Welcome Remarks: Book Discussion on ‘Feroze, the Forgotten Ghandi’, by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Director VIF, 06 Oct 2017

I have great pleasure in welcoming Mr. Bertil Falk who has written a very interesting book titled ‘Feroze: the Forgotten Ghandi’. I also take this opportunity to welcome Dr. Surya Prakash, Chairman Prasar Bharti and a Distinguished Fellow with us. He is a leading commentator on Indian constitutional and parliamentary issues and governance. Apart from his pioneering work on parliament, Dr. Surya Prakash is known for his well-researched interventions on national issues. there could not be any better person to chair this discussion but Dr. Surya Prakash.

Adhering to constitutional norms and imparting good governance has been the avowed objectives of any government in our country. At the VIF we have governance as one of the key focus areas and we have made modest efforts to bring attention to this issue in many ways since inception of this foundation. Relevance of these two factors of abiding by the true spirit of constitution and rooting out corruption cannot be overemphasized; these are two necessary pre-conditions for India’s growth as a peaceful, prosperous and a strong and stable nation devoid of any internal conflicts or fissiparous tendencies.

I have been able to only glance through Mr. Bertil Falk’s book which throws light on Feroze Ghandi who was a good and effective parliamentarian and brought to fore issues of corruption, going by what is laid down in the constitution. He was also instrumental in initiating a law that enabled the publishing of parliamentary proceedings without the fear of being held in contempt by the Parliament.

The book has been very well chapterized and covers almost all the issues connected with Feroze Ghandi’s life, his work and his achievements and tribulations. With that as background, I will now request Dr. Surya Prakash to carry the proceedings forward.