yazadjal.com

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation brings news of two think tanks. The Indian Liberal Group, Kerala and the Alternate Solutions Institute in Pakistan.

The ILG, Kerala is an offshoot of the Indian Liberal Group based in Bombay but they seem to be doing some work. The site’s patchy, but does throw some light on their activities and the construction of a permanent base in their “Freedom House

The Alternate Solutions Institute has no website so I’ll copy what’s posted on Atlas’s site (as it’s in a “news” area and the link might be unstable).

Pakistan now has its first free-market think tank, Alternate Solutions Institute, thanks to the efforts and commitment of Khalil Ahmad. The institute is located in Lahore, a city of the Punjab province with a rich history as a leading intellectual center. The motto of this new non-profit, non-political educational institute is “Welfare of the People By the People.” Its mission is to seek solutions to the challenges in the areas of economics, law, education and health in accordance with the principles of classical liberalism, and to promote the implementation of these solutions. In short, Alternate Solutions Institute aims at promoting the concept of a limited responsible government in Pakistan under the rule of law protecting life, liberty, and property of all of its individual citizens.

To achieve these ends, the Institute will engage in the translation and publishing of relevant texts from other languages into Urdu; preparation of original research, suggesting particular solutions to particular challenges; and conducting seminars, workshops and conferences to educate interested students, teachers, and journalists in the principles of classical liberalism. For more information, contact the institute at asinstitute@hotmail.com.

The news is very encouraging as Pakistan needs such an Institute which I hope will do work similar to the Centre for Civil Society in New Delhi. We libertarians need the mortar that such institutions provide in building a free society from the morass of socialism and authoritarianism. Bravo to both ILG, Kerala and Alternate Solutions Institute!