Innate equality among all peoples everywhere

• That all human beings are created equal in an essential way.

• That political groups which use differences of religion, caste, or language, to come to power, have hurt India very badly both before and after independence.

• That about 250 years ago, India occupied complete economic equality with the advanced nations of today. Even 50 years ago, India was much more equal to the West than it is today. The current economic inequality is primarily rooted in systems created by us.

• That human rights and liberty are more precious than wealth.

• That we may differ from our brothers in the way of achieving the goals, but we shall respect all dissenters and hear them out, in full, carefully understanding their argument. Democracy needs real freedom of speech, as well as patience of all concerned.

• That we believe in democracy, both conceptually, and practically in the way it is defined in the Indian Constitution. Dictatorship is the worst enemy of the people.

• That religion is a purely personal matter never to be brought into the area of poltical discourse, and no religion is supreme nor worth fighting about. All religions are to be fully respected.

• That each human life counts, or can count, if one makes it count. Each of us can consciously choose for ourselves a courageous role in life, standing up for what we believe in. We are a nation of one.

• That India has a destiny to fulfil; a role to play on the stage of the world. That role is not small. But it has to be earned through technological superiority, and by promoting innovation at all levels. Nobody is waiting to gift us this role, for free.

• That Indians shall be not merely considered as spiritual curiosities but respected as the leaders of the world. We shall make this happen. At the moment the world perhaps chuckles to hears such "tall claims." Perhaps rightly so. But it is within our capacity to get the respect we think we deserve.

• To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them.

• The citizens of a free nation, when voluntarily exchanging goods and services, and valuing these goods and services through their interaction are said to constitute a market. In this mode of interaction, individual choice is given full respect. This mode may not be the best mode or even a feasible mode of interaction, for all situations. Therefore, "pure" capitalism, where markets resolve all problems of human cooperation, does not exist.

• Government is an entity which can be said to have a contractual obligation to fulfil certain tasks given to it to do by the People. It cannot unilaterally take on tasks which it is not asked by the People to do. One of the key tasks given to government is to determine the 'rules of the game' of markets and to upmire and enforce these rules.

• Civil society is premised on individual freedom and responsibility, and on limited and accountable government. It protects the individual from the intrusive state, and connects the individual to the larger social and economic order.

• A simple methodology to analyze the kind of role that the citizens and government need to play is given below:
  • Is it possible for citizens to solve the problem themselves, if properly guided by government? Yes/ No.
    • If No, then is there any logic or evidence which says that the government will do a much better job? Yes/ No.
      If Yes, then give the job to government.
      If No, give it back to the citizens.

    • If Yes, then leave it with the citizens straight-away.

  Ultimately, this is an empirical question. In practice (as opposed to theory), do imperfect markets work better than imperfect governments. In practice, do competition, incentives to effort and innovation, and survival of the fittest in the marketplace - however flawed the market may be - work better than bureaucrats supposedly pursuing the public interest?

• Clearly, there is a role for government not only in the basic tasks of governance, but in economic activity. But that role is very, very small. There is much to be said in favour of an intelligent, small government, applying strong economic incentives to get the best results out of the people.