Unwavering devotion to justice formed the bedrock of public life for both Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant emphasised on Thursday as he paid tributes to the two leaders on their birth anniversaries.
Justice Kant, who is set to assume office as the Chief Justice of India in November, offered floral tributes to Gandhi’s statue on the Supreme Court lawns before recalling the ethos that united the Father of the Nation and India’s second prime minister.
“For Gandhi, justice was the moral compass of society, inseparable from truth and compassion. Shastri, in turn, translated that moral vision into the practice of governance through simplicity, integrity, and an abiding inclusiveness that ensured no citizen felt excluded from the nation’s progress,” he said in a brief address.
Reflecting on Gandhi’s philosophy, Justice Kant noted that the Mahatma’s understanding of freedom extended beyond political sovereignty and was defined by the dignity accorded to the most vulnerable and the assurance of justice to those at the margins of society.
“His vision was not restricted to legal institutions alone, but encompassed the broader fabric of social life, where harmony, equity, and compassion were to be the guiding forces of human conduct,” he said, adding that true strength for Gandhi lay in simplicity and moral conviction.
He pointed out that while Gandhi was trained in the law, his approach to conflict resolution went beyond adversarial courtroom battles. Gandhi, he said, believed even the fiercest disputants shared common interests, and through an appeal to both heart and mind, reconciliation could be achieved.
“His profound faith in the inherent goodness of humanity breathed life into his ethos of conflict as an opportunity for harmony rather than division,” Justice Kant observed.
Regarding Shastri, Justice Kant underlined how the former prime minister, deeply influenced by Gandhian thought, carried those ideals into governance with humility, accessibility, and moral clarity. His enduring call of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan,” he said, was a timeless affirmation of patriotism that honoured both the soldier who safeguarded the nation and the farmer who sustained it. “Shastri’s stewardship as Prime Minister translated Gandhian principles into resolute action,” he noted.
As the Supreme Court judge drew parallels between the two leaders, he said their legacy must be seen as a “living call to action.”
“Their shared ethos — of justice, humility, and selfless service, remains far more than a memory; it is a guiding light urging us to uphold their principles in the ongoing journey of our democracy,” Justice Kant concluded.
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