By Mustafa Barbhuiyan for Twocircles.net
Born in the year 1935 at village Nitainagar, Hailakandi in the district of then Cachar, Assam, Makram Ali Laskar had his early education in the local school. He passed away at the age of 82 on January 10, 2017 at his Gandhi Basti residence in Guwahati, Assam after suffering from age related health problems, memory loss and a stroke.
He passed his Matriculation from the prestigious Government Victoria Memorial High School, Hailakandi in 1952. He passed his intermediate examination (10+2) from Gurucharan College, Silchar, in 1955. He studied B.A from Cotton College, Gauhati and then took his law degree from Gauhati University in the year 1962. He also earned a Masters in Political Science from the said university.
Laskar joined the Gauhati High Court Bar as practicing lawyer and spend lots of his time in researching and studying with Honourable Justice Late B. L. Hansaria, who also joined the bar about the same time before Hansaria joined as a District and Session’s Judge, who eventually became judge of the Supreme Court of India. Late Hansaria also noted his companionship and scholarly association with Laskar in his memoirs.
During 1969- 1976, Laskar taught law in the Department of Law, Gauhati University, Guwahati. In 1976, he was appointed as the Standing Counsel for Union of India in the Gauhati High Court. He also worked as a Assam Government Panel Advocate in the same High Court in the beginning of his career.
Laskar commanded a large private practice in civil, criminal and constitutional matters. He was designated as a Senior Advocate of Gauhati High Court in the year 1986 along with five other noted advocates in the same year. All of them were legal stalwarts of their time.
Laskar was a sincere and dedicated lawyer and he received many offers to serve in Higher Judiciary but always preferred to practice and remain active in Bar than a higher office.
Laskar was also appointed as an Additional Advocate General, Government of Assam, in the year 1991 and he discharged his duties sincerely and efficiently. Ex- Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi in a note wrote about Late Makram Ali as- ‘An amalgam of steadfastness and gentleness’ while discussing about Laskar’s performance as Additional Advocate General.
Due to high blood pressure and health problems Laskar had to cut short his legal career and he last appeared in a case in the year 2002 before the Court of Honorable Justice Late J. N. Sharma. He finally bade adieu to his noble profession on health ground but his guidance to the young lawyers is indeed commendable.
Many of his mentees in law mentioned about his amicability and excellence of Laskar’s mentorship. One of his juniors who practiced in Laskar’s chamber is Justice Aftab Hussain Saikia, who retired as Chief Justice of High Courts of Jammu and Kashmir and currently the Chairperson of Assam Human Rights Commission.
Dr. Justice Saikia shared his memory with his mentor this way. In his words, “During the time of my initial practice, I used to come from my permanent residence to attend the chamber of Laskar Sir as I could not afford to have a rented house at Guwahati and my residence was too far from the chamber. It was very hard life. One fine morning in 1977, Laskar Sir asked me to accompany him to place near his residence. He took me to a room in the proximity of his house. It was a big furnished room with all minimum requirements and a separate kitchen. When I enquired “Why have you shown me this room Sir?”, he replied, “From now you will stay in this house.” Then I told him that I had no money to pay the rent. He said “Don’t bother for rent. I will pay the rent. Your only duty is to attend my chamber regularly.” Such was Late Laskars attitude while mentoring juniors in his chamber.
Apart from his successful career in law, Laskar was a voracious reader of works from Shakespeare, Tagore and Kazi Nazrul. He was very fond of folk music of Assam.
The social life of M. A. Laskar is equally remarkable. He never hesitated to call a spade a spade. He was a practicing Gandhian and believed in the principle of non-violence and was inspired by the freedom fighter and first education minister of India Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Politically, a Gandhian, Late Laskar was closely associated with Late Sarat Chandra Sinha and was heavily involved with anti-emergency movements in late 1970s. He also unsuccessfully fought elections in 1983 as Congress (Socialist) candidate from Hailakandi legislative assembly that was a splinter group formed in protest against the tyranny of Indira Gandhi during emergency.
Hailing from the famous ‘Laskar Clan’ of Nitainagar in the district of Hailakandi, Assam, he was born to Late Merchant Habib Ali Laskar who died leaving behind eight children on their own struggles. However, their mother late Masurjan Bibi ensured that all his children get education and get succeeded in the struggles they were facing. Late Advocate Laskar left behind his younger brother, Nurul Huda Laskar, who is the senior most lawyer in the Hailakandi District Bar, another lawyer brother, a noted public prosecutor Late Nurul Islam Laskar passed away in 2012. The other brothers who had taken the path of family business were Late Moin Laskar, Late Gias Laskar and Late Siraj Laskar.
Two of his sons Azim Laskar and Imran Laskar are noted lawyers who are practicing in Supreme Court of India and Guwahati High Court. Late Laskar is survived by a large family who gathered in Gandhi Basti, Guwahati to perform the last rites of Janab Laskar and they were reminiscing the glorious history of ‘Laskar clan’ and it’s legacy in the history of Assam.
The author of this article along with younger son of late Janab Makram Laskar, Imran Laskar are compiling a brief history of Nitainagar Laskar Clan of Assam, that is integral part of the historic colonial legacy of Assam Muslims, who are often targeted by a vicious circle in Indian politics as Bangladeshi Immigrants. These people make such claims without knowing an iota of the history and contribution of Muslim clans, societies across Assam who are equal ‘Bhumiputras- sons of the soil’ of Assam and were active in Indian Freedom struggle and stood steadfast against the partition of India and social movements that happened post-independent India.
The author hails from Hailakandi and is a senior postdoctoral research fellow in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.