Singanallur Venkatraman Raju (1933 – 19 May 2015) was an Indian politician, best known for his association with the
Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly so ...
on post of executive secretary of the party and his editorship of ''
Freedom First'' magazine.
Early life
Raju was born in
Singanallur
Singanallur is a major residential locality of the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the banks of Noyyal river, which runs to the southern boundary of the locality. It is situated in the eastern part of the city, and is ...
; Venkatraman was his father's name, and Raju his first name. Raju was hired by
C. Rajagopalachari
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...
, the former
Governor General of India
The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
and retired
Chief Minister of Madras, on 16 December 1959 as the Office Secretary of
Swatantra Party
The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly so ...
, which was launched four months earlier. It took Raju one year to shed his
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and become a member of the party—of which he remained a member till the end of his life.
[Madhavankutty Pillai]
"Last Man Standing"
''Open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979
* ''Open'' (Go ...
''. 5 April 2014.
Career
When Swatantra Party faded away in 1974, Raju, along with
Geeta Doctor, took up full-time editorship of ''Freedom First'' in 1978. The ''Freedom First'' magazine had been started in 1953 by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom, which was established by
Minoo Masani
Minocher Rustom "Minoo" Masani (20 November 1905 – 27 May 1998) was an Indian politician, a leading figure of the erstwhile Swatantra Party. He was a three-time Member of Parliament, representing Gujarat's Rajkot (Lok Sabha constituency), Raj ...
in Mumbai. Raju raised funds for its continuation in print, and funds for digitization of the magazine since its inception.
In 1996 the Maharashtra unit of the Swatantra Party, led by Raju and its general secretary, L. R. Sampat, decided to revive the Swatantra Party. To register it again and reclaim the party symbol, the star, they approached the
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...
. But Indian law demands that all parties swear allegiance to socialism, in accordance with a 1989 amendment of India’s
Representation of People’s Act. They refused and, instead, filed a writ petition in the
Bombay High Court
The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...
challenging this provision. When both Sampat and Raju had died, the High Court had still not held its first hearing on their petition.
In the late 1990s, he took upon himself the task of reviving the
Indian Liberal Group, a platform for liberal values that Minoo Masani had started in 1965.
[Niranjan Rajadhyaksha]
"S.V. Raju: the last Swatantrite"
''Mint
Mint or The Mint may refer to:
Plants
* Lamiaceae, the mint family
** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint"
Coins and collectibles
* Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins
* Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
''. 19 May 2015.
Publications
*
See also
*
Liberalism in India
The history of liberalism in India goes back to the period of East India Company rule, during which reforms began to be introduced to the governance of India.
The early 19th century saw a slate of liberal reforms spearheaded by Governors-Gen ...
References
"Liberalism's last lion: In memory of S. V. Raju and the Swatantra Party" ''
Business Standard
''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...
''. 23 May 2015.
एस व्ही राजू ''
Loksatta
''Loksatta'' is an Indian newspaper. It was established on 14 January 1948. ''Loksatta'' gained notability through its coverage of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and subsequent developments; the founder of the Indian Express Group, Ramnath Goen ...
''. 23 May 2015.
* Samanth Subramanian
"India’s last ‘anti-socialist’ dies" ''
The National''. 19 May 2015.
External links
''Freedom First''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raju, S.V.
1933 births
2015 deaths
Tamil Nadu politicians