Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Sunday that former Additional Solicitor-General of India late V.P. Raman was an uncrowned king in his lifetime, and his biography, The Man who would not be King, written by his son P.S. Raman, would serve as a guide for several lawyers.
Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan launched the book after Mr. Stalin was taken ill and could not attend the event. Mr. Duraimurugan read out the Chief Minister’s speech.
Mr. Stalin recalled that V.P. Raman was part of the committee that framed the DMK’s constitution and stood by the party in its formative years. “In 1961, he left the DMK because of differences over the Dravida Naadu policy. Yet, in 1967, he was instrumental in bringing Annadurai and Rajaji together for an alliance. Though he took differing stances on politics, his friendship with Kalaignar [former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi] did not diminish,” he said.
“If history can be decided by individuals, V.P. Raman would be one among such individuals. The biography might be called The Man who would not be King, but during his lifetime V.P. Raman was an uncrowned king,” the Chief Minister said.
V. Ramasubramanian, judge of the Supreme Court of India, said a man’s achievements could be judged by the number of lives he had impacted. “If you look at V.P. Raman’s achievements... when the history of Tamil Nadu is written or when the history of some of the people of the tallest stature in the State is written, V.P. Raman’s name will be there in it,” he said.
Justice Ramasubramanian recalled the talent of V.P. Raman and said he finished his law degree at the age of 20 and became a lawyer at 22, the youngest State public prosecutor at 32, the Additional Solicitor-General of India at 43 and the Advocate- General at 45. “He was a multi-faceted person. At the age of 26, he was a member of the high-level committee that drafted the DMK’s constitution. He also wrote a full script for a Tamil movie, though it was never made. He was also an accomplished violinist,” he said.
N. Srinivasan, managing director, The India Cements Ltd., said V.P. Raman was a man of integrity.
K.R.N. Menon, past District Grandmaster, District Grand Lodge of Madras, said V.P. Raman had tremendous sincerity of purpose and was most interested in doing a sincere and honest job till the end of his life.
