‘Nai Talim’ taught me to become self-reliant’

Adv Prashant Kumar Sathianathan 

IN THE year 1937, Mahatma Gandhi had introduced a revolutionary education concept ‘Nai Talim’ in India which was aimed to make every person self-reliant vis-à-vis villages. The education system was based on the principle that knowledge and work are not separate. Its resonance is now found in the New Education Policy (NEP) which has brought notable changes in education. City’s eminent lawyer Prashant Kumar Sathianathan is one of the pass-outs of ‘Nai Talim’ which made him passionately follow the idea of being a perfect professional. ‘The Hitavada’ spoke to him on the education system, its flexibility, and its utility in his legal career.

Being a special public prosecutor for Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO), Adv Sathianathan, during his career, has proved guilt of dreaded criminals, naxals and terrorists in the courts and put them behind bars. Naxal ideologue G N Saibaba was one of them. While representing the State in the court, Adv Sathianathan takes precautions of every minute details of the criminal case and himself is involved in preparation of the case with police officials and witnesses. Thanks to the ‘Nai Talim’, his conscience does not allow him to rely on juniors or any third party during the case study.

“My personality was shaped by ‘Nai Talim’ where I learnt to become self-reliant and not dependent,” stated Adv Sathianathan recalling an incident during his initial days of profession. A file of a case was missing on the court date and the court employee was hesitant to search it. Adv Sathianathan himself moved into the store room full of dust and traced the file in the bundles of thousands of other cases files. This self-reliant attitude and consciousness makes him aptly different in the lawyers’ circle.

Adv Sathianathan’s father Adhukandi Adiyari was gold medalist from Madras Christian College and staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Following the footprints of father, Adv Sathianathan took admission at ‘Nai Talim’ at Sevagram Ashram in 1965 when he was just 11 and spent six years there. It was a life learning process for him where apart from education he was cooking food that included making 50 ‘Bhakaris’ and cutting 25 kgs of vegetables everyday. Along with languages, mathematics and science subjects, the students were taught Gramodyog that include carpentry, spinning, electric work etc.

The life-learning training imparted by ‘Nai Talim’ left a long lasting effect on Adv Sathianathan. “Everyone earns money. But a name must be earned with hard-working and selfless services for the society. This philosophy of life was taught at the Ashram,” he opined.

A sharp legal brain which is the most-sought in the fraternity, Adv Sathianathan is vocal about the lacunas in the Indian justice system. “The police are not taking initiative in finding quality witnesses in the charge-sheets. In many cases, the police act as mute spectators and they don’t even do a medical check up of victims. This needs to be changed so that people would get justice,” said Adv Sathianathan.

The eminent lawyer was pained by the superficial approach of some budding lawyers and said that the public prosecutor should appear in the court as if he was fighting his own case. It’s a duty of the lawyer to prepare the Investigation Officer and witnesses for the case, he said.

The disproportionate number of judges in the judiciary as compared to cases and population has led to delays in judgements. A case comes for witnesses after seven to eight years. “In such a case, it’s difficult for the witness to recall vital details of the incident and it helps criminals get acquittal,” said Adv Sathianathan but expressed satisfaction about increasing awareness about law among people.