MADURAI: Referring to the increasing trend of branding everyone not agreeing with a particular line of thought as unpatriotic, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal, said that India was passing through its most critical phase in the post-Independence era.
Inaugurating the 12th national conference of All India Lawyers’ Union (AILU) here on Tuesday, he said that the fundamental reasons that led the country to obtain swaraj were being threatened.
Recalling the mutual respect and admiration leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru had for one another despite their differences, he said non-agreement in opinion was never a reason for them to judge a person’s patriotism. “Every one in the country is patriotic by birth. It need not be put to test. What can instead be tested are honesty, fairness and our treatment of fellow human beings,” he said, adding that patriotism was a sentiment and should never become an ideology.
Speaking about the recent Supreme Court judgement on playing national anthem in movie halls, he said that he was happy about the discussion it had triggered on the desirability of a natural feeling of nationalism instead of ‘obligatory nationalism.’ “Love for India is my pride. Love for India should not be made my legal obligation,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi urged the lawyers to work towards addressing the plight of undertrials and fight custodial torture, which, he said, had become a standard procedure in criminal investigation in the country.
Asserting that lawyers should have the same commitment to the litigants as a doctor should have for a patient, he appealed to them to avoid unruly behaviour at times by a section of their fraternity since it affected the people and the judicial system.
Recollecting the role played by lawyers in the freedom struggle, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, president of AILU, said that lawyers concerned about the hardships of common man should organise themselves to fight for democracy and social justice.
Pointing out that 2016 was somewhat turbulent for the judiciary with the suspension of many lawyers protesting for legitimate issues and the discussions on reforms needed in judicial appointments, N.G.R. Prasad, Tamil Nadu president of AILU, appealed to lawyers to work for bringing an all-round improvement in the judiciary and to protect the country’s vibrant democracy and secularism.
Highlighting the close ties between India and Bangladesh, Subrata Chowdhury of Democratic Lawyers’ Association of Bangladesh, said that India would always have his gratitude for its crucial role in the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. He said that both the AILU and the DLAB were on the same footing in their ideals.
