ISIL's Freedom Torch Medal, which is awarded to individuals
who have made significant contributions to the international movement for individual liberty, was
presented this year to Barun Mitra of New Delhi, India.
The announcement was made at the ISIL world conference in
Rotorua, New Zealand in July of this year, but unfortunately Mitra was unable to attend to receive the
award personally.
Mitra is founder and director of the Liberty Institute (a non-
profit, independent public-policy research and educational organization based in New Delhi, India).
The Institute is dedicated to promoting market-based responses to
contemporary social and economic and environmental issues with the aim of promoting awareness of the
institutional pillars of a free society – individual rights, the rule of law, limited government,
and free markets.
Prior to founding the Liberty Institute, Mr. Mitra was a
freelance journalist and had graduated as an electrical engineer in 1981. He also has a post-graduate degree
in Marine engineering, and had sailed as a marine engineer on merchant ships for some years. In the late
1980s, he spent three years on a project in a remote village in coastal districts of West Bengal state in
Eastern India, where he experienced rural poverty directly, and as a result came to develop an
understanding of agricultural issues.
He has edited a volume: Population – The Ultimate Resource,
(published by the Liberty Institute) which was awarded the 2001 Sir Antony Fisher Memorial International Prize
for the best book from a new think tank.
Mitra has also worked with ISIL director Ken Schoolland to
produce Hindi, Bengali and localized English versions of the now-famous
The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey,
and has been working to have the book included in India's public-school course of study.
The seminars hosted by Mitra's Liberty Institute have had a
strong influence on individuals from both India and African countries. ISIL rep James Shikwati
(Inter-Regional Economic Network – Kenya)
and ISIL member Thompson Ayodele (Institute of Public Policy Analysis – Nigeria
are members of his network of individuals working to break the bonds of poverty in their countries
– and both have attended Mitra's seminars in New Delhi.
Mitra has also embarked on speaking tours in East Africa – in
support of James Shikwati's think tank and has defended free trade at WTO meetings in Seattle and Cancun.
In recent years, Mitra has held Liberty Camps similar to those
held by ISIL Rep Virgus Daukas in Lithuania – only in the foothills of the Himalayas. Last year
just under 100 students attended.
We are greatly honored to have such a dedicated and principled
individual in our liberty team. Congratulations, Barun.
International Society for Individual Liberty
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Barun Mitra Winner of Freedom Torch Award
