Arun Shourie is back with a four-part series in the Indian Express (aside: I wonder how IE has granted him space in their paper given the fact that the head honcho, Shekar Gupta is a staunch Communist). These are transcriptions of his lectures on the occasion of celebrating Nani Palkhivala’s legacy. The theme: very apt in that it fetes Palkhivala’s singular gift to Indian democracy: a one-man crusade to uphold the individual’s freedom pitted as it was, against the tyrannical Indira Gandhi.

Only two parts have been published so far, so go ahead and read them.
What specifically struck me in Part 1 pertains to a series of passages proposed to alter the basic structure of the Constitution; its insidiousness is unparalleled and the character its most vociferous supporters is nothing short of criminal. The “diabolic and conclusive clause,” as Shourie has said:

??No law made by Parliament before the commencement of the Constitution (Thirty-Ninth Amendment) Act, 1975, in so far as it relates to election petitions and matters connected therewith, shall apply or shall be deemed ever to have applied to or in relation to the election of any such person…and such election shall not be deemed to be void or ever to have become void on any ground on which such election could be declared void or has, before such commencement, been declared to be void under any such law and notwithstanding any order made by any court, before such commencement, declaring such election to be void, such election shall continue to be valid in all respects and any such order and any finding on which such order is based shall be and shall be deemed always to have been void and of no effect??.

She (Indira Gandhi) declared that the Basic Structure doctrine is an invention of judges. ??What is the Basic Structure??? asked one of her acolytes of that time, Siddhartha Shankar Ray. ??What are its contents, ingredients? Has the Constitution defined what is basic and what is not? Is there any part of the Constitution that is so sacrosanct that it cannot be taken away? There is not a single authority throughout the country???please pause and consider what he is saying, ??There is not a single authority throughout the country??; the Supreme Court is thus no authority at all???who has suggested that there are certain basic features in a Constitution.??

In the second part of the series, Arun Shourie traces the genesis of liberty granted to Indians by the Constitution drawing from three specific instances found in the Constituent Assembly debates. More to the point, he points us to speeches made by Dr. Sachidananda Sinha, Ambedkar, and Rajendra Prasad. He first examines their words, then contrasts their words to the current political situation. The conclusion of this article is incisive.

Each round of discretionary appointments?to Civil Service Selection Boards, for instance?weakens administration further. Dr P V Indiresen has a law to explain the condition, Indiresen’s Law?: ??Second-rate persons select third-rate persons.?? You do that for fifty years, and governance becomes what it has.