The Great Humanist: Ramaswami Venkataraman

Writing on Rameswai Venkataraman is a matter of pleasure and upliftment. He is a man who has been serving a great cause – the removal of poverty from India. An able parliamentarian, a patient listener and a conversationalist with a sense of humour – and, above all, a great humanist – Venkataraman has all the makings of a man who deserves the highest office the nation can offer for his outstanding contributions to the freedom struggle and post-independence economic reconstruction of India. Mr. Attar Chand is writer with scientific outlook and much of his present value is couched in academic pursuit. He has flashes of creative writing which are impressive and his analysis of Venkataraman’s humanistic outlook – his love for the poor – is particularly remarkable. Mr. Attar Chand’s study of Venkataraman is well documented and researched and is of value to all in India and abroad. The evolution of Venkataraman’s socio-economic, cultural, artistic and political ideas is traced and followed cogently with reference to the various influences to which he was subject. Despite the criticism and counter criticism Venkataraman emerges a practical Idealist above all a great humanist who made a significant contribution to modern India. The book deserves wide circulation.