The common man finally has a chance to be heard and seen. Thanks to social media, all corners and countrymen have the opportunity to voice their opinions and engage in debates regarding policy making, current events, culture and countless more topics. But this development has set us back as a society and its potential to do good is entirely overshadowed by the damage it has caused. Built on the foundation of half-baked facts, incomplete knowledge and a propensity of falling for fake news, social media has had devastating consequences for our actual social lives and worldview.
While civilisations all over the world and throughout time have benefited from debates and philosophy, the addition of social media makes this practice tricky because people can enter into debates even before they know all the facts. Seeing this alarming state of affairs, many intellectual leaders of our society have taken charge of educating the masses so people can enter into conversations with more clarity and civility. Dr Kislay Panday is one such figure and has dedicated the past year to authoring a comprehensive guide of India’s political history so our youth can get to know their present better. He says, “There are countless instances in history when we see rivals who respect each other despite being at odds. And it is a very interesting and humbling phenomenon because when we witness this, we realise that people who are skilled and talented enough do not need aggression to prove their prowess, they do not need to be at each other’s necks. They are united in their goal of honouring their craft. Politics is a battle of minds, and everyone is involved in it whether they like it or not.”.
He adds, “The hostility and divisiveness in politics comes from people’s insecurity about their stances, and knowledge. If we all come together to educate ourselves, we will find ourselves united towards a common goal of development and prosperity.”.
Dr Panday’s sentiments echo clearly in The Sovereign. He discusses the various dynamics in our social structures and its political consequences in great detail in his bestseller. The Sovereign is an intellectually delightful read that discusses the depth of India’s culture and history at length and covers a vast variety of facts in an adept and attentive manner. It also takes the time to familiarise its readers with various political theories and philosophies so the readers are not confined to one view and have a full understanding of the subject matter.
The Sovereign is another addition to Dr Kislay Panday’s long list of achievements- and is a stellar one at that. Dr Panday established himself as a leading Supreme Court advocate a long time ago and continues to uphold his promise of justice and truth after all these years.
He is especially loved by the youth for his work as a social activist and his fearless pursuit of justice. Dr Panday has emerged victorious in many high profile criminal cases like the Bulandshahar Gangrape Case, journalist Rajdev Ranjan’s Murder. Case and the Shahabuddin case. He was the man behind the landmark Supreme Court ruling, “A fair trial is the right of not only the accused but also of the victim”. And became a top forensic auditor after he uncovered the scams being run by DHFL and Yes Bank.
Dr Kislay Panday is a treasured visionary not just in a legal sense but also as a lawyer – and his efforts continue to ignite hope in Indians.