NANI PALKHIVALA : A ROLE MODEL (3rd ed.

, 2009) selected and

edited by Maj. Gen. Nilendra Kumar, AVSM, VSM, Universal Law
Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., C-FF-1A, Dilkhush Industrial Estate, G.T. Karnal
Road, Delhi – 110033. Pp. xxiii+464. Price Rs. 495/-.
THE ABOVE book is a compilation of tributes and views of “eminent
personalities on the sterling qualities and contributions of Nani Palkhivala”,
an eminent jurist of this country. It is a collection posthumous festschrift
from eminent persons of different fields. Nani’s contribution to diverse
subjects like polity, economy, law and society is phenomenal and deserves
the praise liberally showered. Nani had acquired a distinguished status
among the erudite scholars by making significant contribution to the
constitutional law. He was a committed democrat and a champion of
human rights and laws. This book is a befitting tribute to a great citizen
of India. The book is biographical as it may sound, however, actually it is
not a biography, which means an analysis of more or less all the aspects
of the person at different stages of his life. Though this book is reflective
and descriptive of Nani’s personality, ideas and contributions, it is not as
comprehensive as a biography. As a matter of fact, a comprehensive
analysis of Nani and his works would require many such volumes.
The book has been divided into eleven unnumbered parts that analyse
Nani from different aspects. The first two parts have memoirs written by
some of the best lawyers/jurists of the country. The first part of the
book describes Nani as doyen of the legal profession. It has eight chapters
written by as many authors. The first chapter is written by M.C. Chagla
who remembers Nani as a ‘Brilliant Advocate’. This chapter is preceded
by a write up from A.P.J. Adbul Kalam who looks at the vision of Nani
by the title ‘Nani Palkhivala’s Dream’. Next chapter is written by Soli J.
Sorabjee who talks about the nature and character of Nani. Soli describes
Nani as “the greatest advocate” that he had known, and his “unsurpassable”
advocacy. The next chapter authored by Fali S. Nariman describes Nani
as a saviour soldier of our Constitution and democracy. In the later
chapters, K.K. Venugopal calls Nani a public figure, a man of principle,
discipline, hard work and perseverance; Murlidhar C. Bhandare calls him
a champion of human rights, human freedoms and free market as well as
Master of English and Persian Poems and used to recite Persian poem in

401
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order to explain Sufism through which he impressed about divine humanity;

T.R. Adharujina describes him as “a genius in advocacy”; Goolam E.
Vahanvati describes Nani as an excellent creation of God and P.P. Rao
recollects humorous incidents with Nani which reveals the other side of
Nani and is very informative.
The second part of the book is titled “Interpreter & Defender of the
Constitution”. This part begins with the write up of Somnath Chaterjee
who calls Nani as one of the best among the world followed by Ram
Jethmalani who eulogises Nani as “titan of the legal profession, a captain
of industry, a master of political economy and spiritually evolved human
being”. While Soli S. Sorabjee in this part again contributed a chapter
where he remembers Nani as protector of the Constitution of India,
Abhisekh Singhvi analyses the features which made Nani a great lawyer
and a great human being. Rajeev Dhawan confesses Nani as an
extraordinary lawyer. For him, Nani was one of the “exemplary human
beings and public statesman”. Anil B. Divan, while showing his personal
glimpses, remembers “Nani Palkhivala is no more but we the citizens of
India will continue to enjoy the blessings of liberty and the great
constitutional rights which he so successfully defended and preserved for
posterity”. Other contributors include Lalit Bhasin, Venkat Iyer and
Subhash C. Kashyap. The first two writers call Nani a Great Indian and
remarkable human. While Kashyap pays a tribute to the departed sole
remembering him “a great and the good human being”.
The third part titled “Patriot with Secular Outlook” has been written
by Manmohan Singh, Karan Singh, P.C. Alexander and S. Ramakrishnan.
All of them are great names who have paid great tributes to another
great (may be much greater) man. The fourth part contains the views of
eminent judges who have showered praise on Nani and is aptly titled
“Remembered by the Judges”. P.N. Bhagwati J remembers Nani in the
form of reminiscences’; R.S. Pathak J refers to Nani as an inspiration
who had “already become a legend” when the author was himself a
young student. V.R Krishna Iyer J wrote that Nani possessed “qualities
beyond the faculties of normal humans”. Sujata Manohar J in her tribute
to Nani exerts the young Indians to be inspired by Nani. Kamal Mehta J
talks about his humility. Vishnu Sahya J places him higher than mortal and
D.M. Sen spells him the unique personality who embodied the “best
thoughts of Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Islam”. Sen finds him “a
complete and total Indian-spiritually, intellectually and emotionally”.
“Corporate Visionary” is the title of the fifth part of the book. The
first chapter of this part is authored by Ratan Tata who humbly
2011] Book Reviews 403

acknowledges Nani’s ‘enormous contribution to the Tata group, which is

also the title of the chapter. Ajay G. Piramal describes him to be a
phenomenal in Indian publiic life in last four decades of the 20th century.
H.P. Raina remembers him as a legend. Tributes are also paid by Sucheta
Dalal and T. Damu. This part clearly describes and analyses some of the
aspects of Nani which a lawyer or a jurist may otherwise be unable to
assess.
There was yet another facet of Nani Palkhivala, that of an author. He
was a prolific writer and two of his most celebrated works are “We the
People” and “We the Nation – the last decades”. The clarity of thought (which
is a sine qua non for the class of advocacy, Nani practised) was reflected
not only in his oratory but also in his writings. The books or articles by
Nani were clear, precise, with a message and a possible vision. And so is
the sixth part of the book aptly titled “Renowned author and thinker”.
This part has the first chapter by his first cousin, C.R. Irani and could be
a source of inspiration for any reader: the way Nani overcame his stand
and writing problems, etc. to become one of the greatest orators and a
brilliant writer. The second chapter is by Kuldip Nayyar who writes that
Nani “seldom has such genius stalked the land of India with dignity and
discretion”. Other contributors in this part include Vasant Sathe, Ashok
H. Desai, Bansi S. Mehta, Dadi B. Engineer, M.G. Arora and Gurjeet
Singh who throw lights on different facets of Nani’s personality.
The seventh part is titled “Versatile Personality” and its chapters are
authored by L.M. Singhvi, M.R. Pai, S. Ramakrishnan, S.P. Sathe, J.N.
Dixit, V. Laxmikantham, B.M. Hegde and Shyamla Pappu. The eighth
part is titled “Communicator and Orator” and contributed by Fali S.
Nariman, M.R. Shroff, Iqbal Chagla, Dinesh Vyas, J.E. Dastur and S.
Divakara. “Role Model for Tax Consultants”, is the title of the ninth
part. Yogendra P Trivedi, J.P. Shah, Janak Raj Jai, T.D. Sugla, U.T. Shah,
Kanishk H. Kaji and P.N. Shah have contributed different chapters,
respectively. This part emphasis Nani’s budget speeches and his role as a
tax consultant, etc. “Great Personal Attributes” forms the tenth part of
the book which focusses on the personal aspects of Nani. Atal Bihari
Bajpayee, R.M. Lala, P.R. Brahmananda, Behram A. Palkhivala, Dhan B.
Palkhivala, Arvinder Singh, B.K. Khare, Jehangir B. Palkhivala and Ramesh
Chandra Chaturvedi with his Hindi title Punya Smaran have contributed to
this part which makes the part melancholy since it deals with last stage of
Nani’s life and related problem.
The last part of the book titled “In the Eyes of the Armed Forces”
has been written by the armed force personnel of our country. With
404 Journal of the Indian Law Institute Vol. 53 : 2

them, Nani shared a special relationship based on mutual respect. Nani

considered the Indian armed forces as equal to any force in the world
and was actively engaged with activities connected with their welfare.
This part has four chapters, one each written by Lt. General M L Chibber
Lt. General A.M. Sethna (Retd.), Lt. Gen. K. Chandrasekharan AVSM
(Retd.) and Maj. Gen. Nilendra Kumar himself. The table of prominent
cases in which Nani appeared, acknowledgments and bibliography of
contributors with index lends a great credibility to the book.
A reader must surely read the back cover page of the book which
describes Nani’s desire when he dies. A simple reading would reflect the
humanity and compassion that the legend possessed. A perusal of it
would enable the reader to better appreciate Nani, his ideas and strive
for excellence. The authors of the book are from different backgrounds
as aforesaid. They are also of different age and experience and have
interacted with Nani at different stages and capacities. This lends a great
variety to the contents and style of writing and its flavour. The variety,
however, is restricted thus far and does not extend to the praise or even
the degree of praise for Nani.
The book also has a collection of rare photographs procured by the
editor with great efforts. The photographs have been randomly collected.
The total of 51 photographs include photographs of Nani’s childhood,
youth, adult, middle and old age. These also include his photographs
with some of the most successful politicians, spiritual leaders, his lawyers
days, his felicitation, personal office, his budget meeting, press conference,
as scholar, as a diplomat, with the armed forces with his wife Nargesh
and, finally, the photograph of the poster that an obliged society had put
at the demise of Nani
‘We the nation’
‘We the people’
Have lost a Legend.
The book on the life and writings of initiator of the doctrine of basic
structure of the Constitution may especially inspire the youths: law-students
and lawyers, to keep the world’s largest democracy functionally, intact
and vibrant. The book under review throws enough light on the secrets
of Nani’s success.
Furqan Ahmad*

* M.A. (Sociology), LL.M., Ph.D., Associate Research Professor, The Indian Law
Institute, New Delhi. Email: f2ahmad2@gmail.com