Gandhi actually often mocked at the socialists and communists. In fact he was very much against exorbitant government taxation. His whole civil disobedience movement (of not paying taxes, producing their own clothes and salt march) was aimed at bypassing the government protected British industries so Indian villages can create their own economic model independent of the government.
Secondly it wasn't the Hindu nationalists who moved India to free market. It was the Congress party which did it. The current Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh who was then the Finance Minister is credited at the architect of the modern Indian economy who first took India towards economic liberalization. As thus he has been elected for second term to serve as the current Prime Minister of India.
As for what your friend told you...... dont forget... of the four war that Pakistan lost against India, 3 were fought at the time of Nehru-Gandhi socialist era. Pakistan was handed their worst defeat and was dismembered in 1971 (inspite of American, Chinese and Arab military backing) at the peak of Indian socialism under Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi gave India nukes in 1974. And this woman knew how to take on terrorists both Kashmiri and Sikh.
In contrast the so-called "Hindu nationalist" sat on their ass and buckled under US pressure when Pakistan attacked Kargill (India), hijacked a place to Kandhar and after that attacked the Indian parliament.
I for one wont diss Gandhi and Congress quickly.
You make several good but debatable points.
I did not know Gandhi mocked socialists. Wonder why he picked Nehru as his golden boy, since the latter was very much a socialist. Your comment?
You are right about Congress moving India to free market, but only after they were pushed to the wall.
Agree with you about the “Hindu nationalists” - from what I have read, they are milquetoast, but then my knowledge base in this regard is not the greatest.
Singh is a socialist who has imposed job creating schemes and run up a huge debt after he took power. India's economy has been slipping in the past 5 years. I've been to India in the 90s and it was all talk back then. I recall it was all about implementing IMF policies at that time and India was in a rut. I recall seeing a lot of poverty. Singh worked under another guy who was the leader and who wanted free market in his country, but that did not happen due to the rest of his Congress Party who are all socialists. They threw out the free market guy in the 1990s and reverted to socialism.
Later when the Hindu nationalists came to power, they opened up the markets and the boom took place. I know this because I had to visit India once again during this period.