I feel greatly honoured to have been invited to deliver this Lecture in memory of the legal luminary Late Shri C.K. Daphtary.  I am grateful to the Inns of Court (India) Society and the British Council for giving me an opportunity to pay my respectful homage to his memory.

Shri C.K. Daphtary was one of the most outstanding lawyers of his times.  His encyclopaedic knowledge of law and remarkable art of persuasion in the presentation of cases before the judges made him a legal professional par excellence.  His competence of creatively applying the principles of jurisprudence to the legal cases firmly established him as one among the country’s brightest legal minds.  His brilliant professional record and reputation made him the First Solicitor-General of India in 1951 and subsequently the Attorney General of India in 1963.  In recognition of his passion, commitment and dedication to the legal profession, he was nominated by the President as a Member of the Rajya Sabha in 1972.  He lent dignity and distinction to all the offices he held. A man of high learning and outstanding eloquence, Shri Daphtary is remembered for the contribution he made to the debates of the Rajya Sabha which always bore the stamp of his great erudition and intellectual attainments. Whenever he spoke in the House, he was listened to by all sections with full attention. For his distinguished services to the nation, he was conferred ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 1968.

A man of singular affability, ready wit and innate charm, Shri Daphtary was extremely popular among all sections of the people. It has been more than twenty five years since we lost him in 1983, but his contributions have made him immortal and he will be remembered forever by the people of this country.

Shri Daphtary’s transparent image and remarkable ability to ingeniously handle even the most complex issues endeared him to one and all. More than anything else, Shri Daphtary was a firm believer in ethical values in public life. As a tribute to his memory, I have today chosen to speak on the ‘Importance of Value-Based Politics’, a subject of seminal importance in the present context.

Politics in a broader sense is public life, which impacts the lives of all, more so the lives of millions of the common people as it involves the processes of decision making directly affecting the society, for its good or otherwise. As such, it is undeniable that the exercise of political authority, in the Government or outside it, be based on ethical considerations and moral values as it has an overriding influence on society as a whole.

‘Ethics’ is the science of morals in human conduct and the expression, ‘ethical’ means what is morally correct and honourable. ‘Moral’ is defined as what is concerned with goodness or otherwise of human character or behaviour, which makes a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. By moral behaviour, we consider behaviour that conforms to accepted standards of general conduct, which are based on rules and standards of human behaviour. It is essential that politics is governed by moral behaviour, which is an essential part of ethical and value-based conduct. Thus, morality in public life will signify the degree of conformity of an idea or practice to well-established ethical principles and from that point of view, good governance must be based on moral virtue, which will ensure justice to the people and the country at large according to ethical standards. Thus, value-based politics postulates a political system which functions on the basis of high ethical standards, based on exemplary moral behaviour.

Mahatma Gandhi said very emphatically, that it is inconceivable to view politics detached from ethics. In other words, ethical considerations are the most important aspects of human behaviour and, as such, are, and should be, central to politics.  We cannot think of politics dehors  principled behaviour and discipline which determine how individuals having different, even conflicting, interests must co-exist peacefully in an organized society, the State.

Lenin, one of the greatest revolutionaries of modern times, said prophetically, that if politics determines our destiny, then we must determine what our politics should be. As politics decides our future, it should be based on a value-system, which will be central to it, and, therefore, if politics is unconcerned with just, ethical, moral and fair principles, not only politics but the entire value system which influences peoples’ actions and concerns will be vitiated. This, I feel, is the importance of the theme of today’s talk: ‘Importance of Value-Based Politics’. I believe, there are no two views on the imperative of values in politics and the question is how much is practised in public life by those who deal with or expect to deal with the affairs of the nation, and of the people.

 The Constitution of India, a product of the sagacity, vision and the collective wisdom of a whole generation of our nation’s leadership, is an embodiment of the values that we as a nation deeply cherish. Those who hold public office take an oath to uphold the Constitution, which is based on a value system in itself and has to face the test of time. Speaking on the 44^th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Daphtary had also voiced similar views when he had stated that ‘I for one, Sir, have regarded the Constitution not only as sacred but as something which has stood the trials of time very well.’

Our Constitution is, indeed, a codification of our fundamental objectives and methodology as perceived by men and women endowed with a broad and inclusive national vision and enriched by the experiences of various countries, which had striven before us to establish a just society, respecting individual freedoms and assuring the basic needs of a dignified existence. A commitment to fundamental democratic values is central to it. Those who provided leadership to the country in the early years of the Republic were acutely conscious of the need to conduct themselves and the affairs of the country in a manner reinforcing respect for the ethical values among our people, and in public affairs and conduct.  In many ways, the survival of Indian democracy, against many adversities, can be attributed to the quality of leadership that our country was fortunate to have in those critical years.  Despite having spent years as Solicitor General and Attorney General, Shri Daphtary was fearless when it came to speaking on issues that he felt strongly about. He had taken a bold stand against the 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha and had ‘protested vigorously’ against  its anti-people provisions.

However, unfortunately, over the years, it appears that growing sections, representing practically all walks of life, particularly the political class, and most worrisomely, even some in the Judiciary and the media, have begun to think that values and principles are dispensable attributes and that only assumption of power or authority or quick money, is what counts. Politics is no longer seen as a noble vocation in the service of the people, but it is all about the “art of the possible”, which signifies that neither the means nor the end matters. No society can insulate itself from the consequences of such politics for far too long. All major maladies our society is afflicted with today, have their roots, in my view, in the conduct and politics devoid of values, of which the political community seems unmindful: to them it is the end that matters and not the means, although it preaches otherwise for public consumption. The ever-widening gap between precepts and practices and private and public morality has greatly contributed to the erosion of values, polluting the public functionaries in our country.

Politics reflects on the essential characteristics of the larger society itself. They both impinge upon each other in diverse ways. The logic that politics is independent from society and operates on a separate set of rules is something that unrealistic critics who do not want to play or recognize any proactive role in restoring politics into the framework of an acceptable value system would want us to believe. We have endless number of critics, but not many who want to intervene to correct the aberrations. Everyone seems to think that it is sufficient to point out the defects in the system and be a critic only, and it is someone else’s responsibility to bring about the changes.

One is reminded of the forceful stand taken by Shri Daphtary on the Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matter Bill, 1976 which aimed at putting severe restrictions on the freedom of the Press.  Emphasizing the role of the Press as the fourth pillar of democracy, he observed, and I quote:

   (This) Bill is not calculated to further democratic principles. We have heard so much in the past six months about things being done, things being said in order to save democracy that I am surprised that a Bill should be brought forward now which has the contrary effect.   … the freedom of the Press is vital, is vital to the growth of democracy, is vital to the progress of the country and it is vital that every one should have the right to free speech subject only to the restrictions of libel, etc. which right will not be hampered by an executive authority sitting over their heads all the time and they should be free to express their opinions. The only effect of this Bill will be that there will be no opinion expressed against the Government or against any of its measures. That  … is a policy of timidity, which I am unable to understand. Surely, the more democracy is on the rise, the more welcome it should be.

Analysing the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire, the great thinker Gibbon once said and I quote:     
When the people of Rome wanted not to give to society, but for society to   give them, when the freedom they wished foremost was the freedom from responsibility, then it was that Rome ceased to be  free.

If growing sections of our society are beginning to question the efficacy of our political system and are becoming increasingly cynical about the political class as a whole and are perceiving threat to their freedom, then all must ask themselves, ‘where are we heading to as a society?’ In fact, cynics have often described politics in India as unpredictable because it is apparently devoid of any firm ethical or moral basis. Needless to say, it is an unacceptable situation, which must be changed by our collective will.

Last year, we conducted two Round Table Discussions under the auspices of the Lok Sabha, involving many eminent men and women from various walks of life to deliberate upon what ails our public life and the ways and means to strengthen our parliamentary democracy. The deliberations at the meetings were, indeed, an eye-opener. There was a large measure of consensus among the participants on the credibility gap of our leadership. They were also of the view that the present-day leaders do not inspire confidence in the nation because of their apparent unconcern about ethical conduct or means in the discharge of their public function.

Traditionally, our people used to look up to our leaders for inspiration and guidance, a legacy we inherited from our freedom struggle, led by Mahatma Gandhi. Those days, leaders lived by the ideals they preached to others, and that was why our freedom struggle remained value-based influencing the people as a whole. People had genuine respect for the leaders and they had a profound faith in their values and commitment to the national causes. Unfortunately, not many among today’s generation of leaders can claim that they can inspire people.

The downward trend is visible at every level from the village panchayat to the national Parliament and even other constitutional bodies. We must have leadership at every level, particularly at the grass-root level, committed to value-based policies, which should be sincerely implemented. If our actions are devoid of moral conduct, then they will be necessarily anti-people.

Unfortunately, today we have a fractured polity in the country which is almost totally governed by politics of confrontation, if not hatred of each other. Today, the country is overtaken by intolerance, divisiveness, corruption, violence, conflict and disrespect for democratic dissent, which are seriously vitiating our political life, as well as social cohesion. Such confrontational politics has made caste, creed, language, region and religion divisive issues, seeking to mould public opinion around them and sections of our political spectrum is depending on the same to get political advantage by emphasizing on what divides the people than what unites them. Leadership based on such dangerously divisive factors seems to be oblivious of our most cherished national values such as secularism, socialism, respect for pluralism, inclusiveness, tolerance and co-existence. What is even more worrisome is the fact that political polarization is sought in the name of sub-national, narrow and divisive identities, whose preferred language is often that of taking recourse to violence rather than the democratic and civilized methods of discussion and dialogue. Several recent incidents in our country have exhibited politicians and even so-called cultural organizations taking recourse to violent and unethical means, which essentially depended on crime and rabid anti-social elements.

Criminals are being used to settle political scores and in the process criminals are crossing the border and entering politics. This has led to criminalization of politics or rather what I call as politicization of crime. The violent behaviour we see in our legislative bodies at every level is the result of not only the entry of people with questionable background into politics, but sections of political leadership taking recourse to questionable means, which they believe will help them politically whatever may be the effect on the people generally. It  is, therefore, imperative to stress that parliamentary democracy cannot be strengthened, unless and until those who indulge in behaviour incompatible with established traditions of democracy or who, without real faith in healthy democratic methods, deliberately take recourse to unethical means, are brought to book for their wrong-doings. The only way to make them accountable is by separating them from the democratic institutions they have come to be associated with, sometimes through questionable means.

It is from this perspective that there is an urgent need to address the issues of corruption, criminalisation and communalisation of politics, and the vicious role played by money power and muscle power in our political and public life. Criminalisation of politics or non-adherence to well-established democratic means, not only pollutes the political environment but also affects the smooth and orderly functioning of our democratic institutions, the one primary function which is to highlight people’s grievances and expectations and to draw the attention of the Government to people’s reaction to policies and programmes. In this context, demands have been made time and again from various quarters seeking enactment of effective laws and strengthening the existing ones to firmly deal with the menace posed by the vitiating elements in our public life. Facing these issues squarely and boldly is one of the most urgent tasks before the nation.

Today the nation is desperately looking and searching for leaders with integrity and a national vision in our Parliament, the highest forum of democratic debate and civilized behaviour. The practice of rushing to the well, shouting slogans, flouting rules, creation of uproarious scenes warranting frequent adjournments of the House, the open and deliberate disregard of the Chair and several other maladies we have regularly witnessed in our Parliament and the State Legislatures are all unfailing symptoms of the relentless erosion of values in our public life.

One most unfortunate trend which has emerged in recent times is that Parliament, the lofty temple of our democracy, has come to be the playground for extreme confrontational and competitive politics. The Floor of the House has a great sanctity as the forum where the Government is made to address the demands and aspirations of the people, who are the real masters in a democracy. That sanctity is grievously violated when members behave in a manner which invites public opprobrium.

Often, members force adjournment of the House by disrupting the listed business, including the Question Hour which has got a special place in our parliamentary system, giving as it does an opportunity to the elected representatives of the people to make the Government answerable for all its omissions and commissions. The methodology adopted is to force the Chair to suspend the proceedings by slogan shouting by sections of members who do not allow the business of the House to be transacted peacefully or at all which only helps the Ministers, who are not required to answer the questions and to face the supplementaries. It leads to a criminal wastage of huge public money as a sitting of Parliament or the State Legislature incurs a considerable amount of money, to the extent of nearly Rs.29,000 per minute. Unfortunately, today, the narrow partisan interests of our political parties and public interest are seen as synonymous by sections of the political class.

This unfortunate state of affairs is getting encouragement to a considerable extent due to the response of the Media, which tends to focus on disturbances and forced adjournments rather than on the constructive discussions in the House.

The malady of money power has become so deep rooted that it has even begun to intervene directly with the functioning of our core democratic institutions. It was not long ago that we had to reckon with Members who were caught in the act of receiving money for raising questions in the House, to serve vested interests, an act which struck at the very foundation of our democratic practices. The sanctity of Parliament was desecrated in the process. The ‘cash for queries’ scandal, leading to the expulsion of certain members involved in the act, has, no doubt, shaken the confidence of the nation in our public life. The corrective and punitive action that followed was intended to restore people’s faith in our democratic institutions. It was encouraging that most political parties and a vast majority of MPs supported the very harsh punishment to all those found guilty of such gross misdemeanour. The expulsion of 10 members of Parliament in 2005 for the ‘cash for query’ scam was a watershed event in our parliamentary history; nowhere have so many elected legislators in a national Parliament been expelled for a misdemeanour by a vote of the House. The three-month suspension of four members of the Lok Sabha in 2006 for their role in irregularities related to the MPLADS funds and the suspension of a member for thirty sittings of the House in 2007 for his misconduct and contempt of the Committee as well as the House, demonstrated the resolve of the House to cleanse itself and to lay down new standards of conduct for its members. It was heartening to me personally that these measures won the people’s resounding approval. It is of crucial importance that this process of self-cleansing must continue till our system is insulated completely from such perilous scourges. But, even before the nation recovered from this shock came another deadly blow to the dignity and decorum of Parliament when some members waved wads of currency notes on the Floor of the House alleging pecuniary inducements for voting in the House. This was the day when values hit the nadir, the rock bottom in our public life, and undoubtedly the saddest day for every conscientious citizen. It is time the people should insist on the legislators’ strict adherence to norms of civilized behaviour so that we can seek to regain people’s respect for and trust in our democratic institutions.

There is today, no doubt, an all-pervading need to infuse various areas of our national life with moral values, and in this process, politics should come first. But, it is, by no means the only area with which we should be concerned. It has affected almost all avocations unfortunately, including, if I may say so, a considerably large section of the business community and even a section of the Judiciary is also under cloud today.

The people have to be determined to insist on probity in public life - be it politics or business or any other activity concerning the people. People often blame the Government for the sorry state of affairs in our public life but they do not introspect themselves. Shirking of responsibility in itself is a reflection of the erosion of values in society.

What is the option available to the electorate if their representative is not functioning to their satisfaction? If our elected representative is proving to be corrupt, irresponsible, inefficient or indifferent towards people’s causes, the citizens are left with no choice other than to wait till the next elections. This brings us to the question of how to express our disapproval of the erosion of values in politics. I am one who strongly believes that it is high time we thought of incorporating the concept of Right to Recall in our Constitution. If only the electors have the right to question and hold their representatives accountable for their acts of omission and commission without having to wait till the next elections, our public life would, perhaps, become better. The public must be empowered to initiate action when the situation so demands. This is a question the nation must debate seriously.

For the last several decades, no single party nationally has been able to get a majority of its own and the result has been that both in the Centre and in the States, Governments have been formed on occasions by political parties with disparate programmes and ideologies, who combine only with the object of acquiring power, forming unprincipled coalitions and even by encouraging defections from one party to another. There have been recently many more instances of post-poll understandings or adjustments than before between different political parties, only for the purpose of formation of a Government. The instability of such Governments and adoption of questionable methods to remain in power, often compromising on the basic political and constitutional morality, have seriously eroded people’s faith in the system. The public perception of the extent of political immorality practised in the country can be gauged from the observations of Prof Andre Beteille, the distinguished sociologist, when he states: (I quote):

There is growing suspicion today that (even) legislation is sometimes enacted not in the public interest but in order to accommodate a particular faction, a particular community or, in the extreme case, even a particular political leader. The leader will, of course, have cleared his ground in advance by softening up power brokers of various political persuasions.

Value-based politics, centered around well-defined policies and priorities, has become a casualty, leading to vitiating the political atmosphere and uncertainties in the governance structure. Often, allegations of horse-trading are made of which we have seen recently a most sordid example. Unfortunately, the spectacle of aya rams and gaya rams still remains the bane of our political system.

Today, almost every issue, from those concerning core national values to issues of development, is subjected to the grind of contentious politics. It is essential that the political parties and others associated with the governance process and the developmental activities grow above partisan politics and demonstrate the willingness as also the sincerity to draw up and implement schemes with well-chosen priorities and devise a new national approach in the larger interest of the people. Issues of development, in which the common people have the greatest stake, cannot be subjected to political muscle-flexing without caring for their destructive effect on the people. Matters of vital national interest should not be made a casualty of partisan, recriminatory and destructive politics.

We are going through a phase when the resilience and adaptability of our democratic institutions are stretched too far. The people had great expectations from a free India. But in many ways, their hopes and expectations have been belied by the opportunistic and wayward ways of those associated with politics and governance in the country.

 A time has come, therefore, when all sections of the people have to consider very seriously how a country like ours, with its great heritage and civilisation, with the magnificent history of its freedom struggle and also with the great talent of the young people, with constructive efforts of the working class, including farmers, peasants and common people, should come out of the present infirmities in the system, so that the country as a whole can achieve all round development at a faster pace.

Politics and politicians cannot be expected to earn respectability, unless politics is firmly wedded to some basic values and some fundamental principles. This can come about only with the firm resolve of the nation. The nation as a whole must be united in this struggle to bring values to the centre stage of our public life. Today, what we need is a movement across this vast nation to build up public opinion against many of the maladies that afflict our politics contributing to public apathy towards politics and democratic processes as such. This can be meaningfully achieved only if committed and conscientious people, particularly the youth, come into the arena of politics and clean the system from within. I firmly believe that the community of lawyers can play a vital role in this regard by participating in the process of democratic consolidation.  The price we pay for political indifference is bad governance, which affects almost every aspect of our life. We cannot expect to get good governance from bad politics. Therefore, making politics ethically sound is one of the most pressing needs of our times.

The various aberrations in our political functioning are matters that should worry all responsible and sensitive citizens. More than on anything else, we need to agree on the need and the fundamentals of value-based politics. As Prof. Beteille has observed very pertinently, “In a parliamentary democracy, the obligations of constitutional morality are expected to be equally binding on the government and the opposition. In India, the same political party treats these obligations very differently when it is in office and when it is out of it. This has contributed greatly to the popular perception of our political system as being amoral.”

 The Ruling and the Opposition Parties in Parliament and in the State Legislatures should see themselves as partners in the consolidation of the democratic process. All our democratic institutions need to demonstrate a greater degree of sensitivity and responsiveness to the growing disenchantment and apathy among our people with different aspects of our national life, particularly our political life. Divisive and communal politics will have to give way to a broad-based national political agenda. Consensus, not confrontation, has to be the basic philosophy of our political engagement.

No organisation or society can progress unless and until leaders set and follow the highest standards and norms of behaviour. The citizens and those in public life must not make any compromise so far as public behaviour is concerned - which should be impeccable, which alone can instill confidence in the people at large in the efficacy of democracy and the political processes associated with it.  For each one of us, remaining fully committed to the values in life would be the most fitting tribute to the memory of Shri C.K. Daphtary.

I wish the Inns of Court (India) Society and the British Council all the very best in their endeavours towards furtherance of the values and ideals of Shri Daphtary. I thank the organizers of this Lecture for the opportunity given to me to share with this distinguished gathering some of my perspectives on this very topically relevant theme: Importance of Value-Based Politics,  that today engrosses every sensible citizen who is mindful of the direction present day politics is taking.

Thank you.