Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi Appointed as Honorary Adjunct Professor at Jindal Global Law School
- Forum is organized by Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU)
- Experts deliberate the constitutionality of the controversial Jain practice of fasting unto death
Sonipat, August, 16, 2016: Distinguished parliamentarian and eminent jurist, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Member of Parliament & Former National Spokesperson, Indian National Congress was appointed as Honorary Adjunct Professor of Jindal Global Law School at a forum organized here at the O.P. Jindal Global University. The forum was organized on the “The Right to Life and the Privilege to Die: Constitutional Dimensions of the Practice of Santhara” by the law school of the university.
Speaking on the occasion, Professor Dr. C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, JGU and Dean of Jindal Global Law School, said, “It is our proud privilege to welcome Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi as ‘Honorary Adjunct Professor’ to our university. Dr. Singhvi is a distinguished lawyer and parliamentarian, who has inspired a generation of young lawyers and law students. He is someone who has combined the world of legal practice as well as the world of legal academia and has been actively engaged in a number of critical issues while playing a leadership role in the court itself.”
Dr. Singhvi joins other distinguished Indian and foreign judges, Hon. Mr. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge, International Court of Justice at The Hague, Mr. Gopal Subramanium, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Hon. Mr. Justice Michael D. Wilson and Hon. Ms. Justice Sabrina S. McKenna, judges of the Supreme Court of Hawaii in the USA who are also Honorary Adjunct Professors of Jindal Global Law School.
Professor Kumar further observed, “The founding vision of JGU is to promote comprehensive learning across different disciplines, led by appointment of faculty members with outstanding academic qualifications and experience. The appointment of Dr. Singhvi as Adjunct Professor at Jindal Global Law School is a demonstration of our commitment towards that goal, while recognizing the need for giving opportunities to our students to gain perspectives and experiences from such stellar individuals.”
Dr. Singhvi is an eminent jurist, parliamentarian, a well-known columnist, author and commentator. He is the youngest designated Senior Advocate, Supreme Court. A former and youngest Additional Solicitor General of India and former elected Vice President, Supreme Court Bar Association.
“In a historical, mythological and religious context, santhara is the Jain method of mastering the art of living as much as mastering the art of dying.” Said Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Member of Parliament & Former National Spokesperson, Indian National Congress, while delivering the distinguished public lecture.
Santhara, also known as Samadhi-marana, Sanyasana-marana is the last vow prescribed by the Jain ethical code of conduct. The vow of Santhara is observed by the Jain ascetics and lay votaries at the end of their life by gradually reducing the intake of food and liquids.
“While this theme is very unusual, it is quite exciting and interesting, because it stands at the crossroads of so many diverse sub-themes. It stands at the intersecting crossroads of law, religion, constitutional law and sociology. It is indeed a humungous canvas.” Noted the eminent jurist.
Highlighting the contributions of the Jain community in the country, he said, “Today of course, we are India’s smallest minority after the Parsis, but the impact and effect of Jain thought on diverse area has been disproportionately high compared to its dwindling contemporary numbers. Speaking on the unorthodox practices and beliefs of the Jain tradition, he noted “Jainism, is also amongst the most unusual religions, it is strange as being a religion which is considered almost irreligious as it has no belief in a creator, no belief in a big bang theory and it was almost considered anti-religious and anti-god.”
“Empirically he is devastating but conceptually he is a bit coy,” said, Professor (Dr.) Shiv Visvanathan, Vice Dean, JGLS, while responding to the debate ignited by Dr. Singhvi, in his distinguished public lecture at the university campus.
“I think the greatest gift to santhara you can give is to go beyond the current frameworks of modernity. I think there are fascinating possibilities here for a thought experiment, and that is why I felt your lecture wasn’t complete. You were devastating empirically, fascinating in history, but I think, as the Jain philosopher you stopped halfway and the lawyer took over. I wish it was the other way round.” Noted the renowned social scientist.
Drawing a sociological perspective on the controversial practice of santhara, Professor Visvanathan, observed, “The real basis of santhara is a meditation on two cosmologies. A cosmology of death and a cosmology of life, and the cosmology which puts because of its philosophy of time, a continuity between death and life.” He further lauded Jainism for its modernity and theory of choice, and said, “Jainism in terms of its theory of choice is a fascinatingly modern exercise, you have choice twice over, choice first in terms of your individual decisions but choice also in terms of the availability of cosmologies present to you.”
“Something our courts have failed to accomplish is to move from liberalism to pluralism. Moving from the sanctity of the liberal and the secular to a pluralistic idea which gives religion a different kind of role. A different kind of cosmology, where cosmology and epistemology intersect in a new kind of way. We are still captive to a certain kind of modernity, an illiterate one.” Noted Professor Visvanathan in his closing remarks
Drawing up a constitutional perspective on the matter, Professor Khagesh Gautam, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean, JGLS, noted, “While interpreting article 25 of our Constitution, the Supreme Court has created the doctrine of essential practices. According to this doctrine, all essential religious practices are afforded constitutional protection against government action. The way I see it, if santhara can be shown to be an essential practice of Jainism, it has to be protected under the doctrine of essential practices.”
Professor Gautam also remarked that one of the tests of testing the essential-ness of a given practice is to examine whether the existence or identity of the religion would be jeopardized by prohibiting that practice. In the famous Dawoodi Bohra case (AIR 1962 SC 853), Justice Ayyangar of the Supreme Court had observed that a legislation could not reform a religion out of existence or identity. What remains to be seen, Professor Gautam noted, is whether santhara’s prohibition would jeopardize the existence or identity of the Jain religion.
To many Jains, death by Santhara is an act of supreme renunciation and great piety, which only the most spiritually pure undertake.
Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi is an Indian politician belonging to Indian National Congress party, he is also a Member of the Parliament of India representing Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi is currently the Chairman of the AICC All India Law and Human Rights Department and Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Law, Justice, Personnel & Grievances. He was formerly the spokesperson of the Congress party and Vice Chairman of Congress’ Media Department.
About O.P. Jindal Global University
JGU is a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private Universities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. JGU is established in memory of Mr. O.P. Jindal as a philanthropic initiative of Mr. Naveen Jindal, the Founding Chancellor. The University Grants Commission has accorded its recognition to O.P. Jindal Global University. The vision of JGU is to promote global courses, global programmes, global curriculum, global research, global collaborations, and global interaction through a global faculty. JGU is situated on an 80-acre state-of-the art residential campus in the National Capital Region of Delhi. JGU is one of the few universities in Asia that maintains a 1:15 faculty-student ratio and appoints faculty members from different parts of the world with outstanding academic qualifications and experience.