A heartfelt tribute to Prof Anand and his contributions to Int Law.

The passing away of Prof Anand is sad. Old age  and ill-health did not prevent
him from serving the profession of international law until his last breath.
International law was his life and we as associates were his family. He
aspired and worked for the best and most dignified place for India and
other developing countries in the world order following decolonization. He
did not condemn international law because it was used against India and
others for establishing and sustaining colonialism; he ruthlessly fought
the idea that "International law" and "civilized society"were the creation
and hall-mark of Europe; he strived hard to show through historical
evidence, a la Alexandrowicz, India and other ancient civilizations
evolved transnational law and practiced international humanitarian law
long before Europe got civilized; even questioned the status of "Father of
International Law " given to Grotius.He believed in the peaceful settlement
of disputes and the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of
Justice. Like Sir Hersch Lauterpacht, essayed development of international
law by the ICJ. This contribution along with his article in the American
Journal of International Law (1962) on the Asian and African States earned
him international recognition at any early age. With his contributions to
the history of international law, he stands tall along with other stalwarts
like Nussbaum. Shedding light on early Indian practice in International law
he is in great company of other distinguished Indian international lawyers
like C.R.Rsastry, Chacko and Nagendra Singh. His outpourings on law of the
sea were energetic in tracing the Indian maritime traditions and in
exposing the gaps and inequities that needed to be redressed as part of
modernization of the law of the sea. His long essay on sovereign equality
is perhaps the only piece standing alone on that subject hitting at the
foundations of international law which are built on power and subjugation
of poor and underprivileged nations and peoples. He, like most of us,
bemoaned the blight of poverty which he described it as an "Iron Curtain"
both as a factor frustrating the large majority of States and people from
occupying their true and legitimate place in the constantly evolving world
order and global institutions and as condition which needs to be constantly
addressed and fought to bring it down.
Anand occupied a special place in the scholarly world of international law,
earned the gratitude of multitude of students, respect from all colleagues
and the undivided attention of his audience whenever he lectured. He will
reamin an example of forceful delivery, powerful advocacy and untiring
presentaion of long essays with dense and extensive foot-notes to reflect
his wide reading and research. He had a unique style of writing presenting
his materials and thoughts paraphrasing in the words of the authors on whom
he relied.
As one who served him as a research associate early in his teaching career
at the Sapru house(1965-67), and later as an associate at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars (1971), as a colleague in the Governing
Body of the Indian Society of International Law (1975-2002), participating
in numerous seminars or events of international law saw Anand as a
perfectionist, proud Indian, unyielding to others, man of dignity, never
seeking any favor, fighting for his place, grooming some of the best Indian
international law students, a bit of a loner but never indulged in
self-pity or harbored hatred towards others. Personally I and my family
enjoyed his affection. I am also grateful for his appreciation for my
humble efforts to live upto the demands the profession of international law
has made on me.
I join the rest of the fraternity of international law both at home and
abroad in praying the Almighty to grant his Soul the eternal bliss!
Sreenivasa Rao Pemmaraju
with knd regards,
Sreenivasa Rao