Here’s a man who is passionate about science as he is about religion and philosophy. And what's even more remarkable is that his scholarship is tempered with social concerns.
Meet former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachaliah, who has set high standards in the higher echelons of judiciary.
Although he is now leading a quiet life, barring an occasional involvement with a few socio-cultural organisations, his sharp intellect, concern for the poor and ideas for a better India surely inspires the young to dream and work for a better nation.
The former justice spent an hour sharing his thoughts and ideas on education, primary healthcare, religion and the vast human resources, with a group of senior members of the Primrose Road Mar Thoma Church, who include retired educationists, doctors, police officers and bureaucrats.
Venkatachaliah began his talk by commenting on the poor leadership in the country.
He thinks there’s a crisis in leadership. “Today there’s a crisis in ideals and there are no inspiring instances of ethical leadership. This is the case across the world,” says the justice.
He firmly believes that democracy is a great gift for mankind. It enriches one’s life and gives one the freedom to move about with freedom and liberty. But this freedom has been misused by our so-called leaders.

Education is the key
He thinks the key to saving our country from slipping into further crisis is to educate our children. “Ours is a young nation. About 72 per cent of the population in our country is below 35 years’ old. India needs good moral and physical education. We want our children to go to the polling booths and not take to the streets with guns in hand. For this we need 65,000 new primary schools and 35,000 primary health centres every year to cater to the growing young,” says Venkatachaliah. Educating the young is essential for the development and progress of our country.

Health care
Venkatachaliah dwelt extensively on health care being an area of neglect. “Health care has been misunderstood and misinterpreted as medical care. Preventive health care is an area that has been neglected. The delivery mechanisms of these health care units are equally shocking and substandard,” commented the justice.
He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the population boom. “Demographic explosion is a challenging problem today. But this demographic explosion is combined with a new source of energy when the new generation properly is educated and utilised. Human resource is considered as a great gift. We must cash in on every human being and add value to the growth of the country,” he says.
The justice thinks that though we cannot control population boom, we can effectively use the existing manpower to build a strong and healthy nation by providing good education and health care.    

Role of religion
Venkatachaliah says that religion and religious leaders play a huge role in influencing people and their activities.
 He thinks religious heads must keep off politics and work within their realms to further development and progress. “Religion alone has destroyed and divided us and religion alone can unite mankind,” he observes. 
When asked to comment on death penalty, Venkatachaliah said, “Death penalty does not belong to a civilised world. It does not reduce crime and has serious moral and ethical reverberations.”