"A government nominee does not become a slave of the government"

In fact, there is a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court filed by the Hindu Mahasabha, filing soon after I was appointed. The High Court has not taken any decision on this.

That is the silver lining in the VHP’s position. The VHP thinks the Commission is very important. I would concentrate more on this change in their thinking, that the Commission is important. This recognition is very gratifying for us.

The Commission is an autonomous body working within the mandate of an Act of Parliament. Before me, the Commission was not allowed to work with autonomy. Now it is functioning with complete autonomy. The Chief Justice of India is also a government nominee. All judges of the Supreme Court, all High Court judges, the AttoXrney General of India… these are all government nominees. For all these positions, the government’s work is over the day the nomination is made. Nomination does not make us slaves of the government. I am happy the BJP government has never said this. If the BJP party says it, I care the least. I have no political aspirations, no political ambitions for the future.

To be fair to the government, the BJP has made no interference in my work. Of the three governments I have worked with, in some respects, the BJP government has been moreresponsive to the Commission’s communications.

I was appointed at the time of the Deve Gowda government. I had never met or seen Deve Gowda. I never went to him with folded hands. The then government, in its wisdom decided to appoint me. It departed from the usual practice of nominating a superannuated bureaucrat or a retired judge, but appointed a serving professor of Law. If it’s a question of a government nominee, then all constitutional appointees, all judicial appointments are government nominees. Will the party say the same thing about them? I have a mandate from Parliament and am acting well within my bounds.

I know my brief. I don’t need to be told about my brief. If they want they can take a briefing from me on the provisions of the Constitution.

I know only one language and that is the language of law. Those who appreciate the language of law, have no problem. Those who are bitten by the language of law,will find it bitter.

This is a completely trumped-up excuse. We have never asked for any census-related data. There has been talk of forced conversions. We had asked for proof, whether oral or documentary, of instances of forced conversions. The state government was supposed to give this information by January 20, which they did. After January 20 we have never asked the state government for any information. The questionnaire that the state government is using has nothing to do with what we required. In fact it is quite obnoxious. It does not have even remote connection with what we had sought.

In any case the question of conversions was raised in the context of the Christians. So why have a census of the Muslims? The state government is trying to befool the people. They are caught in a mess, so this is a trumped-up excuse (that the Commission had sought information).

Thereaction of the government too is worth noting. The government was unhappy about the leakage of the news about the census, not that the census was actually taking place. The state government is now trying to wriggle out of the situation.

It is a combination of two distinct elements. Vested political interests and ignorance of law and fact. There is a shameful legal illiteracy in this country. On issues like conversions, reconversions, conversions of tribals… nobody has read the law. Nobody has read the Constitution of India. Nobody has read the Hindu law. Nobody has read Hindu religion. I have worked on Hindu religio-legal studies for many years. I have written seven books on Hindu law. I have written a book on the Manu Smriti. I have defended Hindu law against the Western onslaught. But people who today are talking of conversions and reconversions have not even read the Constitution. They are playing havoc with theminorities.

I am not a pessimist. This is a temporary phase. This is alien to the social ethos of this country. This country has a different historical ethos. The people of India, the masses of this country will not accept this situation for too long. The Indian people are predominantly tolerant and civilised. I firmly believe this phase is bound to pass soon.