Frequently Asked Questions

While all issues regarding the party are addressed in the party's manifesto, a few questions are asked frequently. If you'd like a question to be included here, please write to info@swarnabharat.in.

Why is the party's name "Swarna"? Does it mean the party supports the "upper" castes/ varna?

The word “Swarna” in our party’s name stands for golden, i.e. swarnim. This is named after the fabled figurative golden bird, Sone Ki Chidiya, which India can become once our policies are adopted. This fabled bird – Sone Ki Chidiya – is our party’s logo. Swarna Bharat Party has nothing to do with any upper caste organisation

Sometimes people also confuse our party with other upper caste community organisations that use an almost exactly similar name. We are entirely different to such illiberal organisations. We represent all Indians, regardless of caste or religion. Our party was registered with the Election Commission in 2014 and is now engaged in spreading the message of liberty, justice and security across the country. Our message of individual sovereignty and equality under the law is radically different to the hierarchical ideas of these other organisations.

The name Swarna Bharat Party should be changed to something else

The name Swarna Bharat Party was selected by the founders of the party in the absence of availability of  names like Swatantra Party and Swatantra Bharat Party. We also chose not to use Liberal Party of India since the name sounds Western, while the idea of liberty is innately Indian. Some people complain that the name "Swarna Bharat" sound like an upper caste party, others complain that it sounds like a party of goldsmiths. 

We appreciate that not everyone will be happy with this name but this name is locked in stone and we will never chnage it at any stage. All our branding, articles in the media, Wikipedia, our various social media outlets (Twitter, Youtube, numerous Facebook pages, etc.) have been built at great cost and effort and we are happy with the name. The name represents the outcome of liberal policies - a great and prosperous country. Join us but do not expect us to change the name.

Will SBP merge or form a coalition with other parties?

a) Merger: A party is nothing but its manifesto and internal systems of functioning. We have the world's best manifesto and high quality (and transparent) internal systems of governance. We will never seek to associate with any party with lesser quality and transparency.  Any Indian who supports our manifesto is welcome to join us. It may be noted that we will not change our name, either. This name has slowly built up into a brand (although small) and it is meaningful, in that it represents the successful outcomes of liberalism.

b) Coalition: If someone wishes to form a coalition with us, they should not contact us but continue to seek parliamentary representation on their own party's platform. Once various representatives reach Parliament, they can consider any necessary coalition. We do not agree with the idea of any minimum common agenda - since we want the whole of SBP's manifesto to be implemented. We can't compromise on that, else the goal will not be achieved.

Why does the party claim to be "liberal" - a word which stands for socialism in many parts of the Western world?

We use the word liberal in the original (classical) sense, not the way the word has been hijacked by socialists across the world over the past century. The root of the word "liberal" arises from the word liberty. The fact that some stupid people have hijacked this word doesn't mean that its meaning should be allowed to change.

What is SBP's policy on caste/tribe based reservations?

SBP does not have a reservations policy at this stage since we believe the first priority must be given to basic governance reforms. Tinkering with third order things like reservations will not help the country. Let’s first reform the main governance system and ensure that everyone is able to achieve equality of opportunity before we consider what is to be done re: reservations. It is like a baby that is drowning. You don't worry about secondary issues first, such as the boils all over the baby's body. You first rescue the baby and only then start investigating the boils. Likewise, India is drowning because of its totally dysfunctional governance and policies. Let's fix that first, then we can consider secondary issues. In fact, things will change so much once the basics of India are fixed that a lot of things that seem important today to so many people - such as reservations - will fade out of our mind and become irrelevant.

Is SBP going to contest elections? How will people become aware of this party until they do not come into limelight?

SBP is currently a very small and new party. India in the sorry situation where its largest liberal party is very small. That is because for seventy years, the country has been overwhelmed by the socialists, therefore there is very little knowledge in the country of the kinds of reforms India needs. We are definitely going to contest elections, starting from 2019 Lok Sabha elections. We are looking for good candidates. Only good candidates will be offered to the country. Please contact us at info@swarnabharat.in if  you wish to contest elections under SBP's banner.

How can we be confident that SBP will not become like other parties after coming to power?

Policy is everything. Our policies will get the government out of unnecessary activity. All other parties - which are socialist - have policies that require government to "do everything". That creates the environment of corruption. We believe in letting the people achieve the best results for themselves, with the government focusing on core function of justice and security. We also have a stringent policy of accountability of elected representatives and bureaucracy, based on paying people well but holding them sternly to account. We are committed to ensuring that every person in government will remain accountable to the people. 

What is SBP's population policy? How will SBP reduce India's population?

It is true that overpopulation appears to be a problem. But in reality, it is not population itself that is the problem but lack of opportunities (education, good jobs) for the population. 

A large population is an asset, not a liability. The human brain – ingenuity – is the greatest resource. Furthermore, natural resources are not finite. We are constantly discovering new reserves and alternative substitutes. Likewise, for the production of food. Food prices are constantly falling as a relative share of our incomes, as humans are able to grow more food on less land, by using better technology. Humanity is not in any danger of ever running out of natural resources or food, no matter how much our population increases.

Well-educated people who can employ their skills in meaningful, nation-building, indeed, civilization-enhancing work, are never undesired, no matter how many of them are there. In fact, more such people are there in a country (or the world), better it is for that country. But when learning opportunities and good employment opportunities are limited (which are results of bad governance and bad systems in a country), population becomes a drain on the system. In this case, a person takes more from the country than he produces for it. In that case the person does become a burden.

SBP’s goal is creating more opportunities and setting up better systems so that each and every individual is enabled and empowered to contribute to their maximum potential. With good systems and incentives in place, each and every person can and will become an asset for our great country. The more the number of highly educated persons in India, the greater the scope for innovation. 

In fact, under the scenario of policies that SBP will implement, our large population (of capable people) will allow us to progress even faster.

The government should just see to it that they provide essential public goods such as law and order, police, justice, and some infrastructure. It must ensure reasonable equality of opportunity through the facilitation of high-quality education and high-quality vocational training for the poor, and create a business-friendly and business-enabling economic environment for the private sector to create jobs and innovate.

The government has absolutely no role in curbing the population or interfering with a couple’s personal choice to have as many children as they wish.

Evidence
The size of a country’s population does not correlate with a country’s level of poverty. Even in India, even as our population has grown manifold after independence, absolute poverty has declined after liberalisation of the economy. The richest parts of India, such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, etc. are also the most densely populated.  Singapore, Hong Kong, Bahrain and Netherlands are more densely populated than India but are also much richer.

How will SBP overcome the challenge posed by India’s diversity of castes, ethnicities, religions, and languages, which make it hard to govern?
While cultures have their own set of incentives, in economic matters people respond in almost exactly the same way to incentives, no matter where they are born or live.
 
India’s diversity should not affect economic outcomes so long as the economic incentives are right. And India’s economic incentives have been strongly contaminated with socialist ideas.
 
Singapore was in bad shape in the 1950s but a change in incentives (governance system) took it from penury to the richest nation on earth. This has happened repeatedly across the world – i.e. as incentives change, people’s behaviour changes. The underlying culture does influence things, but for most economic transactions  standard economics is able to predict how people will act.
 
In any event, India is not “unmanageable”. First of all that assumes that someone needs to manage India. That’s not true. People manage themselves. All they need is a system where they are free to interact and trade, with surety of contracts and property rights. We know that Indians who migrate to the West adjust readily and achieve excellent outcomes. Even in India, when capitalist policies were adopted (e.g. liberalisation), the people have responded with a great increase in productivity and innovation. In brief, India is not hard to govern. Instead, our governance system makes it hard for Indians to achieve their highest potential.
 
All social change is political. It may start with the thoughts of a few writers who challenge authority, but then it is taken to the entire society by political actors. Without political actors, there is no possibility of change. Cultural change needs large scale political action. There are many examples about how change in rules (and the way these rules are enforced) changes culture. 
 
The key is to change the institutions. As an econmist has said: "Whatever advantages a culture may have, they will not be realized under bad institutions. And whatever disadvantages a culture may have, they will slowly erode, and the culture will improve, when people get to live under institutions of political and economic freedom. Culture can act as a constraint, but it is also a malleable constraint. The important causal variable is the set of rules that governs the way we interact with one another and with the resources at our disposal. Those rules must enable our ability to realize the gains from specialization and exchange, and reap the benefits of innovation."
 
What is SBP's position on Hinduism as India's national religion?
India is a constitutional republic, not a theocratic state. It is not a Hindu republic, and we do not support the idea of Hindu nation. People are free to chant Vande Mataram or Bharat Mata ki jai but no one can mandate such slogans. Many SBP members are strong Hindus and chant such slogans in their personal capacity. But the party makes a strong distinction between personal belief (which is protected under the law) and any role of government in such belief.  

There is a difference between well-informed patriotism and rabid, divisive nationalism. SBP condemns the atmosphere of euphoric sectarian nationalism created by many saffron groups. SBP opposes fascist approaches that restrict individual liberty. Aggressive saffron nationalism is causing dangerous fissures. BJP, like all other Indian political parties, has sworn to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India. How can it support saffron groups that want a Hindu nation? How can BJP impose its views on partiuclar religion/ gods through government? 
 
What is SBP's position on Kashmir?
Kashmir needs more liberty and good governance. That is the solution, not any separation from India.We are committed to peace and prosperity in J&K (which includes the people who lived there at the time of independence and now live in territory illegally occupied by Pakistan or China). We will review the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee’s 2005 recommendation to replace the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act with a more humane approach, balancing security with human rights. On an urgent basis, we are committed to the return of all displaced persons, including Kashmiri Pandits, to their home, should they wish to return.
 
We believe that the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and are committed to abrogation of the Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which has created a dual layer of sovereignty within a single nation. It does not make any sense for Kashmiri Indians to be able to freely settle in any part of India, but for other Indians to not be able to do so in Kashmir. This reform will, however, be done in a manner which assures liberty to all Indians through a range of other reforms detailed elsewhere, and allows good governance to be established everywhere in India. Only after the rule of law along with equal opportunity has been brought to all Indians, will we request a recall of the J&K Constituent Assembly (as required by Article 370(3) of the Constitution) to consider this amendment. Without the goodwill and consent of the people of J&K, such an amendment will violate the spirit of democracy and liberty.
 
Why does SBP oppose socialism, even though it is mandatory for all Indian political parties to swear by socialism?
Many people ask us why SBP does not follow a "middle path", with a mixture of socialism and capitalism.
 
Our answer is that there cannot be any mixture of capitalism and socialism because they are diametrically opposed from their foundational principle onward. One focuses on liberty, the other on inequality. Capitalism stands for freedom including free markets, freedom to trade, freedom of occupation. Socialism stands for government control over the production and distribution of goods, and confiscation of private property, in order to reduce “inequality”.
 
The factors which result in a country becoming rich and prosperous boil down to having a highly skilled and well-educated workforce, efficient and non-corrupt governance institutions that provide public goods, independent non-corrupt judiciary, impartial world-class legal system, strict rule of law, secure property rights, low taxes, sound money, free markets, free trade, and limited government. These factors combine to generate an unprecedented amount of wealth and makes labour enormously productive, leading to high incomes and high living standards. 
 
Our economy must be free of government control, with the exception of light-handed regulation to prevent harm to consumers, workers, and the environment. Also, where monopolies are involved, some heavier regulation may be needed. Beyond that, free markets should work and profits signal one’s contributions to society.
 
Economic freedom is needed in India and that entails having a capitalist economy. The freer our economy, the greater the country’s prosperity. Socialism has absolutely nothing of value to contribute. In fact, it can be argued that it is a criminal ideology since it converts ordinary good people into criminals. Further, the very idea of forcibly redistributing wealth is criminal. No wonder the results of socialism have been very poor – including mass murder by governments – wherever it has been practiced. 

As long India refrains from becoming a free-market capitalist economy, it can expect to remain desperately poor, corrupt, filthy and badly governed. The people have a choice between freedom on the one hand, and slavery to the state on the other. 
There is no “middle path”. Either the individual is sovereign or the “king” is sovereign. We have to pick one.
 
Socialism was not part of India's original Constitution. Even Ambedkar (a socialist) opposed its inclusion in the Constitution since he recognised that policy is the prerogative of governments, not of the Constitution. Nevertheless the foolish Indira Gandhi imposed this on India's Constitution through the 42nd Amendment. While we are mandatorily required to swear allegiance to socialism, there is no definition of socialism and so in our view socialism is nothing but classical liberalism. We should do away with this misleading word "socialism" from our Constitution immediately. [See Sharad Joshi's 2005 proposal in the Rajya Sabha]
 
What is SBP's position on Uniform Civil Code?
See details here. In brief, we suport minimum (negative) standards - i.e. defining what people can't do. We do not agree with positive (active, prescrptive) standards on personal matters.