My Life

Title: My Life – Years at the Bar, Bench and in Kashmir Politics

Author: D D Thakur

Publisher: LexisNexis, 2017 (First)

ISBN: 9789351438700

Pages: 597

Devi Das Thakur (1929 – 2007) was a lawyer, High Court judge, activist, politician, minister and governor in his varied life as one of the proud sons of Kashmir. Hailing from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, he led a prosperous tenure as a prominent lawyer of the Supreme Court of India towards the end of his life and career. Tirath Singh Thakur, who was the Chief Justice of India, is the son of the author. Thakur is known by the acronym of DD and the expansion of these cryptic initials is not provided in the book. Born in a rural family in the remote hamlet of Batro near Banihal, Thakur rose to great heights by sheer dedication and willpower. His sense of ambition should become a role model for promising youngsters. He was awarded a government job as the headmaster of a local school and normally, the biography of most Indians would stop there. But Thakur wanted to grow out of the stifling mould of a village teacher and wanted to achieve bigger things in life. He enrolled for his law studies, became a lawyer at Jammu, got appointed as a judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, resigned it at the behest of Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah to join his cabinet as a minister, became the governor of Assam and finally ended up as a busy lawyer. Thakur narrates the state of things in his life and tenure in various capacities of administrative and judicial responsibilities in this book.

The first part of the book is full of the author’s childhood and early adult years studying and helping people. This section is very taxing for the readers on account of a lot of silly, irrelevant details of events and characters poured out in a torrent. The readers have no interest at all to learn the name of the lad who was sitting third to the left of the author on his school bench! As a consequence, the book is unpardonably huge. However, the personal nitty-gritty is altogether omitted after the period when he becomes a lawyer at Jammu. Thereafter, even necessary family details are also not given. Living in Kashmir, one would’ve thought that the author would narrate in detail the covert invasion by Pakistan in October 1947 in a vain attempt to annex the state to it. Readers are much disappointed on this count. In fact, the author’s crossing of a stream in spate on a piece of log takes up more space than the Pakistani invasion. Similarly, the unimaginably long report (83 pages) which contains legal and constitutional jargon on the applicability of various articles of the Indian Constitution to Kashmir is also a punishment to the reader.

Thakur presents the state of Kashmir in the early part of independent India. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is divided into three regions, namely Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Of these, the people of Kashmir valley appear to be a pampered lot. They keep themselves secluded from other regions. The author narrates an incident in which the people of Kargil won’t accept a candidate from Ladakh on account of that person being a Buddhist. The mob could be pacified only after the leaders exhorted them to behave properly with quotes from the Koran. Government jobs in the valley were allotted on communal basis alone. This was done apparently by inflating the marks scored in viva voce examination. The valley had a population of 93% Muslim and 5% Pandits. The administration found devious ways to limit the ratio of Pandits in government service to 5% only. Thakur intervened in one such instance of appointment of teachers in Poonch. Sheikh Abdullah solved the particular issue by sanctioning 100 more jobs. This ensured that all the complainants got jobs, but the root cause of the problem was left unaddressed. In the 1950s, the National Conference party acted as the virtual government. Appointments were made at the whim of the party leaders. The author was the tehsil chief of the party and got appointed as a teacher by Sheikh Abdullah. The book also describes the peaceful life in Srinagar in those early years.

The book is conspicuous for its silence on two important periods in the life of Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah’s exit from the state in 1953 and incarceration lasting for 22 years find only a cursory mention. In 1975, Indira Gandhi reached an accord with him and handed over the power of the state to him. The author also keeps his mouth shut about the Emergency years (1975 – 77) though he was in power as a state minister in Kashmir. Thakur himself was a close associate of Indira Gandhi and exonerates her from the responsibility of declaring Emergency and its excesses with a casual, passing remark that all of it was the handiwork of sycophants and advisors. The eight-year long association with Sheikh Abdullah is cherished by the author. At the same time, he is disgusted with his son Farooq’s lust for power and lack of integrity in keeping his promised word. He declares that with the death of Sheikh Abdullah, the era of peace, tranquility and stability in Kashmir valley had ended.

Thakur is highly superstitious. He consults astrologers for all the major occasions of his life. He has great faith in the accuracy of predictions in his horoscope, which he proceeds to share with the readers. For example, the horoscope specified that ‘this man shall have an increase in his clothing from the age 49’. Around this time, he visited Japan on official business and bought a set of clothes. So, he claims that the prediction came true! Similarly, the horoscope also tells that he would have a grandchild by age 51. This also came true, but the author does not stop to think that in an era when marriages took place very early in childhood itself, it was not much of an effort to speculate that a person will indeed have a grandchild at 51 years of age. The author also makes it a point to proclaim that he made the career of A S Anand, who later became the Chief Justice of India. Thakur as law minister is said to have elevated him as a high court judge over the head of another more senior judge with whom he had some professional rivalry. The veracity of this claim is open to doubt.

One can’t help wondering at the multitude of ways in which Thakur’s personality excelled. He was in politics, but never won an election. Yet, by his vast knowledge of how things must be governed according to the principles of justice, he remained the right-hand man of Sheikh Abdullah. The central government at Delhi also abundantly used his services as an interlocutor with the Kashmiri politicians. Absence of leaders of this caliber might be one of the reasons why Kashmir is in such a mess now. Another remarkable aspect of his personality is his ability to strike instant friendship with strangers, and more important still, to foster that relationship till the end of his life. This is equally true of his childhood friends in a remote village of Kashmir and the reputed statesmen and judges of Delhi.

The painful length of the book is a point against it, but the language is refined and easy to follow. Usually, the style in a judge’s memoir is rather trite and artificial. But this book is entirely different on account of its easy flow and mastery of language. The book includes speeches made in tribute of the author in obituary references of the Supreme Court and High Court of Delhi where he practiced. It also includes a commendable index and a number of photographs.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star