This article begins by looking more closely at a debate now widely forgotten—that of liberalisation under Rajiv Gandhi in 1985–86. It is widely assumed this earlier attempt to liberalise the economy was only short-lived and 1991 marks the true turning point in policy reform. This article finds that arguments trying to simultaneously reconcile stalled liberalisation in 1985 with sustained liberalisation after 1991 (elite politics, reform by stealth, clever political management, elite psychology) do not convince. This article seeks to demonstrate that 1991 marked not a break but a continuation of liberalising economic policies. By shifting liberalisation back well before the structural break in growth (widely acknowledged to have occurred around 1980) its candidature as an explanation for that increase in growth needs again to be carefully considered.
