Minocher Rustom Masani

Who was Minocher Rustom Masani?

Minocher Rustom "Minoo" Masani was an Indian politician, a leading figure of the erstwhile Swatantra Party. Masani was a three-time Member of Parliament, representing Gujarat's Rajkot constituency in the second, third and fourth Lok Sabha. A Parsi, he was among the founders of the Indian Liberal Group think tank that promoted classical liberalism.

After Masani was trained as a barrister in London, he joined joined the freedom struggle during the 1942 Quit India Movement. Previously, during the 1930s, he was drawn into the Communist Party of India. He was arrested several times by British for his participation in Indian independence movement. He was in the Nashik jail in 1930, when Jayaprakash Narayan came in contact with him and others like Prof. Dantwala and Ashok Mehta. He was a close friend of Jawaharlal Nehru and was also a member of Constituent Assembly of India, representing the Indian National Congress. He introduced the proposal for a uniform civil code to be included in the Constitution of India in 1947, which was rejected.

However, he moved away to become a Socialist and a supporter of the mixed economy.