The principles that guided Noorani often had him swim against the tide of public opinion. What use the freedom of thought and expression unless one could articulate unpopular views anchored in fairness? His tracts on the Babri Masjid question and Kashmir are trenchant critiques of the popular narrative.I got to know A G Noorani through my father at a time when both were terribly distressed by Indira Gandhi’s phoney Emergency, and assault on the judiciary and civil liberties. Always immaculately dressed, with an aquiline nose enhancing his dignified presence, ‘Noorani kaka’, as he was known in our home, was a wonderful raconteur. He would summon tales from the Bench and the Bar, never sparing a bender.The constriction of liberties over the past decade did not please Noorani. But for him, that was no reason for despair. The toolkit comprising the fundamental rights under our Constitution meant more writing, more analysis and ever greater industry to expose mendacity—all to remind readers of the values that make nations great.Shyam DivanSenior Advocate
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