Abdul Ghafoor Abdul Majeed Noorani Sahab passed away 29 August 2024 The loss is public yet personal for many. A lawyer, constitutional expert, and prolific author who contributed to legal scholarship and political discourse in India for over six decades. He embodied Milan Kundera's quote "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgettingā. He wrote on profusely and courageously on some of the most contentious and thorny politico-legal issues in India. Subjects that are dangerous to discuss in public in today's India.
Reading any Noorani book, means going through the excruciating details he asks you to pay attention to; in that sense he spoke through details and facts. It is the painstaking work of looking through thousands of documents, judgments, even interim-orders of district courts, maps, resolutions, official communications of executive authorities. Once he put them together, it narrated a story of treachery, false promises, arbitrariness, brute unaccountable exercise of power, undermining of constitutional morality and denial of basic rights by the powers that be. The obscure documents he uncovers, makes one think; where did he find that ?!. Like drafting a petition, key facts are backed by documentary evidence, marshaled together to form an argument that exposed and uncovered injustice. For many of us, he gave us the legal language to articulate the deep injustice we feel. This is a tribute but also an attempt to convince you to read his works.
Some of his works include, two books on the destruction of the Babri Masjid wherein covers every minute detail, of the civil suits up to the High court decision and the derailment of the criminal trials. Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir; a detailed history of internally hollowing out Article 370 and the constant chipping away of a promised autonomy. This was published before the Supreme court upheld the abrogation.
The Muslims of India: A documentary record; is another important work where the emphasis is on the responses of the Muslims to the problems they faced and on intra-community debates that ensued in the aftermath of Partition. It covers debates on Muslim personal law, autonomy to Muslim educational institutions etc. It also elaborates on the socio- economic conditions of Muslims. In The RSS: A Menace to India, Noorani traces the RSS's ascendancy from a fringe group/movement in its beginnings in 1925 to a hegemonic force in contemporary Indian politics. These are just a few to demonstrate the diverse subjects he wrote on. There are several others such ; the destruction of Hyderabad, Indian political trials, India-China boundary problem etc.
Rest In power Noorani Sahab, a scholar who spoke law to power until his last breath !
- All India Lawyers' Association for Justice (AILAJ)
