Noted Indian intellectual, Kashmiris' rights champion AG Noornai passes away
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He is widely respected for analysis of constitutional and human rights issues
(Wed Desk) – Former Supreme Court lawyer, intellectual and eminent scholar A.G. Noorani died in Mumbai on Thursday. He was 96.
Born Abdul Ghafoor Majeed Noorani in Mumbai on September 16, 1930, he is widely respected for analysis of constitutional and human rights issues.
He was a champion of rights of people of Jammu and Kashmir for whom he wrote in books and highly quoted articles.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah is one of the early mourners who paid him tributes remembering his work on matters of law and subjects like Kashmir, the RSS and the Constitution.
"Sorry to hear about the demise of AG Noorani Sb earlier today. Noorani Sb was a man of letters, an accomplished lawyer, a scholar & a political commentator. He wrote extensively on matters of law and on subjects like Kashmir, RSS and the constitution. May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannat," wrote National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on X.
He started writing in the early 1960s and produced hundreds of articles.
He was a legal legal scholar and political commentator par excellence who wrote several books, including The Kashmir Question, Ministers' Misconduct, Brezhnev's Plan for Asian Security, The Presidential System, The Trial of Bhagat Singh and Constitutional Questions in India.
His notable books included The Kashmir Dispute 1947-2012, Article 370: A constitutional history of Jammu and Kashmir, and The Destruction of Hyderabad.
Noorani also authored the biographies of former President Dr Zakir Husain and Badruddin Tyabji, the first Indian to practise as a barrister of the High Court of Mumbai during British rule.
His columns also appeared in various publications like Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Statesman and others.
AG Noorani had defended Sheikh Abdullah, the first elected prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir after its accession to India, during his long period of detention.
Noorani obtained his law degree from the Government Law College, Mumbai. He started his career from Bombay High Court in 1953 and ended it as Supreme Court lawyer.
He represented in the High Court former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi against his political rival J Jayalalithaa.
Asaduddin Owaisi mourned “AG Noorani, a giant among scholars has passed away. I learnt a great deal from him, from the constitution, to Kashmir, to China & even the art of appreciating good food. May Allah grant him maghfirah.”
Highly respected for his expertise on constitutional matters, his works also include extensive writing on matters pertaining to Indian Muslims, besides presenting numerous papers at seminars to educate audiences across the country about various issues.
In one his articles published in 2019, he quoted then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s less-discussed views on the Kashmir dispute:
“It is an international problem. It would be an international problem anyhow if it concerned any other nation besides India and it does. It became further an international problem because a large number of other countries also took interest and gave advice…. We do not want to win people against their will and with the help of armed forces, and if the people of Jammu and Kashmir State so wish it, to part company from us, they can go their way and we shall go our way. We want no forced marriages, no forced unions like this….
“But whether it is a pain and a torment, if the people of Kashmir want to go out, let them go because we will not keep them against their will however painful it may be to us. That is the policy that India will pursue and because India will pursue that policy people will not leave her, people will cleave to her and come to her. Because the strongest bonds that bind will not be the bonds of your armies or even of your Con¬stitution to which so much reference has been made, but bonds which are stronger than the Constitution and laws and armies — bonds that bind thr¬ough love and affection and understanding of various peoples.”
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said in a condolence message: “Noorani sahab was a true friend and supporter of the people of J&K and had a deep and critical understanding of the Kashmir issue… In his death Kashmir has lost a great advocate of its aspirations.”
