New Delhi | 05 March 2026: Gurcharan Das, renowned Indian author and public intellectual, has been awarded the Lifetime Libertarian Award. The honour will be presented at the 40th Liberty International World Conference, to be held from August 7–9, 2026, in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Mr. Das becomes the first Indian to receive the Lifetime Libertarian Award since it was introduced as a distinct global honour in 2024. The award recognises individuals whose ideas and leadership have made a lasting contribution to the advancement of liberty worldwide.
The recognition highlights Mr. Das’s enduring contribution to public discourse on India’s economic evolution and the ideas that have shaped its growth story over the past three decades.
Founded in 1969, Liberty International is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing freedom through education and leadership development across more than 100 countries. In announcing the honour, the organisation cited Mr. Das’s “extraordinary contributions to the cause of liberty and his lifelong commitment to the principles of a free society.”
Mr. Das is best known for his bestselling books including India Unbound, which chronicled India’s economic transformation; The Difficulty of Being Good; as well as Another Sort of Freedom and The Dilemma of the Indian Liberal. His work has consistently explored themes of ethics, enterprise, reform, and India’s place in a rapidly changing world.
While being informed of the award, Mr Das stated, “I feel honoured. Imagine, to be rewarded for what you believe in your bones — what a stroke of luck!”
Before turning to writing full time, Mr. Das served as CEO of Procter & Gamble India and later as Managing Director for Strategic Planning at Procter & Gamble Worldwide. A graduate of Harvard University, he was later honoured with Phi Beta Kappa for high attainments in liberal scholarship. For more than two decades, he has also been associated with the Centre for Civil Society, contributing to work in education reform and livelihoods.
In addition to receiving the award, Mr. Das will deliver a keynote address at the conference, engaging with an international audience of scholars, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders from over 40 countries.
This global recognition underscores the growing international appreciation for Indian scholarship and ideas in shaping conversations on economic development, governance, and societal progress.
