Now Reading: Bombay bar veteran Thakker recalls clean, approachable political leaders
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Bombay bar veteran Thakker recalls clean, approachable political leaders
Senior advocate Nitin Thakker, 79, told Hindustan Times that political leaders in the 1950s and 1960s were far more approachable and had a clean image. Thakker, who started practising in 1968, recalled…
The Story in Brief
Senior advocate Nitin Thakker, 79, told Hindustan Times that political leaders in the 1950s and 1960s were far more approachable and had a clean image. Thakker, who started practising in 1968, recalled witnessing the funeral of deputy prime minister Vallabhbhai Patel in 1950 and seeing Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru without heavy security.
He was present at the 1975 Bombay Bar Association meeting that passed a resolution against the Emergency, describing it as a blot on democracy. Thakker also remembered the 1990 resolution of no confidence against four sitting Bombay High Court judges amid corruption allegations. His first fee was three gold mohurs, or Rs 45.
The Indian Opinion
Nostalgia for a cleaner political era can overlook the flaws of the past. Thakker's own memory includes a vote of no confidence against four judges in 1990, showing corruption was not absent. The narrative that leaders were wholly virtuous ignores such facts. Social media, which Thakker calls a game-changer, has made scrutiny more intense but also amplified noise. The real test is whether today's leaders can match the voluntary discipline shown during Shastri's one-meal-a-week call, or whether the bar will again hold the bench accountable.
Source: hindustantimes.com
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