Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM releases a book titled "Conscience of a Maverick" written by Shri Ram Jethmalani

"I am delighted to have this opportunity to release Shri Ram Jethmalani's book. I have always admired the qualities of head and heart that Ram symbolizes. He is certainly a maverick, as he calls himself in this book, but he is a delightful and likeable maverick. A maverick is a deviant. Some deviants persons can be irritating because they disturb the norm. But, there are those who endear themselves even to those who may differ with them. Ram, is certainly one such person. What is important to recognize is that a maverick is one who deviates from the norm on a matter of principle. That, at least, is the origin of the term. Ram is certainly a maverick in that sense. His disagreements are more often on principle rather than merely being expedient.

What I have always admired about him is his courage of conviction. He is truly his own man. It is not easy to be so in a world where conformity has many rewards. To be different is not always rewarding. If Ram has maintained his individualism and yet has endeared himself to so many, it speaks volumes of his qualities of head and heart.

Ram is known for his many personalities - a distinguished criminal legal luminary, an active parliamentarian, a public-spirited nationalist and, often, a defender of lost causes!

I have known him best as a fellow parliamentarian. I have greatly appreciated his wit and wisdom and his willingness to stand up for what he believes in. The founders of our Republic and the architects of our Constitution conceived the Rajya Sabha both as a House of States and as a House of Elders. It is the House in which they expected greater reflection on the affairs of the day. Sitting in the Rajya Sabha over the last 16 years, I have heard many distinguished members speak. There are only a few who grab your attention by the quality of their interventions. I have always found Ram Jethmalani a powerful speaker who compels you to listen to him through the power of reasoning and, of course, rhetoric.

The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha have been elevated by the intervention of independent minded individuals who bring with them years of experience and erudition. I, therefore, hope we will continue to hear Shri Jethmalani's voice in the Rajya Sabha for many many years to come.

I am happy that he has put together a wide range of his writings into this book covering law, politics, governance, religion, economics and foreign policy. I have read many of his essays when first published and I have benefited enormously from Shri Ram's scholarship and his wide and varied experience with men and matters. I have not always agreed with him but reading him has always helped clarify my own thinking on many issues.

What comes through his writings is his deep and abiding commitment to our constitutional values and the ideas that define our Republic. Criminal legal luminaries are not always popular because in pursuit of their profession they some times take up the cause of those whom society disapproves of. Therefore, one must make a distinction between the views a legal luminary espouses in a court to win his case and the values he cherishes in public life. I think we can condone some of the briefs Shri Jethmalani has identified himself with in the court because, as a public personality of ours times, he has stood for values that all of us cherish.

I am sure Ram Jethmalani has a large following of readers of his columns but those who have missed his columns can now read this book. I wish him many more years of active and productive service in the life of our nation. "