At Budget Eve, Remembering The Late Shri Nani Palkhivala

Remembering Shri Nani Palkhivala on budget eve

http://www.tata.com/tata_sons/releases/20021211.htm


Budget eve revive fond memories of the late and great legal luminary, Shri Nani Palkhivala. Many of the reforms that have been initiated in liberalization used to be recommended by him way back in the late seventies and the early eighties. He was clearly a man ahead of his times. He would travel to all the four metros and give his critical comments of the budget in pre liberalization days. He would again and again pound the point that lowering of taxes was the only possible way one could get people to pay taxes honestly instead of 90% plus taxation prevalent at that time.

Yesterday, in the “big fight” on NDTV, it was heartening to see Madhavrao Scindia’s son Jyotiraditya Scindia defending Mr Palkhivala’s legacy against a communist gentleman who insisted that we must revert to the old days where the rich were forced to pay for the poor which the world over has proved impracticable. Young Scindia pointed out that it would be going backwards as lowering of taxes had proved successful in India.

Mr Palkhivala’s comments on the budget were more popular than the budget itself(Indicator more important than the chart for once).

http://www.indiainfoline.com/nevi/nani.html

My father took me forcefully just once to his post budget speech and thereafter, it became an annual ritual. We had to reach an hour in advance and people who came late would have to stand or sit on the podium and the stairs. It was always house full and he always got a standing ovation. After Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister for the first time in 1985, V.P.Singh gave the first somewhat good budget which kind of spoiled the party. Wholesale liberalization began in 1992. Mr Palkhivala’s health had deteriorated unfortunately and he was no longer active but his budget speeches were like watching entertaining thrillers.

In his espousal of fiscal legislation in India, he would make the politicians and the bureaucrats sound really silly and reveal through interesting statistics, how some countries no bigger than some Indian states where doing much better economically. I remember him as Chairman of ACC . He once said that how once they received a strange notice from the excise department on trying to penalize them on producing more. He called their bluff and nothing happened. I have heard stories on how he would meet clients on to and fro work and even in the lift, hear them and give advice as he was always short of time. Maybe some old timer has more interesting stories.

He was also champion of human rights and India’s ambassador to USA. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee introduced a postal stamp in his memory. May his soul rest in peace.

Awesome!

Thanks for Bringing this Man in Light again!
He was truly the Man can forsee...FUTURE.
Thanks.