India One News India One News
Related Articles
Pune: INDIA has been rocked by the death of two giants. Both died on February 21, 2024. One a top jurist and another a ‘golden voice’ of radio.
Fali Conscience Nariman, as The Indian Express headlined described him, was not just a jurist, but was also a humanist and a multi-faceted, multi-talented personality.
Ameen Sayani, on the other hand, was recognised by his voice and not by his face by millions and billions of Indians for decades.
The Times Of India in its headline has rightly described Fali S Nariman as the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian judiciary. Senior Congress leader and legal luminary Abhishek Sangvi has called Mr Nariman as the ”Colossus of Legal Landscape.”
While Mr Nariman died in his sleep at the age of 95, Mr Ameen Sayani died following a heart attack. He was 91. Both lived their lives to the fullest and ruled over the hearts of the Indians.
Leading the nation in paying tributes, President Droupadi Murmu described Mr Nariman as the titan among legal luminaries while Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar called him the guiding light of the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as the most outstanding legal minds and intellectuals.
Paying tributes to Ameen Sayani, the President said,”In the death of Ameen Sayji marks, it is an the end of an era for radio listeners in India and many countries. He had made a special place in the hearts of people with his natural style of presenting radio programs, impressive voice and unique flow..
Prime Minister Modi, in his condolence message, said,”Ameen Sayaniji’s golden voice on the airwaves had a charm and warmth that endeared him to people across generations.”
Mr Nariman was an outstanding and the finest lawyers India had ever seen. His importance can be understood from the fact that whenever India’s President needed an expert opinion on complicated issues, they would invariably turn to him. And Mr Nariman never let them down. His opinion mattered the most.
Mr Nariman was an outspoken jurist. He did not hold himself back when it came criticising Supreme Court decisions or the decisions taken by the Central Government. Mr Nariman’s imprint is etched deeply on most of the landmark cases in Indian judiciary. He never fought shy of taking up cases where others baulked.
When it came to protecting freedom of speech and fundamental rights, Mr Nariman led from the front. His career was an exemplary one which lasted as many as 7 decades — compared only to the likes of Ram Jethmalani. Mr Nariman was an upright jurist who just could not be putdown inside and outside the courtroom. In 1975, he had resigned as Additional Solicitor General after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had declared Emergency in the country.
Coomi Kapoor, writing a tribute in The Indian Express, said,”In his last book, You Must Know Your Contribution, published four months ago, Mr Nariman warned that governments with huge majorities led by populist leaders tend to slowly bend the written and unwritten rules which condition the correct functioning of a liberal democracy.
Ms Kapoor writes further, During the Emergency, Mr Nariman had developed a close bond with Mr Ramnath Goenka, the owner of The Indian Express.. The then Congress Government was vindictive towards the paper as it had filed dozens of cases against the newspaper. Mr Goenka refused to buckle under pressure. And Mr Nariman rose to stand by hm.”
Describing the death of Mr Nariman as a great loss, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said Mr Fali Nariman was a giant of a legal luminary.
Meanwhile, Ameen Sayani, the iconic radio broadcaster, hosted the iconic Binace Geetmala for years on radio. Mr Sayani had a voice of his own, which was unique and intimate. The moment you tuned into the radio, one did not feel like switching it off as Mr Sayani held you spell-bound.
Mr Sayani was paid Rs 25 per week for listening and listing songs and writing scripts for the Binaca Geet Mala show which was renamed later as Cibaca Geet Mala. Mr Sayani will be most remembered for his magical wordplay on the radio show which led to formation of a close bond with his listeners. And it remained intact for years.
