Those who filled the jails of our country now occupy the seats of power. To them and to their followers, the day of Independence is naturally a day of triumph. To others, it is a day of rejoicing, tempered by remembrance of past events, a consciousness of present trends and by not unjustifiable doubts as to what the future may hold for India. But there is room for optimism in the feeling that that future is largely in our own hands... Not being a politician, I can scarcely venture to predict which path we shall follow. But I may take courage to point out the pitfalls which lie in our road so that we may, if possible, avoid falling into them.

... It seems to me that the real danger before our country in the days to come is the crushing down of individual freedom and initiative by the steam roller of government authority. Already, we see indications of this in the popularity of legislative measures having an expropriatory character and the passage of taxation and other bills calculated to kill private enterprise in the field of industrial development. To those who have no faith in personal liberty or personal imitative, I would draw attention to the history of the United States of America, unquestionably today not only the most powerful country, but also the one in which the highest standards of living of the common man prevail. The prosperity and power of the USA are an objective demonstration that the way of maximum freedom for the individual is also the way to the maximum prosperity of the people. Indeed, democracy without freedom for the individual is a sham and a delusion... For one aspect of Soviet policy and methods, I have genuine respect and admiration, viz their encouragement of personal ability and achievement on a scale which may be described as grandiose. I need only mention as a typical example the annual awards of the Stalin Prizes to even humble individuals who have done their best and achieved worthy results...

... contd.