The once Sadr-e-Riyasat of the State, a Minister in the Central cabinet, a life-long parliamentarian, a philosopher and scholar and a connoisseur of art, Dr. Karan Singh has served the State and the country as the doyen of national politics and done us great honour. He is among a handful of our political stalwarts who saw the country transitioning from the British Raj to independence. He has been witness to all that happened, big and small, in this country right from the day of independence viz. 15th of August 1947. As a teenager, he was called upon to wear the mantle of administration. The greatest quality of his personality is that despite being a royalty, despite having lost the kingdom, and above all despite the fact that his illustrious father, the Maharaja of J&K was given a scurvy treatment by the national leadership of the day, Dr. Karan Singh, like a true believer in karmayoga, never expressed even the minutest complaint of the vagary of history and capriciousness of human nature both of which were arrayed against him.
His farewell speech to the Rajya Sabha from which he is retiring after completion of his term, was, in the words of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Venkaiah Naidu “a treat”. He has seen the making of free India with his own eyes, nay has been part of that fabulous story and as such he is the living history of contemporary India. The nation owes him gratitude. Parliamentarians of all shades and ideologies gave him a warm and well-deserved farewell. In his farewell speech he did not pontificate as is the wont of departing parliamentarians. He recounted his career and poignantly hoped that future parliamentarians would see debates frequent and disruptions rare, the reverse of what we have at the moment. It is for the parliamentarians to convince themselves whether they are there to hate and seek revenges or to serve the interests of the nation.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel