R.I.P.

Just came to know that Justice H. R. Khanna passed away last week (via disreputable blog). He was one of the few members of Indian judiciary who had the courage to oppose the tyranny of Indira Gandhi during the darkest hour of democracy when most of our honourable judges were too eager to do sashtang before her.

One of the most depressing books I ever read (whose name I can't recollect, not surprisingly written by Arun Shourie) described in detail the political and even judicial rhetoric in support of emergency. The enthusiasm with which likes of Indrajit Das Gupta and Priyaranjan Das Munshi embraced the emergency and applauded it as historical necessity to thwart American Imperialism and fulfill the onward inevitable march of class struggle, was more than depressing, it was positively frightening to realize how the well entrenched classes connived to subvert the republic and impose a progressive fascists regime, and how closely we escaped from that eventuality.

Update: The book was The Parliamentary System (via Dirty Old Man)