Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency” as Want to Read:

Roses In December ; An...

by
M.C. Chagla

Other editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency

by M.C. Chagla

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 40 ratings · 4 reviews

Hardcover

Published 2000 by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

Or buy for

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue , please sign up .

Be the first to ask a question about Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 215)

filter | sort : default (?) | rating details

Jun 12, 2015 Gopal Vijayaraghavan rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was 40 years ago, on this date i.e. 12th June, 1975, two significant events happened in India which led to the proclamation of emergency. The rest is history and need not be repeated. Why should this be mentioned in the context of review of Shri M.C. Chagla’s ‘ Roses in December’ ? Because, the eight edition of the book includes an epilogue about the emergency which throws an unknown fact that a High Court Judge was also a casualty of the emergency. Leaving aside this, the question whether th It was 40 years ago, on this date i.e. 12th June, 1975, two significant events happened in India which led to the proclamation of emergency. The rest is history and need not be repeated. Why should this be mentioned in the context of review of Shri M.C. Chagla’s ‘ Roses in December’ ? Because, the eight edition of the book includes an epilogue about the emergency which throws an unknown fact that a High Court Judge was also a casualty of the emergency. Leaving aside this, the question whether the reading of a biography which was published forty years back in today’s context will still be interesting. At a time biographies are produced with sensational disclosures,the relevance of biography of Mr. Chagla with its appendixes of letters, speeches is really interesting. Many of the incidents narrated have been widely debated subsequently that the novelty has worn off. Nevertheless, it is really fascinating to read about the life of a multi faceted personality in his own language which is poetic in some places . But it also reads more like instructional manual of the ideas of the author on various subjects. Late Shri M.C. Chagla was a multi faceted personality - a junior lawyer who practiced under Mr. Jinnah - “a great nationalist turned rank communalist propounding two nation theory”. He was an activist in independence movement, a Puisne Judge, Chief Justice of the High Court for the undivided state of Mumbai, an Ad-hoc Judge of the International Court of Justice, Indian Ambassador to USA, High Commissioner to UK, Minister of Education, Minister for External Affairs in Congress s Govts. He was widely criticized when he resigned as the Chief Justice of Mumbai High Court to take up Ambassadorship to USA. The biography is the outcome of a “tendency to make a selection which is favourable to oneself and which in the December of one’s life permits one to enjoy the fragrance of roses” and as such an account of “those memories which one would like to preserve forever and relive in thought and imagination, if not in reality. “ The biography starts in an impersonal tone observed in obituary - ‘a bare bald history of man’ and ends in a moving account of his personal life showing the human side of the author. After an eventful and hectic career, the author lamenting the death of his wife “stared at the walls of his room, without the sound of any human voice to assuage his loneliness”. He was candid enough to admit that “ circumstances play a part in whatever success one has achievements. So "it is sheer human vanity to attribute to one’s own ability and the eminence which one might have achieved.” He was of the firm view that contingents play important part in one’s life.
He traces his early childhood, his education in Oxford, his encounter with many freedom fighters, his role as a Judge and Minister. What is of relevance today is that Mr. Chagla remained a nationalist to the core and was highly critical of the pandering of the Congress to those elements in minorities which were communal to the core. He was highly critical of Jinnah and Pakistan. For a person who had passed judgments in almost 20 years of service, the author was frank enough to admit that no man is, in fairness, entitled to sit in judgment on others. When we are at a stage where all the parochial elements are entertained and given importance not only by mainstream parties but also by the Media, this book is a must read for all those politicians playing to the gallery of divisiveness.

...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 04, 2014 Soli Chirag rated it 4 of 5 stars

grt book

flag Like · see review

May 10, 2014 Yash added it

good book

flag Like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Paramvir Singh rated it 5 of 5 stars

good

flag Like · see review

Abhishek Das marked it as to-read
Oct 02, 2015

Asha rated it 4 of 5 stars
Oct 01, 2015

Kamal marked it as to-read
Sep 22, 2015

Ramaswamy Gopalakrisnan marked it as to-read
Sep 21, 2015

y.satya prasad marked it as to-read
Sep 20, 2015

Gaikwadpooja marked it as to-read
Sep 20, 2015

Santhosh Dwibhasyam marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2015

KETAN marked it as to-read
Sep 09, 2015

Bharat Pandya marked it as to-read
Aug 31, 2015

Me marked it as to-read
Aug 29, 2015

Sonali Shedge marked it as to-read
Aug 23, 2015

Rahul Kukreja marked it as to-read
Aug 22, 2015

Abdulwahab Bhaijee marked it as to-read
Aug 20, 2015

Disha rated it 4 of 5 stars
Aug 14, 2015

Divyashri marked it as to-read
Aug 13, 2015

Shweta marked it as to-read
Aug 12, 2015

Archana Bala marked it as to-read
Jul 28, 2015

Aishwarya Bhalerao marked it as to-read
Jul 25, 2015

Sp marked it as to-read
Jun 13, 2015

Shweta marked it as to-read
Jun 03, 2015

Pal marked it as to-read
Jun 12, 2015

Paras rated it 5 of 5 stars
May 23, 2015

Rahul Nirwan marked it as to-read
May 17, 2015

Ganeshsoni311998gmail.Com marked it as to-read
May 16, 2015

MK marked it as to-read
May 16, 2015

Aastha Kaushik marked it as to-read
May 16, 2015

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next »

Share This Book

Share on your website

title link	preview: Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency
avg rating	preview: Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency Goodreads rating: 4.28 (40 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6538836-roses-in-december-an-autobiography-with-epilogue?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/111x148-bcc042a9c91a29c1d680899eff700a03.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6538836-roses-in-december-an-autobiography-with-epilogue?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency by M.C. Chagla[/url]

+ Share on your website

Trivia About Roses In December...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

See a Problem?

Preview — Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue by M.C. Chagla

Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Books by M.C. Chagla

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Roses In December...

See a Problem?

Preview — Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue by M.C. Chagla

Roses In December ; An Autobiography, With Epilogue: Emasculation Of Judiciary, Emergency

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic Discuss This Book

Readers Also Enjoyed

Books by M.C. Chagla

Share This Book

Share on your website

Trivia About Roses In December...

new topic
Discuss This Book