Reading Nani Palkhivala

The last two days having been nothing short of agony. I was itching to write about a book I was reading, yet unable to put the book down long enough to write. Then when I finally sat down to write, my mind was whirring with numerous ideas, thoughts, phrases, quotes and maxims that I was unable to establish a coherent line of thought essential to writing.

Reading Nani Palkhivala’s “We, the people” has been sheer ecstasy - the language is mesmerizing, thoughts stunning and the passion palpable. Writing on everything from the deplorable political scenario in the late sixties and seventies(what would he have to say of now, I wonder), taxation laws, economic policies, constitutional law and judicial independence, the expanse of his interests is mind-boggling. It has been a long time since I was last tempted to pepper my sentences with adjectives, but this time around I can’t seem to help it.

Nani Palkhivala, doesn’t need an introduction to the generation that grew up anytime from the sixties to eighties. For the benefit of our generation, which had the misfortune of missing him, here is a short introduction (even though there is a wikipedia link earlier, it doesn't hurt does it?). Palkhivala’s columns in the Illustrated Weekly, the Times of India were an important, if not defining, part of the public opinion of those days. A lawyer by profession, an economist by passion and Indian at heart, he was an intellectual who blurred the boundaries of various disciplines of social sciences and was able to bring out the linkages between them in human society. He argued some of the landmark cases of Independent India, ensuring the fundamental rights of the citizens and the constitutional principles were upheld in the courts of law. Further, his budget analysis every year was listened to in rapt attention by scores in Bombay, surpassing the attention paid to the Finance Minister’s actual budget proposal. The newspapers reported these budget analyses in more detail than they did the obfuscated jargon in the Finance Minister’s speech. He was Indian Ambassador to the United States and held a number on important positions in the public arena.

Palkhivala stresses over and over again, one basic law – the laws of economics cannot be repealed. He infuses an understanding of human psychology to economics, which ensures the laws of economics are applied in the right context. His thoughts on economics are simple yet compelling. Civilization is driven by man’s motivation to work, and where man lacks the incentive to work, civilization stagnates. This single idea encapsulates human psychology, sociology and economics. He spoke and wrote relentlessly over the decades to stress the exorbitant rates of personal income tax takes away the motivation to work and save. On another side, excessive corporate tax coupled with cheap borrowing by the government meant less and less capital for new ventures by the businesses thus stifling enterprise. He called for coherent and comprehensible economic policy and stability in fiscal policy before looking forward to fiscal stability in the economy. He reiterated that businesses and investors need stability in policy to plan for their business development activities. He thrashed at the mistaken notion of socialism taken to simply mean dilution of wealth. The section of the Union budgets titled “A supreme ironic procession” is an enlightening read that captures the themes of economic policies followed from the late 1950s to early 1980s.

Moving on the section on democracy and education, his central theme recurring through his speeches, writings and his entire life is explicitly visible. His belief is singular – “Indians are an exceptionally gifted people”, and his lament, he notes with disbelief and despair, the mess we have made of our “tryst with destiny”. He acknowledges the achievement of remaining a functioning democracy, but refuses to compromise with just that. He sets the yardsticks and urges us to rise to our potential. He is never cynical and holds on firmly to his belief in the abilities of Indians.

Talking about various personalities – judges, teachers, lawyers and leaders, he writes so as to urge us to take inspiration from them. And it is through this book that I got my first real introduction to some personalities, whose names I have heard or read in the passing earlier, but had no idea of their achievements and contributions to our country.

Palkhivala quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, Disreali, Robert L Stevenson, Lincoln and many others. He quotes not just fancy lines but also meaningful verses. But it is Palkhivala’s own words that hold the greatest charm for me. And my favourite is,

“You must not desert the ship because you cannot control the winds.”

All this before I have delved into his real forte – law. Having glimpsed at the width of his knowledge, now I am set to dive into the depths and details – the sections on law and constitutional issues.