Palkhivala, Nani Adeshir

▪ 2003

      Indian jurist and civil rights activist (b. Jan. 16, 1920, Bombay [now Mumbai], India—d. Dec. 11, 2002, Mumbai), was revered in India as a top authority on constitutional law and government finance. In 1958 Palkhivala, a lawyer and private businessman, began an annual tradition of publicly expounding on the country's budget; these speeches brought him renown as an expert on taxation and as a gifted orator. Although he opposed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's policies, Palkhivala in 1975 agreed to defend her when she was charged with corruption. When Gandhi declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution, however, he resigned. After Gandhi's defeat in the 1977 general elections, Palkhivala was named ambassador to the U.S., a position he held until 1979. He remained politically active later in life, lobbying for better living standards for India's poor and for a more effective and responsible government.

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