The Wit & Wisdom of Nani A. Palkhivala

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nani a. palkhivala, a multitalented personality, played diverse roles in his life lawyer, diplomat, orator, author, political and economic thinker, and social reformer. an advocate of civil liberties, he proactively defended the constitution and the principles enshrined in it.

This book contains select quotations classified subjectwise under various chapters from his writings and speeches over six decades of his working life. the book introduces the man through his thoughts and ideas with the aim of inspiring readers, particularly the youth.

Born on 12 June 1963, Iignesh R. Shah (BCom, LLB. FCA) is a lawyer practising before the High Court and the IncomeTax Appellate Tribunal, specializing in direct tax laws. In a thirty-year professional career, he has authored numerous articles. research papers and a book on taxation, Taxation of Firms and Partners, and has contributed substantially to kanga & Palkhivala's The Law & Practice of Income Tax (ninth edition); He is a regular speaker in seminars on taxation.

This book is a tribute to his role model Nani A. Plalkhivala.

Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala (16 January 1920-11 December 2002) was a multitalented personality who played diverse roles in his rich life-lawyer, corporate director, diplomat, author, orator, political and economic thinker, and social reformer. His intellectual integrity, professional excellence and impeccable moral values made him a role model for an entire generation of Indians. A champion of civil liberties, he single-handedly defended the Constitution-and the citizens' rights under it-from the ill-intended amendments by the governments of the 1970s and 1980s, which aimed to give unlimited power to Parliament to alter the basic structure of the Constitution. He was one of the most influential intellectuals of his time who gave generously of his thoughts and his services to his country and countrymen. A brilliant orator, he became very popular even among common people with his annual budget speeches, delivered all over the country, in which he fearlessly tore apart the unprogressive economic policies and tyrannical taxation policies of the governments at the helm for over three decades. His contribution will be remembered for all time to come by the people of this country. But success and popularity did not change his character. He retained his innate humility, humanity and generosity all through his life. He was a philanthropist, and his spirituality transcended religious boundaries.

Many books have been written by him and about him, including a biography. This book contains select quotations-classified subject-wise under various chapters-from his writings and speeches over six decades of his working life. It has been brought out for those who did not have the advantage of hearing him. It is an effort to introduce him and his thoughts on a variety of subjects to a new generation. The book contains the distilled essence of Nani Palkhivala's wit and wisdom, the concise nature of the book making it more accessible.

This book originated as an idea in the mind of Nani Palkhivala's younger brother Behram Palkhivala, who is almost ninety years old now. Behram Palkhivala, himself a renowned lawyer and writer, had preserved with meticulous care, in six large boxes, most of the writings and speeches of Nani Palkhivala-by way of convocation addresses, budget speeches, interviews to the press, the chairman's statements (he was the chairman of ACC Ltd. for twenty-five years) and his other public lectures and articles in various newspapers and journals, such as The Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Illustrated Weekly of India, The Economic Times, Sunday Standard, Janmabhoomi, Jam-e-Jamshed, Sanj Vartaman, Mid-Day, Afternoon, The Evening News, Himmat, India Today, Bhavan's Journal and booklets published by the Forum of Free Enterprise.

Due to his advancing age and depleting energy, Behram Palkhivala felt he would not be able to undertake this book on his own. He therefore suggested that I take over the compilation of the book. He had, however, marked various quotations in the text of each article and speech which seemed worthy of being included. I picked up the boxes from his home and prepared the manuscript. We had long sessions at his home-discussing and debating which quotations to include and which to omit, and under which head or chapter, and in which sequence, the quotations should go. I prepared several drafts of the manuscript, and we went through many rounds of painstaking proofreading. For me, this journey of about a year with Behram Palkhivala was immensely educative and enriching-not only on the various subjects this book deals with, but also on the English language, grammar, punctuation, the art of writing, proofreading and, above all, on how to live life. Behram Palkhivala is a noble soul completely devoted to spirituality. He is humility personified and has always shunned publicity of any kind. He therefore did not allow his name to be credited as the author of this book. During the preparation of this book, I was amazed at the sharpness of his mind and his desire for excellence even at this age. He could quickly locate the minutest spelling errors, though his eyes could not bear the strain of reading. It would not be an exaggeration to state that this book is more his than it is mine. I have only been an instrument in fulfilling his long-cherished desire of bringing out this book. For conferring upon me the honour of being associated with this book and for showering his affection on me, I shall forever remain indebted to him.

I sincerely thank Mrs Rashmi Jehangir Palkhivala for her creative suggestions and the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust for their support in getting this book published.

In the end, I fervently hope that this book will serve to be great source of inspirations to thr youth of this country.

During his working life of over sixty years, my brother, the late Nani A. Palkhivala, gave unsparingly of himself and his thoughts to the country and the people, mainly through his writings and speeches. I have carefully preserved a sizeable portion of his articles, speeches and interviews to the media, and numerous write-ups on him in which he was quoted.

I had long been thinking of collating select quotations from his works so that his evocative words, pithy expressions and enlightened views may reach the younger generation and also be preserved for posterity. While I was in active practice, time was the constraint for me; after retirement, energy was the constraint. The project therefore remained in my heart but could not see the light of the day.

It came to fruition when one day I talked about it to Jignesh R. Shah, a practising lawyer and himself a writer of repute. He readily and enthusiastically took over the project and completed it with commendable accuracy and devotion.

The best of Nani, which is collected in this book for the future generations, is brought to the readers in the most presentable format, and will perpetuate Nani's memory as few other things can. It is a way of reaching out to a new generation of youth, many of whom have probably not come in contact with Nani. These youth are looking for direction and guidance in a world that has few icons of moral rectitude. Whilst most of them may not have the inclination and attention span to sit through Nani's books in their entirety, they are, as a generation, enthused by quotations. This book will serve the purpose of crystallizing Nani's wisdom in nuggets of beautifully written, yet easily accessible, prose. Here, Nani's witty and scintillating sentences have been carefully extracted from his works which would bring out in a nutshell-like a multi-vitamin capsule-the essence of his thoughts. It is this brevity and essence which distinguish this book from the existing literature of and about Nani. It will help the coming generation to understand the essence of what Nani stood for, and the reasons why he lives in our hearts today. And the Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust is in the best position to publish this book of quotations, since it deals with the works of a man who was an equal master of both the spoken and the written word.

I am sure Nani's wit and wisdom contained in this book will serve to be a great source of inspiration to the people of India.

The Nani A. Palkhivala Memorial Trust owes an immense debt of gratitude to Mr Behram Palkhivala and Mr Jignesh Shah for compiling, for publication, this immensely readable book containing quotations from Mr Nani Palkhivala's many writings and speeches.

The wide canvas on which Nani wrote and spoke constitutes a kaleidoscope which reflects his vast and varied interests, distinguished as much by the felicity of his language as by the profundity of his thoughts. To cull out from this vast body of collected wisdom the essential quotations, and systematically collate them in an easily accessible form could not have been an easy task. Mr Jignesh Shah, with Mr Behram Palkhivala's assistance, has done it admirably. For both of them it could only have been a labour of love.

For all those who espouse liberal thought and cherish Nani's memory, this little book should be a source of inspiration and a constant companion.

**Contents and Sample Pages**