SPEECH OF RASHMI TANEJA, daughter of Dharam Vir Taneja, on the launch of his book, A Chronology of Men, Matters and Events, on the 4th of July 2014 at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, India
Good evening, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen.
We have gathered here to celebrate a very special day: today July 4 is
my father’s 90th birthday. We’re also delighted and honored to have
you all here to launch his book which chronicles his memoirs.
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll try not to talk too long. They say it’s best
to leave your audience before your audience leaves you.
My father’s book charts his life story from his humble beginnings
during pre-Partition days in Quetta, his traumatic journey to India during the
genocide that killed millions of Hindus in 1947.
He had a varied career as a banker in Punjab National Bank, Chairman of
Central Bank, as a management consultant in TCS and in the 1980s as a CEO in
Middle East Bank in Dubai.
My father is special to me for his love, his kindness, compassion,
generosity and above all his honesty.
While I am proud of his achievements as a senior banker, I admire him
most of all for his exemplary courage and his ethical stance that cost him his
job.
My father was one of the first victims of the Emergency in 1975 in the
banking world in India.
A Commission of Enquiry was appointed by the then Government of India
shortly after the Janata Party came to power in 1977 to investigate into the
affairs of Maruti Ltd. Mr Justice A.C. Gupta conducted this Commission of
Enquiry. In the Report of the Commission
of Inquiry on Maruti Affairs dated May 31, 1979, Mr. Justice A.C. Gupta, [who was at the
relevant time on the Bench of the Supreme Court of India] in his findings concerning the investigation
into the affairs of Maruti Limited, Justice Gupta concluded as follows[1]:
“From the facts the conclusion seems
inescapable that Prime Minister Shrimati Indira Gandhi opposed the renewal of
Shri Taneja’s term as Chairman of Central Bank of India overruling the
recommendations of the Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Minister because
Taneja did not find it possible to approve Sanjay Gandhi’s proposal for a loan
of Rs. 1.5 crores to help Maruti Limited.”
And I quote from my father’s
book:
“I became a victim of the twin wrath of Mrs Indira Gandhi and her son
during these difficult years. It is my duty to narrate the true version of
events as they transpired. Professionally, I have spent my life as a banker. We
are trained to ensure that the hard earned money of depositors, which is
entrusted to us, must never be exposed to any risk. As a trustee of depositors’
funds, a banker must measure up to the highest yardstick of probity expected of
a banker.”
The 19 months of Emergency that followed my father’s dismissal were the
most harrowing days of our lives. During those dark days, my father was
harassed because he withstood political pressures. We were terrified of the
midnight knock, afraid of authorities who might whisk my father away.
Despite this trauma he faced life with a graceful dignity, which is
characteristic of his nature. The book narrates his life story in great detail.
Thank you ladies and gentlemen,
I’ll now request my sister Ramni to say a few words.
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