Justice Rohinton Nariman urges Indians to embrace fraternity, learn about other faiths

Former judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice Rohinton Nariman, recently remarked that the only way for Indians to forge a peaceful and harmonious path forward is by informing themselves of the tenets of each other's religious faiths.

Justice Nariman said that he came to this conclusion while writing his latest book, An Ode to Fraternity, which is an exploration of world religions.

"The conclusion was to get from each faith so that one can live one's life in conformity with what is best. And despite the bewildering metaphysics and the differences in metaphysics, the bottom line is really an ethical line by and large, it is as you sow so shall you reap. Being informed about other faiths is according to me the only way in which the Indian citizen can step forward in peace and harmony. This is in fact in our Constitution and constitutional values which are contained largely in its great preamble," he said.

The preamble of the Constitution begins with "We, the people of India" which itself is a declaration of our diversity, the former judge said.

"This is most important because we are a diverse people with diverse creeds, diverse cultures. We have all got together and we have given to ourselves this great Constitution. Now what have we given ourselves? We say that we are going to make India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic", he added.

Speaking about the other concepts in the preamble, Justice Nariman said that political justice was delivered at the stroke of midnight when the Constitution guaranteeing universal adult franchise came into force. However, we still have a ways to go to deliver social and economic justice.

"Social and economic justice are nowhere near where they should be and of course hopefully we will struggle to find some way between the rich who are getting richer and the poor who are remaining where they are. Then you have the war cry of the French revolution so to speak liberty equality, fraternity. Liberty is divided into two groups, thought and expression. And the second group equally important, where not only do you have this liberty of thought and expression but you have the liberty of faith, belief and worship", he said.

Justice Nariman asserted that out of these, fraternity is the most cardinal value.

"And finally we come to the greatest cardinal virtue of all without which liberty and equality will not exist which is fraternity. And fraternity assures two things. One, the dignity of the individual. Most important, each person has his own dignity in his own faith. And second, the unity and integrity of the country," he said.

Justice Nariman made these remarks in a speech delivered at his alma mater Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai.

He recalled that at his time in the school, he had classmates from all over the country from all religions.

"The amazing thing was that when we grew up, we were a microcosm of this great country because we had Jews in our class, we had Anglo-Indians in our class. We had Muslims in our class, we had Hindus from all over the country. And nobody ever thought of a fellow student as either an Anglo-Indian, a Jew or a Hindu. And this was till we passed out. We were all friends. In fact, our best friends, some of my best friends were from all the communities. And as I told you, it reflects this great country," he recounted.

Justice Nariman concluded his address urging students to carry the legacy forward, keeping in mind the fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution of India to promote harmony, especially when the concept of fraternity seems to be under siege.

"Only if you transcend all barriers which are religious, social etc. can you achieve fraternity or what is called common brotherhood in the fundamental duties chapter. Second is to remember that we are all citizens who who value cherish and must preserve a composite culture. The word composite is very very important. So when we see the Constitution, we find that this cardinal value of fraternity has been under siege and it is important for us as a secular institution to lead the way in reformulating what this fraternity is," he said.

Interestingly, he said that his time as a judge at the Supreme Court was the toughest in his life, likening it to "rigorous imprisonment".

"My retirement is the happiest phase of my life incidentally because judgeship was imprisonment which was not simple but rigorous. It was terrible. Seven years were very very very difficult. And in the last four years I've got back to sanity," he said in a lighter note.