Giving up a lucrative legal practice, Rajaji as he was popularly known, joined the Congress and was prime minister of the Madras Presidency and the first Indian Governor-General. From the late 1950s onwards, he remained a great educator of liberal values through the columns of the weekly, Swarajya. Founder of the Swatantra Party, he continually spelt out the liberal principles underlying the party. An ardent free enterpriser, he believed in a mixed economy, with the state playing a role in the sphere of infrastructure development. He believed in dharma in politics, in other words, spiritualising politics. This was not based on any narrow religious principles, but in terms of value-based politics. He would often cite both the Sermon on the Mount and verses from the Bhagwad Gita to make his point.