I am very much delighted to be in the helm of affairs of the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP), when we all are celebrating the birth Centenary of Padmavibhushan Late Dr. N. A. Palkhivala, Senior Advocate, a True Legend, in whose presence AIFTP was formed on 11-11-1976. Dr. N A Palkhivala is a legend because, he used his talents to the fullest, and for all the right purposes. He did so by living for what he believed in, by working very hard, respecting the people he worked with and living his life with absolute grace and humility. I am equally delighted to be part of our Publication Team headed by Dr. K. Shivaram, Senior Advocate, who is publishing the Book Titled “A Legend” for AIFTP on this occasion, containing tributes paid to the Legend by the eminent personalities in our Country.

I remember a famous quotation of Dr. N. A. Palkhivala, who said, emphasizing the necessity of education “Education is at the heart of the matter. Literacy is not enough. It is good to have a population which is able to read; but infinitely better to have people able to distinguish what is worth reading.” He further said in his book “We, the Nation: The Lost Decades”, “A survey came to the conclusion that even among the educated classes 97 percent of the people could not think for themselves. They derived their opinions and beliefs from what they heard on the radio or television or read in the newspapers.” Who else can say this, so boldly, other than Dr. N. A. Palkhivala.

I wish, the readers of this book would be inspired from the expressions of the eminent personalities about this Legend.

Message

It is my privilege to get this opportunity of putting together views and opinions, expressed by stalwarts of our field, about Dr. N. A. Palkhivala, an adorable person and in fact, is the presiding deity of the legal profession. In the initial days of my career, my senior, Dr. K. Shivaram Sr. Advocate, had given me the rare opportunity to interact with this towering personality of our times —–Padma Vibhushan Dr. N. A. Palkhivala; now again, I am blessed with this opportunity to work on this project.

While I felt elevated to walk a few steps with him, I can only imagine the advantage of those who had lived and worked with him. Even during that era of limited communications, the pre social media days, he became a house hold name for his independent views and for his high moral ground in public life. For professionals, in several walks of life, he was the role model providing inspiration and motivation. His public life with many facets and his professional versatility were an open book – any aspiring youngster can take a leaf out of it. His ‘perseverance’ as a professional had made him one of the greatest jurists of our times.

There is an air of optimism for the future generations due to the eco system created by such stalwarts. I am reminded of the lines written by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers – The Story of success – “It make a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It’s not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn’t” This is what is the gift of Padma Vibhushan Late Dr. N. A. Palkhivala to the future generations to excel in their chosen fields. The future generations are going to be indebted to him for creating the eco system where caliber and hard work are the passport for success. On behalf of the Journal Committee of the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners I thank all the contributors of this issue.