ENGLISH II PROJECT

On Balance: An Autobiography By Leila

Seth.

LEILA SETH’S ROLE AS A MOTHER.

 Istela Jameel

Section A

218022

Introduction
The first lady to top the London Bar Examination, the first female judge of the Delhi High Court,
the first woman chief justice of a high court in India, Leila Seth was not only a breaker of glass
ceilings, but is also a role-model and an inspiration for many. She has weaved her multifaceted o
life like a grand tapestry in her autobiography ‘On Balance- An Autobiography’. The stories of
her life are narrated beautifully and make it possible for the readers to experience life from her
perspective. Leila Seth was a wife, a mother of three, an eminent lawyer, and she played each of
these roles with such suave to utmost perfection. The title of her book reflects her personality
and captures her life’s essence. As her son, Vikram Seth says in the foreword of the novel “On
Balance, refers not only to the scales of justice and the balancing of work and private life, but
also to mama’s natural bent of weighing things judiciously before talking or writing about
them”. To restrict oneself to just one aspect of Leila Seth’s life is to not do justice to the pioneer
of justice in India. However, since addressing her diversity with veracity will be blatant non-
compliance of the word limit and non-conformity with word limit a greater injustice to the
project, I shall address Leila Seth’s role as a mother to both, her children and India’s legal
feminism.

Early Life
Born in year 1930 on the day of Diwali, Leila was the light of family. Her parents were euphoric
to have a daughter after two sons. This reaction was bizarre and unheard of, especially in the
nineteen hundreds, as the Indian society was not one where birth of girls was unobjectionable
much less celebrated. Leila’s family and education went a long way in shaping her personality as
a mother. Her parents and grandparents were educated and had progressive ideologies. Her
grandfather, a doctor, did not use his title as a mark of protest against the caste system. Her
parents had liberal ideas and believed in the equality of genders. Therefore, Leila’s upbringing
was not different from that of her brothers. She was imparted English education at a convent
school and was much more familiar and at ease with the English language than with Hindi. Her
lack of knowledge of Hindi did pose as an obstacle for her in her profession but it did not hinder
her from litigating. After her marriage to Prem Nath Seth, she went to England. Her primary
intention was to pursue higher academics but she was now a mother and had to tend to the baby.
Leila Seth was not deterred by motherhood; in fact it gave her better focus and led to her
pursuing law. In 1958 she won gold for acing the London Bar Examination. For her
commendable achievement the Star newspaper published an article on her titled “Mother in
Law” with a picture of her holding her baby. Motherhood never served as an impediment for
Leila and she was able to perfectly balance her domestic obligations and career goals.

Motherhood
Since time immemorial, patriarchy has been entrenched in the Indian society. Home is the most
important institution of patriarchy, as it is there where patriarchy is endorsed and promoted in the
subtlest way. The role of the mother is that of a nurturer, a teacher and an example. Molding the
minds of her children and raising them up to be successful and liberal minded people, is the
greatest achievement of Leila Seth in her private sphere. All the notions of equality, goodness,
humanity and empowerment that she imbibed were reflected in the upbringing she gave her
children. She was a mother of two sons and a daughter. As a mother, she was tender, caring and
understanding while being firm about her principles. In the process of raising her sons she
understood the male psychology better and this even helped her in her professional life. She
believed that mothers should raise their sons like they raise their daughters because that makes
them tender and compassionate.

From helping her toddler understand and get familiarized with the English language in order to
adjust and cope with the life in England, to being vehemently outspoken when the same as a
young man was recriminalized for his sexual orientation. Leila Seth was the backbone and
support system for her family. Aradhna, Shantum and Vikram Seth, pursued careers of their own
choice, and through times of hardship were supported by their mother. When Vikram was
staying at his parent’s home working on his magnum opus, Aradhna not doing very well in her
film making career and Shantum also struggling, the impression imparted to the domestic helper
and the people of the society, was that she was the only person who was working to make the
family run and that her children were no good as they failed to do well in their occupation.
Comments of these kinds made Leila doubt herself and question her upbringing. Her doubts
vanished when she realized that she would not have done differently if given another chance.
This confidence and unwavering support that she had bore fruit as all of them achieved success
and are now renowned personalities in their fields.

Vikram Seth’s homosexuality was not seen as something to be ashamed of and instead of
disapproving of it, his mother vociferously advocated for a change in the law of the land and the
mentality of the society. After the re-criminalization of section 377 by the Delhi High Court, in
2014, she wrote a heartfelt article on the unfairness and the unconstitutionality of criminalization
of an entire section of the population, of which her son was a part, on the basis of their sexual
preference. Thus, her care and concern for her children transcended all social barriers and for the
reformation of the society Leila Seth’s contribution is conspicuous.

As a social reformer and a women rights champion Leila Seth’s contribution is unparalleled. She
dedicated her career to impart justice to women and work towards their progress and welfare.
She advocated for equality not just as a part of a case but also informally with her male
colleagues. She insisted on not being addressed as the “lady judge” and voiced out her opinion
on legal matters without undermining the suggestions of the other male judges. She was a part of
the 15th Law Commission of India. As a part of the committee revolutionized the inheritance law
and the Hindu Succession laws, making it possible for daughters and women to own and inherit
properties. This committee is also known for the inclusion of the section 354 of the IPC which
deals with “outraging the modesty of a woman”. Departing a little from the autobiography itself,
so as to note a major contribution of Ms. Leila Seth in the field of legal feminism it is important
to mention the Justice JS Verma Committee. After the Delhi Rape Case in 2012 there was an
urgent need to reform the rape laws. Therefore, a committee of three including Ms. Leila Seth
suggested a lot of reforms to the rape laws making it more effective and efficient.
Conclusion
Indian judiciary has seen innumerable legendary lawyers and judges. Even amongst them one
figure which stands out is Ms. Leila Seth. As a part of such a predominantly male profession, she
had to face a lot of obstacles. It is the confidence and optimism with which she faced all her
problems, the skill and tact with which she advocated and imparted justice, the care and
sensitivity with which she reared her children, the zeal with which she promoted the principles
enshrined in our Constitution and the persistence with which she strived to broaden and reform
the myopic and regressive outlook of society, sets her apart. Her autobiography captures the ups
and downs of her life poignantly and makes the reader experience the entire emotional spectrum
through mere printed words. Leila Seth carves out a special place of love and respect for herself
in the hearts of her readers and makes the read a much cherished one. . In my personal opinion,
the most important aspect of Leila Seth’s personality was her optimism and her perseverance.
The charisma she exuded was what made people believe in her. The impact of her legal
endeavors for the upliftment of women was not restricted to the courtrooms; it changed the
mindset of the people and made the society more conscious about the rights and position of
women. This dynamism and altruism is what inspires me as a budding lawyer. Leila Seth is the
perfect example of how ones success in their career need not always come at the cost of their
moral obligations towards the society. Her struggle on making the society more inclusive has
borne fruits, and today, close to her second death anniversary, India no longer perceives the
LGBTQI community as criminals. What inspired me to know more about her and write this
project on her, was her take on homosexuality, in the article published in The Times of India.
Although, this comment was in the context of homosexuality, I believe it bears universal
relevance. Thus, I conclude with the quote

“What makes life meaningful is love. The right that makes us human is the right to love.”