira Gandhi which suspended civil rights and censored the press.

Minoo Masani was a patron of Liberal International and helped to establish links between the organisation and Liberals in India. He died in May 1998 at the age of 92.