VOICE of reason, of conscience, they say, never dies. Therefore, the spiritual voice of Mr. Fali S. Nariman will never die -- and will keep stirring our collective conscience all the time to come. For, when he strode the world’s legal and constitutional stage for seven long decades, he did nothing but keep offering his well-reasoned argument to keep intact and unaffected the nation’s conscience on issues whose variety was just mind-boggling. His passing away at 95, therefore, comes as a moment filled with unforgettable grief. We bow our head to the memory of the tremendous genius tinged with an unwavering sense of morality that Advocate Fali Sam Nariman symbolised. That Mr. Fali Nariman was a leading lawyer and made good fortune in his long career, however, was only an incidental detail. What mattered most was the aplomb with which he pursued the idea of liberty as a core value of human existence. For sure, however, what he pushed for was not just the unilateral idea of liberty in its thoughtless absoluteness. Much to the contrary, he advocated the idea of responsible freedom buoyed by human dignity on all sides of the central point. Mr. Nariman, thus, interpreted the Constitution or the law from that stand-point -- unmitigated by fear or favour. That became his signature, that became his style, that became his substance.

 

That was the reason why Mr. Nariman became an eternal presence wherever and whenever issues related to human rights, national sovereignty, individual liberty, power of state, freedom of judiciary were involved. His opinion had an importance of its own, and the nation -- the larger Indian society -- felt obliged to follow his advice, no matter how critical the issue was. Even as a young lawyer, therefore, Mr. Fali Sam Nariman became an important contributor to the thought of freedom of expression as a core idea on whose foundation stands democracy. Such a person is no more. No matter that, Death cannot take away the immortality of Mr. Fali S. Nariman’s association with the libertarian idea and non-partisan public discourse. He will remain spiritually present wherever the idea comes up for discussion and discourse. What marked people of Mr. Fali Nariman’s calibre from those days was their superior human expression. They really knew the criticality of language -- spoken or written -- as the most potent means of communication. So, they used language with aplomb, with a sense of complete responsibility, with the idea of making the best use of the gift of the gab for furtherance of human interest.

 

This ability of Mr. Nariman reflected so well in his books, most of which became trail-blazers in their own way. His memoir -- Before The Memory Fades -- became an instant best-seller for the simple reason that in those pages and between those covers he revealed himself fully. His other books -- The State Of The Nation; India’s Legal System: Can It Be saved?; God Save The Hon’ble Supreme Court -- also made the top grade in reader-acceptance and critical reviews. That was so even in his public speeches and judicial encounters. For, no matter his ideological positions from time to the time (with which some of us might not have agreed), Mr. Fali Nariman was known to make a point beyond his terribly small personalised circle of interests. He was an intellectual of highest order, and a man of high-voltage courage and conscience. ‘The Hitavada’ joins the nation in paying tributes to the man of such merit -- and expresses a fond hope that such persons will continue blessing the nation.