Harish salve
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Biography of Advocate Ram Jethmalani: (1923-2019)
Early Background
Ram Boolchand Jethmalani, born on 14th September 1923, was a magnificent lawyer and a politician. He was born in Shikarpur, Sindh, then Bombay Presidency (presently in Pakistan) to Boolchand Gurmukhdas Jethmalani and Parbati Boolchand.
He got a two-fold advancement in school and finished matriculation when he was just 13 years old. Mr Jethmalani acquired his LL.B. degree at 17 years old from Bombay University with First Class Distinction and began specializing in legal matters in Shikarpur until the partition of India. The partition drove him to move to Mumbai as a refugee, where he started his life and profession once again. Around then, the base age for turning into a lawyer was 21, yet a special exemption permitted him to turn into a legal counsellor at 18 years old. He also got his LL.M. from Bombay University.
Jethmalani wedded his first spouse, Durga, in a customary Indian arranged marriage around 18. In 1947, not long before partition, he wedded his subsequent spouse, Ratna Shahani, a lawyer by
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ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: Ram Jethmalani, currently on a peace mission here as head of India’s Kashmir Committee, is one of the most colourful and provocative politicians of India.
The 80-year-old Jethmalani, who even contested the Indian Presidential election, is a sitting member of the Indian Parliament’s upper house, Rajya Sabha, and a former BJP law minister.
He was elected to the House with the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). A defender of the RSS and its philosophy of the Hindutva, Jethmalani said in a Rajya Sabha debate in March 2000: “RSS is the basic tenet of the Constitution.” However, later that year in an interview to the Indian Rediff website Jethmalani said: “BJP will keep Hindutva on backburner for Muslim votes.”
He is also the co-author of the BJP election manifesto calling for repeal of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that accords special status to the dispute of Jammu and Kashmir. The manifesto also advocated construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and introduction of a uniform legal system for Hindus and religious minorities in India.
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A Legal Genius (1923 - 2019)
Ram Jethmalani was not that tall, but standing next to him, you knew you were with a man of immense stature with a brilliant mind.
I was lucky enough to work with him on an interfaith project (bring different faith communities together) in India where I met him at his home in New Delhi with the interfaith project organisers, the Unity of Faiths Foundation. It was at a time when Mr Jethmalani was in discussions with Narendra Modi on campaigning for the PM role – the rest is history.
Mr Jethmalani not only sent a letter to the Indian High Commission in London to help speed up my visa application, but he was so gracious to allow us to use his house as a base for the project. I further met him in London when his biography was published. He gave me great access to my photography portfolio. He will be dearly missed.
Known as India’s top criminal lawyers, Mr Jethmalani completed his law degree in Karachi before arriving in India in 1962. He soon made his name with an outspoken reputation. Labels of maverick skills and legal
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