Centenary of Liberal Thinker Nani Palkhivala

This is my token of remembering the great thinker with courage - Nani Palkhivala (1920-2020), a scholar making of his own style and skills... I end with the following paras:

To advance the liberal democracy in India towards a more prosperous country for all citizens, we have to remember and foster the following Five Doctrines of Nani Palkhivala (From February 1971 Issue of Freedom First Magazine):

1. The Constitution believes in the distribution of wealth, and therefore it not only permits but encourages the creation of wealth by enterprising individuals who with their vision and expertise are prepared to take risks and develop their country. That is why our Constitution confers on all citizens the fundamental rights to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to carry on any trade, business, and profession.
2. The right to property is often derided as the “least defensible” right in a socialist democracy. Yet a little reflection should show that this right is of the essence of a sound body politic and of a democracy which aims at marching forward economically….. Countries, where freedom has become a way of life, can do without the luxury of a constitutional right to property. But in India where economic fanaticism has become a way of political life, it is imperative to retain the right to property.
3. There are times in a country’s history when inaction and silence can be a culpable wrong, and we are living in such times. It is not enough that we believe in our national motto that truth with ultimately prevail. We must take active steps to see to it that falsehood does not have a very long inning before the ultimate moment of truth arrives.
4. The survival of our democracy and the unity and integrity of the nation depend upon the realisation that constitutional morality is no less essential than constitutional legality. Dharma (righteousness; a sense of public duty or virtue) lives in the hearts of public men; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no amendment, can save it.
5. National integration is born in the hearts of the citizens. When it dies there, no army, no government, no Constitution, can save it. States of mind precede States. Inter-faith harmony and consciousness of the essential unity of all religions are at the very heart of our national integration.