Earlier I had drawn attention to the Munir-Kayani Report, 1954, where Jamaat-i-Islami of Moududi was unstintingly described as " anti-Pakistan, seditious and anti-state." There is no reason in the world why it should not be so described today. Or rather, there is every reason in the world why it should be shown to be anti-Bangladesh with the addition of some hard-and-fast fact to prove that they are a continuing seditious force operating in the political realm.
This piece could be an interesting read for those of us who care about independence of judiciary.
All th best.
Farida Majid
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:39:27 +0000
Subject: A Tribute of Late Justice Kayani of Pakistan (Review: "The whole truth")
Note that Justice Kayani was one of the two authors of the Munir-Kayani report on 1954 Lahore disturbances (Punjab Disturbances Court Of_Inquiry) : http://groups.
Justice Kayani had a long and distinguished career. Because he was an outspoken critic of the Pakistani regime, he was not elevated to the Supreme Cout in Pakistan.
This book review appeared in Dawn, September 24, 2003
It has been an edifying experience going through The Whole Truth, a book that contains, I think, the entire range of speeches made by Justice M.R. Kayani, both when he was a judge of the High Court and after retirement, although I had read many of these when they were reported in full by the English newspapers. I couldn't help conjecturing what would have been their impact in these times when, a few years ago, a ruling regime and a chief justice of Pakistan barely escaped an almost physical clash.
I have been motivated to do this piece by the feeling that mention of the book would give me an opportunity to write about the man himself, a great son of Pakistan of whom any country would be proud. We have been sadly remiss in remembering our heroes, and even to the Quaid-i-Azam we just pay lip-service at his anniversaries, I thought it would do no harm to tell my readers of his personality and character and his claim to fame.
Mr Kayani died in November, 1962, while on a speaking visit to Chittagong, hardly a month after he retired as chief justice of West Pakistan. How time flies! It is 41 years, almost a lifetime, since this country lost a forthright and independent- minded judge and the most popular speaker in its history, for I don't see anyone who can be said to have replaced him in the latter slot. But it is only his contemporaries who recall him now, and the new generations do not even know his name. How can they? Can you imagine a chapter in a government-sponsore
A very serious person otherwise, even grim, (and a veritable dictator at home, according to his sons) Justice Kayani had an impish humour that could really be biting when he wanted to lambaste his pet aversions like hypocrisy, sycophancy, authoritarianism and self-aggrandisement on the part of men in high positions. It even showed itself in his judgments. I suppose he couldn't help that. After all, judgments too are a vehicle of self-expression. One small book of his is called "A judge may also laugh".
You will enjoy the captions he gave to his various speeches when they were published in book form. Here are a few: "Preserve your bachelor state, lady doctors!" "Have you an enemy in the High Court?" "Of political rabbits and whimsical kings," "On being described as consumptive by a beautiful girl," "Civil necessity versus civilization,
M.R. Kayani came from Kohat and was elected for the Indian Civil Service in 1927. After training in England, he served for eight years on the executive, and was transferred to the judicial side in 1938. Nothing better could have happened to that institution than his induction, especially when he became a member, a real ornament, of Pakistan's judiciary in 1947.
The judge's career as a public speaker (in select gatherings) started when he was elected president of the CSP Association, which office he retained until he retired. His fame spread and he began to be invited to address educational institutions, professional bodies and social organizations. So much so that within the 27 days between retirement and death, he spoke before five gatherings at places as far apart as Abbottabad and Rajshahi.
However, it was not to laugh that people thronged the places where Justice Kayani was scheduled to addressed the public. It was his sardonic comments on the ways of the government and its leaders and the importance that most of us give to matters that do not really matter in the final analysis. It was
also the bold manner in which he shot his barbs of sarcasm at the top man in the country, in such a soft and unobtrusive way, that he either did not mind or did not understand the allusions.
But once General Ayub went red in the face when, concluding his speech before the CSP Association'
Smarting under the quips, sallies and thrusts of the welcoming address, he could barely control his temper. He dismissed Mr Kayani's advocacy of more safeguards for public servants, and said he was not going to pamper them and turn the civil service into an orphanage. His tone was aggressive and stunned everyone, from the governor downwards. Only Mr Kayani remained unruffled, even when Ayub Khan shot a verbal arrow at him by saying, "You have taken considerable pains over the writing of your speech. I hope you give equal care to the writing of your judgments," reminding him of the hundreds of cases pending in the courts.
What happened immediately afterwards was that President Ayub was in one part of the lounge with the governor and the old guard of the service, while Justice Kayani held darbar in another part, surrounded by admiring young members of the CSP. After the president had left, he told a confidante, "He has not said the last word. I will reply to him from every corner of the country and from every platform available to me."
And he did. But thereafter his speeches no longer remained confined to service matters. He began to speak of martial law, its ethics and its effects on democracy, the supremacy of the democratic way of life, about fundamental rights in the context of the powers of the superior courts, and the decline in standards and morals of society — all in his typical manner that was more caustic than admonitory.
It's a wonderful experience, going through `The Whole Truth.` The beauty of the language, the incisive way of making his point, the fearless comments on government policies viewed from the angle of justice and equity and the law, all these have a most exhilarating effect on the reader. I can't ask our government leaders to read it because they don't read anything except reports about their speeches in newspapers, but I would certainly recommend the book to the judges of today so that they can see for themselves how one of them acted more than 40 years ago.
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