IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE (HB)

The story of a great jurist
who was an even greater human being. Justice Rajindar Sachar was a socialist,
an egalitarian, a defender of civil liberties, a deeply engaged citizen of
India, and, above all, a humanist. A man who believed in standing for the
last man in the line, he was ‘armed’ with a moral compass that never wavered.
Born into an influential family from Lahore in 1923, he witnessed the pain of
Partition. Yet, amazingly, he never bore any animosity towards Pakistan or
its people. Son of Bhimsen Sachar, a prominent Congressman and Gandhian in
pre-Partition Punjab and Chief Minister of Punjab post-1947, Rajindar did not
disclose his famous surname during his early life to ensure people would not
give him special treatment. He joined the Delhi High Court in 1970 but was
transferred out of Delhi for voicing his opposition to the Emergency. During
those dark days he shared a close bond with Justice H.R. Khanna, the lone
voice of dissent in a Supreme Court that chose to side with Indira Gandhi.
Brought back to Delhi after the Emergency, he rose to become the Chief
Justice of the Delhi High Court. Post-retirement, Sachar helmed the People’s
Union for Civil Liberties for many years. However, what Justice Rajindar
Sachar is most-remembered for is the Sachar Committee Report (2006) which
documented the social and economic condition of Muslims in India. The Report
drew both praise and criticism, with some radical elements even threatening
to send him back to Pakistan. However, his fight to preserve the secular
fabric of India continued till the day he died. His autobiography comes at a
critical time when India’s democracy is under siege from within.