SPEECH
BY SHRI K.R. NARAYANAN, PRESIDENT OF INDIA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE GOLDEN
JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF THE GUWAHATI HIGH COURT.
GUWAHATI, SUNDAY,
NOVEMBER 8, 1998
Hon'ble
Governor of Assam,
General
S.K. Sinha;
Hon'ble
Chief Justice of India,
Dr.
Justice Anand;
Hon'ble
Chief Ministers of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram
and Arunachal Pradesh;
Hon'ble
Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court; Hon'ble
Ministers; Hon'ble
Judges; Hon'ble
MPs and MLAs;
Distingushed
Member of the Bar; and
Friends,
It
is with the greatest pleasure that I participate in the Golden Jubilee
Celebrations of the Guwahati High Court. May I, at the outset, extend
my warm felicitations to the Guwahati High Court and to the people of
the seven States on this landmark occasion.
The
occasion marks a crowning moment in the history of the Guwahati High Court.
It is a landmark in the evolution of a judicial system for each of the
seven States and for the North East as a whole and indeed for the whole
of India. It marks half a century of the working of a carefully-wrought
legal-constitutional system fashioned for this vast and complex country
adjusted to address the special needs of the North East region of India.
I should like to convey to the fellow-citizens of the Seven Sisters my
sense of admiration for the achievements of their High Court and my felicitations
to the Hon'ble Chief Justice, the Judges of the High Court and the Bar
Council and to all those who sustain its functioning.
Our
Constitution-makers were aware that the British Raj had been more than
negligent of the real and long-term needs of the people of this region.
The Simon Commission's views on these Areas are instructive to read as
an indication of their objectives. The Commission said (Quote) "The
stage of development reached by the inhabitants of these areas prevents
the possibility of applying to them methods of representation adopted
elsewhere...Their contentment does not depend so much on rapid political
advance as on experienced and sympathetic handling and on protection from
economic subjugation by their neighbours." (Unquote)
Thus
were the seeds sown of division and suspicion between hillsmen and plainsmen,
between one tribal community and another. As a former Chief Justice of
this High Court, Justice M.C. Pathak has put it: (Quote) "For their
imperial interest, the British stopped the natural flow of integration
and synthesis by introducing inner lines and outer lines and various other
restrictions in the Eastern region." (Unquote)
For
the British, the North East of India was but a buffer, an area to be held
as a barrier against the Great Unknown, with no more than minimal involvement
in the lives of the people. The Raj's idea of India as 'a congeries of
nations' with nothing intrinsically cohesive about it differed totally
from the ethos of our freedom movement which celebrated India's pluralism.
The sagacious members of renascent India's Constituent Assembly, wanted
all the citizens of India to feel a sense of belonging and being involved
with one another. The meticulously-prepared Constitution of India reflects
this sense of unity in diversity.
The
seven States of the North-East, have in spite of great odds, contributed
richly to making of the "India of our dreams". Speaking in the
Constituent Assembly about the tribal population of the North East, the
principal architect of our Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said that the
tribal populations of the North-East, had their roots in their own civilisation
and culture, but that, at the same time, we need to take cognizance of
the fact that there was a process of participation taking place, a process
which was ending segregation and bringing about integration.
Our
first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, that visionary of the national
and emotional integration of India, with his insight into and empathy
for the aspirations of the people of the North East, had laid down a policy
approach, at once imaginative and pragmatic. In his introduction to Verrier
Elwin's book, he wrote "People should develop along the lines of
their own genius and we should avoid imposing", that tribal rights
in land and forest should be respected; that they should be trained to
attend to their own work of administration and development; and, most
importantly, that the Centre should work through and not in rivalry, through
their own social and cultural institutions. He ended by saying that "we
should judge the results not by statistics or the amount of money spent,
but by the quality of the human character that is evolved."
These
clear and simple guidelines for the evolution of a policy for the tribal
areas of the North East were in accordance with the provisions laid down
in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. It embodied several safeguards
in respect of tribal land, tribal laws and customs and autonomy in the
management of their own affairs. The Schedule reflects federal and unitary
perceptions in their most imaginative blend. The leaders and representatives
of renascent India saw the truth of the old dictum that ultimately "legal
development lies not in legislation nor in juristic science, nor in judicial
decision, but in society itself."
The
Sixth Schedule of our Constitution is quite a remarkable text, a document
which seeks to respect custom without fossilising it and which seeks to
conserve tradition without denying it the life-breath of progress. Dr.
Ambedkar sought to combine a role for local structures with the framework
of the Constitution of the new India. Appreciating the fact that judicial
evolution required some arrangement for appeals, he moved that the judicial
powers of the old regional and district structures of this region be brought
under the appellate jurisdiction of the High Court of Assam. This was
an imaginative step towards socio-political cohesion.
As
you are all aware, the coming into operation of the North-Eastern Areas
(Reorganization) Act, l971 extended the jurisdiction of the Guwahati High
Court to the entire region. The significance of that step has been immense,
bringing to different units with differing legal traditions, a common
endeavour at justice and equity.
Since
that time, this High Court has passed from one stage of evolution to another,
coming to acquire jurisdiction over the entire group of hills, valleys
and rivers that form a crucible of diverse ethnic and cultural strands.
I would
like to take this opportunity to pay my tribute to the late Lokapriya
Gopinath Bordoloi, the father of modern Assam, who had a great vision
for Assam and the North East. A lawyer by training, he used his legal
skills in the political struggle and, later, in the administrative responsibilities
that he shouldered. Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi belonged to that generation
of national leaders headed by Gandhiji himself who combined their legal
training with public service beyond legal practice. I might recall here
what Gandhiji wrote about the role of the lawyers of Assam on a visit
to Tezpur during the freedom struggle. "I must not omit to mention
the fact", he wrote "that out of nearly seventy-eight Assamese
pleaders, fifteen have suspended legal practice, probably, the highest
percentage throughout India."
The
High Court has tried to match the cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity
of this region with laws that are in tune with the diverse traditions
of the people of the region. But in this endeavour, the Guwahati High
Court has been fortunate in the services of some leading personalities
such as the late Janab Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed who served it as a leading
member of the Bar and Advocate General, before moving to public life,
eventually becoming the President of the Republic. The late Shri Bisnuram
Medhi, who became Chief Minister of Assam and the late Shri Moinul Haq
Choudhuri who served as Minister, also served the legal profession and
the region with distinction. Four Judges of this High Court have been
elevated as Judges of the Supreme Court - Justices P.K. Goswami, Justice
Baharul Islam, Justice K.N. Saikia and Justice B.L. Hansaria. It is a
matter of great satisfaction to us that Justice Saikia is happily with
us, to partake of the joy of this occasion.
The
Guwahati High Court, which is the highest seat of justice in the North
Eastern region, has the challenging task of administering justice and
upholding the rule of law in a region which has such a diversified landscape
of customary laws and practices. It has not only performed its role in
the fifty years of its existence but has also set high standards of judicial
decision-making in those very areas of law where regional emotions and
tribal sentiments are involved. The administration of law as the maintenance
of order and the general operations of Government in such a sensitive
region, have to be characterized by sympathy and understanding. The system
has to ensure the preservation of the fine traditional institutions, customs
and values of the people, and at the same time bring changes in the ways
of their living as well in the standards of their living. This changing
and modifying have to be accomplished not harshly, suddenly, but slowly,
gently and with sympathy.
In
India the judicial system and the Courts of Law have not functioned merely
dispensing justice in the traditional liberal way, though they have faithfully
maintained the liberal values of our legal system. The Judiciary has unavoidably
been one of the agencies of change in our changing, developing society.
It has squarely addressed the problems of development, welfare and human
rights pertinent to our society. Not long ago in one of its judgements
the Supreme Court had declared that social justice is a fundamental right.
So has several judgements of the Supreme Court dealt with questions of
environment, human rights, etc. The North East is one of the regions of
our vast developing country where developmental and social welfare questions
are of paramount importance. I am happy that the Guwahati High Court has
been fulfilling this new role of the judiciary in this vital region of
India.
Friends,
in one matter, I know, there is no difference of opinion whether in the
seats of justice or elsewhere. And that is on the nature of India's human
heritage. Only yesterday I was in Santiniketan, where the presence of
Rabindranath Tagore is still palpable. In his famous poem Bharat-Tirtha,
he has referred to the many streams of humanity that comprise the "one
ocean that is India". Let us, on this day, offer our respect to each
and every stream that flows into that ocean, the maha-maanaver-saagar,
which the Gurudev wrote of.
I thank
the Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court for giving me the
opportunity to join in this important and most pleasant function. May
I wish the High Court continuing success in the future.
Thank you
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