Remembering Nani Palkhivala
December 11, marks the fifth death anniversary of Nani Palkhivala, preeminent lawyer, constitutional and tax expert, towering intellectual, charming public speaker, a firm believer in human rights and democracy, a champion of private enterprise and above all a fine human being, who was humility personified. He was a shining star in the Tata group, having been on the board of several Tata companies, all of which he graced with distinction. Not for nothing was he hailed as the conscience of the nation.
Born into a middle class Parsi family of Bombay in 1920, he was to make a mark on the judicial firmament in later years ,by the power of his intellect, the force of his advocacy, and the command over the English language. He strode the corridors of the Bombay high court like a colossus. Success and high office never went to his head, and he was at his best when defending the country on issues of national importance at the international courts of justice. If today, the basic structure of our constitution is intact, then it is thanks to his mercurial performance before the Supreme court in the Kesavananda Bharti case. Justice HR Khanna rightly described him as one who would easily find a place among the top ten lawyers in the world. He was one who followed the dictates of his conscience to the last word, which was amply demonstrated when he returned Indira Gandhi’s brief on her imposing emergency, and also when he refused the offer of the attorney general post. His grasp of the intricacies of law, and his ability to comprehend and translate into simple thought and words, finer and complicated aspects of cases he fought, made him a formidable exponent of advocacy at its very best. It used to be commonly said that in the courts of M.C.Chagla, a former chief justice of the Bombay High court, no case was decided until the last word was spoken. If that were so, it could easily be similarly said, that no case could be decided, until Palkhivala had submitted his full argument.
What endeared him to the masses was his year on year dissection of the Union budget, where he spoke on the tax implications of the budget, fearlessly pointing to the Government in power where it had gone wrong and where it went slow. An ardent critic of the Government for its high taxes and stifling of private enterprise, his opinions and arguments were always backed by facts and figures, and laced with the felicity of expression that came naturally to him. A dry subject like the Budget, in Palkhivala’s hands, turned into an important event on the Bombay calendar, what with people from all walks of life turning up at Brabourne stadium, to hear him at his very best. His speeches were liberally sprinkled with anecdotes, quotes from the likes of Edmund Burke,Coleridge,G.K.Chesterton,Shakespeare et al and a good dose of humour, appropriate to the context. Add to this,his phenomenal memory and erudition. and you had a brilliant display of public speaking in India. He was widely believed to be the best Finance minister India never had, and served as India’s ambassador to the US with dignity and distinction. To know that Rajaji held him in high regard, gives us a measure of the man he was.
Being from the Parsi community, Philanthropy was in his genes, and he contributed liberally to causes he held dear to his heart. A case in point is his munificence to Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai, whose service to the cause of eye care in this country, greatly impressed him. His self effacing nature and humility always kept people with whom he came in contact, at ease, and endeared him to one and all.
The least we can do is to remember him in the words of the poet James Russell Lowell who said :
‘His magic was not far to seek,
He was human,
Wherever he met a stranger,
There he left a friend.’.
Palkhivala may be dead but his legacy lives on.
Born into a middle class Parsi family of Bombay in 1920, he was to make a mark on the judicial firmament in later years ,by the power of his intellect, the force of his advocacy, and the command over the English language. He strode the corridors of the Bombay high court like a colossus. Success and high office never went to his head, and he was at his best when defending the country on issues of national importance at the international courts of justice. If today, the basic structure of our constitution is intact, then it is thanks to his mercurial performance before the Supreme court in the Kesavananda Bharti case. Justice HR Khanna rightly described him as one who would easily find a place among the top ten lawyers in the world. He was one who followed the dictates of his conscience to the last word, which was amply demonstrated when he returned Indira Gandhi’s brief on her imposing emergency, and also when he refused the offer of the attorney general post. His grasp of the intricacies of law, and his ability to comprehend and translate into simple thought and words, finer and complicated aspects of cases he fought, made him a formidable exponent of advocacy at its very best. It used to be commonly said that in the courts of M.C.Chagla, a former chief justice of the Bombay High court, no case was decided until the last word was spoken. If that were so, it could easily be similarly said, that no case could be decided, until Palkhivala had submitted his full argument.
What endeared him to the masses was his year on year dissection of the Union budget, where he spoke on the tax implications of the budget, fearlessly pointing to the Government in power where it had gone wrong and where it went slow. An ardent critic of the Government for its high taxes and stifling of private enterprise, his opinions and arguments were always backed by facts and figures, and laced with the felicity of expression that came naturally to him. A dry subject like the Budget, in Palkhivala’s hands, turned into an important event on the Bombay calendar, what with people from all walks of life turning up at Brabourne stadium, to hear him at his very best. His speeches were liberally sprinkled with anecdotes, quotes from the likes of Edmund Burke,Coleridge,G.K.Chesterton,Shakespeare et al and a good dose of humour, appropriate to the context. Add to this,his phenomenal memory and erudition. and you had a brilliant display of public speaking in India. He was widely believed to be the best Finance minister India never had, and served as India’s ambassador to the US with dignity and distinction. To know that Rajaji held him in high regard, gives us a measure of the man he was.
Being from the Parsi community, Philanthropy was in his genes, and he contributed liberally to causes he held dear to his heart. A case in point is his munificence to Sankara Nethralaya in Chennai, whose service to the cause of eye care in this country, greatly impressed him. His self effacing nature and humility always kept people with whom he came in contact, at ease, and endeared him to one and all.
The least we can do is to remember him in the words of the poet James Russell Lowell who said :
‘His magic was not far to seek,
He was human,
Wherever he met a stranger,
There he left a friend.’.
Palkhivala may be dead but his legacy lives on.
I really respected adv nani palkhiwala!! you have writtne exlent artical. which provids information about "how nani sir was" i had never seen nani sir's photo as such but on this blog i saw & i felt myself great!!!
ReplyDeletethanks a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!