Kathmandu: Renowned author Gurcharan Das was Saturday awarded the prestigious Lifetime Libertarian Award for his lasting contribution to the advancement of liberty, becoming the first Indian writer to receive the honour.
The award was presented by freedom advocacy network Liberty International at its 40th World Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Accepting the award, the 82-year-old author said he was delighted to receive the honour and spoke about the idea of inner freedom, which he described as India’s unique contribution to the Western idea of liberalism.
How often does life reward you for something you believe right in your bones he said.
The award caps a career spent shaping India’s economic and moral discourse in defence of freedom, entrepreneurship, and individual responsibility — themes that have run through Das’ work for over three decades, according to a statement issued by the organisers.
The cornerstone of Das’ literary contribution is a quartet on the four classical Indian aims of life that he interprets as a timeless ideal of human flourishing in the contemporary world, the statement said.
These include India Unbound, The Difficulty of Being Good, Kama The Riddle of Desire and Another Sort of Freedom.
He has also written a novel, a book of essays and an anthology of plays. Das has also edited a 17-volume economic and business history of India for Penguin.
He previously chaired the Board of Trustees of Centre for Civil Society, one of India’s leading public policy think tanks, and remains a member of the Board.
Liberty International, founded in 1982, has organised 40 world conferences, building a global network of scholars, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and advocates committed to advancing the ideals of a free and open society, according to the statement.
Speaking on the organisation’s mission, Das said, At a time when freedom is shrinking in the world, the work of Liberty International is more relevant than ever.
Das served as CEO of consumer goods company Procter & Gamble India before turning to writing full-time. He graduated in philosophy with honours from Harvard University and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa for ‘high attainments in liberal scholarship’.
