At the beginning of 19th century, Lord William Bentinck, then-Governor-general speculated that the possibility of vast change occurring in the frame of society would eventually lead to the British leaving the country under capable Indian rule.
[citation needed] At the end of 19th century, Gladstonian liberals inducted Indians from the elite class into new representative institutions, thereby providing a framework for later self-rule, which became a reality by 1947.
[1] Three strands of liberalism have manifested in India- Colonial (eg: Charles Cornwallis, Thomas Babington Macaulay), Nationalist (eg: Rammohan Roy, Surendranath Banerjee), Radical (Jyotirao Phule, B. R.
[citation needed] Governor Generals of the British East India Company Warren Hastings and Charles Cornwallis instituted numerous changes over their rules.
[8] This motif among British liberalists, that Indians (both Hindus and Muslims), were not capable of civilized self-rule, appears again, as a common occurrence throughout the nineteenth century.
As the primary architect of the Indian Constitution, he incorporated liberal ideas such as free speech, secularism, and the rule of law, assuring protections for oppressed groups.
[15] He emphasized human dignity and self-reliance while also advocating for state participation in social justice, including affirmative action and economic safeguards to promote inclusive growth.
[24] The economic liberalisation of 1991, initiated by then-Prime Minister of India P. V. Narasimha Rao in response to a balance-of-payments crisis, did away with the License Raj and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors.
[25][26] The defeat of Indian liberalism at the hands of illiberal political formations has been attributed to elitism, estrangement from the ideal of equality, and the bad faith inherent in its concept of secularism.