Noted human rights activist and lawyer Girish Patel passed away aged 85 in Ahmedabad on October 6, 2018. The Wire publishes, with permission, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani’s July 2009 tribute to Patel, which also appeared in the November 2012 edition of the Gujarati bi-weekly Dalit Adhikar. This excerpt, translated from Gujarati by neurologist Jay Desai, has been lightly edited and trimmed for style and length.§A quarter pound of corn. A bagful of shingoda. Currency notes, totalling Rs 374, laced with the smell of fish. And two bottles of honey.Please don’t be fooled into believing that these are titles of acts of some abstract drama. These are in fact the remunerations received by advocate Girish Patel for his legal services. Perhaps such remuneration is the only capital of Girishbhai’s life, a life sacrificed to help others. I believe that any sensible person can easily assess the greatness of his life simply on the basis of the fees paid to him by his poor and innocent clients.It won’t be an exaggeration to say that in today’s times of judicial insensitivity, Girishbhai is a rare individual, a personality with many facets, as veteran Gujarati social activist Indukumar Jani characterises him. A savior of Dalits, Tribals, minorities, women, child workers, bonded labourers, farm workers and those exploited in the unorganised sector. A lifelong crusader for freedom, equality and a just society. Initially a professor, then a principal, then a senior counsel. A custodian of human dignity and human rights.I bow to him, I am thankful to have had the chance to come in contact with him, and for this opportunity to speak about him.Today, I have to speak about the book Girishbhai: Girishbhai in Eyes of Friends, Girishbhai’s Speeches. The book is in two parts. The first part has 18 articles written by Girishbhai’s friends, documenting his life including his childhood, personal life and his life’s unique work. The articles by Indukumar Jani, Raju Solanki, Irfan Engineer, Rohit Prajapati, Medha Patkar, Manishi Jani are particularly beautiful. But the article that I consider to be the highlight of the book is by advocate Anand Yagnik, titled “Man is at the Center of Law.” In this article, Yagnik has narrated a few moving tales of Girishbhai’s struggles on behalf of the weaker sections of the society, the sections for which Girishbhai has spent his whole life. Anyone with a heart would bow to Girishbhai after reading those tales.Girishbhai fought for many people. At times, it would be a Dalit woman; at other times, a tribal girl. At times, the case would be of exploited women of tobacco industry in Kheda district of Gujarat; at other times of sugarcane workers of South Gujarat. For migrant workers from Orissa, for Tamil Nadu fishermen. For the workers cleaning rust from iron scrap shops in Kandla, for Sabarkantha’s bonded laborers.It was as if Girish Bhai’s clients constituted only those with bodies emaciated from hard labor, wrapped in disheveled clothes and panicked eyes.It was as if Girish Bhai’s clients constituted only those with bodies emaciated from hard labor, wrapped in disheveled clothes and panicked eyes. Yagnik writes that whenever a malnourished, poorly dressed and scared person enters the magnificent courtyard of the Gujarat high court, suited-booted lawyers jokingly say that this must surely be Girishbhai’s client. I believe that this joke is the biggest praise of Girishbhai’s life. The joke is his real identity.Yagnik further notes that the Gujarat high court’s shrewd and rich lawyers question Girishbhai, sometimes on his face and at other times behind his back, why he wastes his time on such useless matters and clients rather than spend his immense knowledge to earn money. “I get knowledge not from books but by straining to understand the hardships of my clients. And as far as money is concerned, I am happy with whatever I get from my clients,” Girishbhai responds to such questions. Girishbhai has lived his life with this contentment. He has neither tried to make money from his legal practice nor tried to capitalise on his activism like certain NGOs.His good friend Gautam Appa, an academic at the London School of Economics, notes, “I worked with Girishbhai in the slums of Gulbai Tekra area of Ahmedabad as part of an organisation. Once, the organisation got an offer of a substantial donation from a somewhat dubious person. I was tempted, but Girishbhai was very clear that if donation from that person was accepted then he would resign from the organisation. I am also aware that at a time when Girishbhai had some financial hardships because of fighting cases only for the poor, an industrialist tried to retain him in exchange of a handsome monthly remuneration to fight his cases against workers. Forget about accepting the offer, he was not even tempted to do so.”Because of these high values, when Girishbhai is attacking the judicial system itself in the court, even the judges decide to keep mum. One instance involving Girishbhai has in fact become legendary. From 2003 to 2006, the crime branch office of Gaekwad Haveli had apparently become a centre of detaining Muslims without due process. Some encounter specialists of the crime branch would pick up Muslims at a whim and torture them. It is said that if the victims resisted, it would lead to an encounter. This type of activity, which could possibly encourage terrorism, was apparently routine at the crime branch. Once, Kashmir Police handed Kashmiri Lala – accused of taking Ahmedabad youth to Pakistan for Jehadi training – to this crime branch. For a month and a half, he was in police custody but was not presented in the court. He was subjected to custodial torture and his family members were threatened that he would be dead if they complained. Girishbhai entered a habeas corpus petition to present Kashmiri Lala in the court. But the judge dismissed the petition. Then Girishbhai said “Saheb, democracy and the rule of law are tested on how the court treats the accused, and this honorable court too will have to undergo this test. When you dismiss my petition today, I ask myself that once you were my student, and what did I teach you that today I am not able to make you understand the fundamental principles of law? Before my client’s petition is dismissed, I dismiss this court and say that this court is not worthy of hearing my petition.” The question is, how Girishbhai got away with such a caustic statement.Also read: Tribute to Girish Patel, a Lawyer-Activist Who Helped Keep Society HumaneEvery page of the book has examples of Girishbhai’s activism. What is activism and what would be a one-line policy of an activist? The answer perhaps is that the activist has to rise to the occasion. Girishbhai has risen to the occasion every time there has been a sociopolitical event of significance in Gujarat ever since he entered public life in the 1960s. He has always been there when it matters the most.When communal riots broke out in the state in 1969, Girishbhai worked for the riot victims and for communal harmony along with the noted Gandhian, Narayan Desai. He exposed communal elements and gave shocking details of fake encounters carried out by the state.In 1972, during the Navnirman Andolan, the Congress high command tried to crush the movement by attempting to arrest lawyers, academicians and student leaders just prior to an important meeting at the official residence of the Gujarat governor. Girishbhai was a member of the state law commission then, but still chose to lie down right in front of the police jeep to stop the arrests.During the Anamat Andolan of 1984, he stood by Dalits when his fellow Patels tried to do mischief. Be it those displaced by the Narmada dam or the Sabaramati riverfront or any agitation or riot, Girishbhai is always on the side of the victims.Activists like Girishbhai are of course of a different mindset than the average mainstream person. But it is interesting how someone with an LLM from the prestigious Harvard University in the US developed such sensitivity for the weak and the marginalised. Indubhai Jani has thrown light in this matter. He notes that Girishbhai’s childhood was spent in long lines of rationing shops, lines for food grains, lines for kerosene, lines for sugar. He studied in a municipal school where Brahmins and Patels didn’t share glasses for water. Girishbhai recalls, “Once I drank water in a Brahmin’s glass and was scolded heavily. And once I touched a Dalit by mistake, which led to a commotion. We stayed in a rented place where there was no light connection and I studied under a petromax or sometimes just a diya. And a handheld fan was the only respite from the heat.” Perhaps his growing up with scarce resources led Girishbhai to develop sensitivity for the poor.Medha Patkar agrees and says, “I have seen Girishbhai from very close quarters during the Narmada Bacho Andolan. He is not only interested in the right to life of Tribals but also in their life in general. He is interested in knowing their culture, their way of life and also in knowing how they have survived to date. That’s why his PILs have become classic examples to follow for fellow activists.” Medhaben adds “Although Girishbhai is associated with Lok Adhikar Sangh and many such institutions, he himself is an institution.”Other chapters in the book are written again by activists just like Medha Patkar who have thanked Girishbhai for taking one and all with him in various movements without being too dogmatic about any ideology. Raju Solanki writes, “Lok Adhikar Sangh (which Girishbhai founded) became a medium for exchange of ideas among intellectuals, activists, lawyers, writers and poets. In those times, Geeta Shah, Tanushree Gangopadhyay and Sangeeta Shroff were getting ready to lead a feminist movement. Valjibhai Patel, Rameshchandra Parmar, Naran Vora, Naginbhai Parmar, Manishi Jani, and Ganpat Parmar were involved in Dalit causes. Achyut Yagnik, Priyadarshi Shukla and Darshini Mahadevia were starting a thorough sociological study of the weaker sections. Mahesh Bhatt and Bhushan Oza were looking for ways to deliver legal aid to the downtrodden. Girishbhai’s intellect, tact, commitment, humor and simplicity tied all of them together.”This is Girishbhai in the eyes of his friends. Let’s now talk about his speeches.A unique way of looking at various clauses and provisions, keeping the interests of the downtrodden in mind, and putting this perspective to work when fighting against the enemies of humanity – this is Girishprudence.Everyone knows that jurisprudence is a term used to describe the knowledge of law. But those who have got a chance to learn law from him and listen to his talks, use the word Girishprudence instead. Girishbhai’s unique way of looking at various clauses and provisions, keeping the interests of the downtrodden in mind, and putting this perspective to work when fighting against the enemies of humanity – this is Girishprudence. Each and every sentence of his speeches published in the book gives us an insight into Girishprudence.Despite today’s disappointing scenario in the country as far as basic human rights are concerned, Girishbhai’s spirits remain high. He says, “I was once asked in court: ‘Girishbhai, why do you always bring such cases to court?’ I responded, Saheb, not to get justice but to rob you of sound sleep. So that the judges of this court don’t go to sleep thinking everything is fine in the county. Till there is a hungry man around me, till there is a child labouring around me, till there is killing in the name of Hindus and Muslims, I will not let you sleep. And that is my only intention.”Girishbhai in one his speeches says, “People used to call me an angry young man once upon a time. I have not remained young but the anger is intact. And whenever I remember the dormant dreams that I have once seen for this society, whenever I remember the hopes and aspirations for this society, I show the same anger. And I promise that I will keep this anger alive for life.”My hundred salaams to Girishbhai’s passion and anger. And here’s hoping that the breaths Girishbhai has spent throughout his life for the downtrodden will prove to be the oxygen for some future generation.