Independence Day Message delivered on 15th August 2010

By

Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kurian Joseph

Chief Justice, High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla

63 years ago we, the people of India made a tryst with destiny and thus today, we are the citizens of a free nation, BHARAT, a sovereign, socialist and democratic country with 28 States, 7 Union Territories having an area of 3.3 million square kilometers, with a population of around 1,200 million, with 24 official languages apart from 844 identified different dialects, with roots for all religions known to the world and having average of life expectancy of 65 years. Diverse though thus on the basis of language, religion and culture, united we are as Indians. We are now proud of being built as a Nation on the noble values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. We must not forget the decades long freedom struggle and the ultimate victory with the service and sacrifice of men and women, known and un-known who bravely walked to the gallows or faced bullets or embraced voluntary exile. I pay our homage to all those great men, who sacrificed their life for making us a free Nation. I salute the memory of the great leaders and especially that of the Father of Nation, MAHATMA GANDHI. I share the deep sense of pride, courage and gratitude along with you all for being a free Indian.

2. We can legitimately take pride of our great achievements which extend even to the outer space. The significant progress that we made in the field of Agriculture, Health, Education, Information and Communication Technology etc. cannot be side-lined. Even the remotest village is now connected to the main stream. There is also remarkable growth in the standard of living of common man. Yet, with all these we are still a developing country. The sole searching question is, how far we have succeeded in the tryst that we made with the destiny. Have we been able to rise up to the dreams of our founding fathers? With erosion of values, criminalization of politics, de-ethicalized professions, the rural masses unable to yet breath the free air, disintegrating forces flourishing within the country, the fading spirit of patriotism and Indianness, the virus of casteism and corruption etc. can we claim that we have fought with destiny and proved ourselves to be BHARAT worth its foundational philosophy of DHARMA? In this examination of conscience, I see more fingers turning to ourselves. As William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar states “Men at some time are masters of their fate: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves”. 

3. The disturbing question is whether we have such a sense of social commitment and whether we share the collective responsibility to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity to the people of the country in particular, the marginalized sections of the society who really form `we the people of India’. In this context I may draw your special attention to one particular area where we, the members of the legal fraternity, have a special call, a challenging call in the field of combating corruption, In the Ruby Jubilee memorial lecture delivered by Justice Dr. M. Rama Jois, M.P., it is stated thus:
“Today after six decades of independence, a great situation has arisen in which it has become necessary for the Nation to wage a war against corruption and win or die”. 

4. I honestly feel that we are not able to rise up to the expectations of the people. To some extent, I also feel that whether we really lack the courage of conviction. As one belonging to a noble profession with the authority to stand and plead for the cause of people, ours is a unique profession and as the Bhishma Acharya of the profession, Sh. Fali S. Nariman states “if lawyers are to be educators, they must be trend-setters inspiring public confidence”. Do we really have this?

5. According to the doyen of the Bar, our profession suffers from ethical bankruptcy and hence re-ethicalisation of lawyering is the need of the hour. To quote “One most serious aspect facing the legal profession is that the legal education system appears to have lost its ethical content. The education of a practicing lawyer (you must remember) never ceases. It continues throughout his career, and I would suggest that the national bar associations adopt a three-point programme”
First, the urgent need to re-discover and reaffirm the profession’s `moral foundation’ (that will help refurbish its image). 
Second, to inculcate ethical principles in the minds of young lawyers (and do remember, people learn best by example, not by precept). 
Third, to promote morally responsible and responsive lawyering, or as they say, `Make lawyers good’. (Before Memory Fades….. The autobiography of Sh. Fali S. Nariman)

6. It is my fervent request to the members of the Bar and all those who are connected and concerned with the profession that we have to redeem the image of our noble profession or else the people would lose faith ultimately in the judicial system as such. We are called to take up the cause of others. The people repose confidence in us as keepers and protectors of their cause. When a society where corruption has spread like cancer, we have a great role to play and we only can play that challenging role. 

7. History reveals that lawyers have played a major role in wrestling the reins of power from the Colonial Masters. It is astonishing, that they took the Law, as crafted by the British Rulers and used it as an effective and efficient weapon, against the British Rule. They relied upon the strength of character, the depth of wisdom and the clarity of thought, which they acquired during the course of their preparation, for entering the field of law. The character moulding process of their legal education, projected them as spontaneous leaders of the people, the leaders who could espouse the cause of the common man and who could consolidate the common determination to fight against Foreign Rule. Many of them abandoned their profession as a sacrifice to the Freedom Movement. We forever should remember MAHATMA GANDHI, MOTILAL NEHRU, PANDIT JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU, DR. RAJENDRA PRASAD, GOPALAKRISHNA GOKHALE, BALGANGADHAR TILAK, SARDAR VALLABHAI PATEL and many such stalwarts, who were all lawyer leaders and who were the architects of our freedom. 

8. To quote Dr. Rama Jois from the lecture, “In the war against corruption lawyers and Judges have to take the lead. Notwithstanding moral degradation set in among them, they have a capacity to rise to the occasion over-coming their greed. They should do so in response to the call of the nation as they are NYAYAVADIS (those who plead for justice) and NYAYADHEESHAS (those who deliver justice). Judges at all levels should take oath that under no circumstances they will fall a prey to corruption and the oath taken should be upper most in their mind which itself gives immunity against corruption. Lawyers who played an important role during freedom struggle should be in the fore front in the war to be waged against corruption. They should remain true to their profession. In fighting corruption Lawyers are better placed and are in a position to inspire and influence all others and also because it is the duty which is required to be discharged by them if they are true to their profession.” 

9. In this context, I would also like to make a passing observation that corruption is not to be understood only in terms of financial embezzlement. There are several other facets of corruption. Failure to discharge one’s own duty or perform the DHARMA is also corruption. In democracy, like India, every citizen has an insubstitutable role to pay. Unfortunately, we have understood that role only in terms of our rights. The Constitutional values of justice, liberty and equality, we understand and interpret only for establishing the rights granted and guaranteed under the Constitution. But, one of the most important components of the democratic values, namely fraternity, we ignore. Fraternity assures the dignity of the individual. It stands for and calls for unity and integrity of the Nation. In that great call, every citizen of this country has a pro-active role to play and that is the need of the hour, to build a united India. Yes, India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters. But, are we prepared to make sacrifices for building up the great BHARAT, by taking care of our brothers and sisters? As Sh. Fali S. Nariman has cautioned, “when settled principle and norms of decent behaviour are set at naught, when established conventions are thrown to the winds, no Constitution not even the best worded can work. In such a situation, democracy tends to commit suicide.” Therefore, success of democracy is in our hands, in our decent behaviour in society. That is Dharma. 

10. Our elders were prepared to sacrifice their lives to lead us to freedom, to get rid of slavery. In the continuous process of building up a free Nation, we have to play our role in adopting democracy as a way of life, in pledging to abide by the Constitution and to respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem, to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom; to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so; to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women; to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture; to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creates; to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform; to safeguard public property and to abjure violence; to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement; or provide opportunities for education to the children. These are our fundamental duties. This is what we owe to the country in return to the guaranteed rights this country grants us. There is no right and there shall be no right without a duty. 

11. It is our own inaction, laches and lapses which is the root cause for all the maladies that we see in our society . Failure to perform one’s DHARMA to the fellow-men and to the country at large, according to me, is also another form of corruption. We are really conscious of our democratic rights, but callously ignore our democratic duties. Consequently, we do not really experience the true democracy. As Dr. Justice V.S. Malimath observed in the Ruby Jubilee lecture delivered in this court, “our democracy presently is not truly democratic since the people, particularly the educated and enlightened do not exercise their franchise”. I feel this situation has led to the criminalization of politics to a large extent. We must take a pledge today that we will diligently perform our democratic duties as well, while pursuing our democratic rights. Such due diligence will to a large extent, make the country corruption free. All those who are in authority must take a pledge to serve the people under their care and become more sensitive to the needs of others. All of us should honestly and earnestly work for the development and prosperity of our Nation. 

12. It is nothing but a call for national service. Only when we discharge that duty, we can legitimately feel proud of belonging to this great Nation. It is such a feeling of patriotism that we have to develop as our national religion. India is my country and my country is a great country.

     "Bharat Mera Hai Aur Mera Bharat Mahan Hai"

JAI HIND