India, Oct. 18 -- A lawyer whose clients describe him as "the father I never had;" a judge whose brief tenure is still remembered by both staff and lawyers; a self-effacing fighter for human rights -- A S Uraizee, who passed away this week aged 91, was all of these, and more; he was among the last of the rare breed of Muslim Gandhians.

His parents' marriage was solemnized in the presence of Gandhiji at Sabarmati Ashram, and the couple often accompanied the Mahatma on his travels through Gujarat. It was only befitting, therefore, that their son would become a lifelong Sarvodaya member and a trustee of Mani Bhavan, Mumbai, later in his life.

Everyone knew Uraizee Saab (as he was called), as the gentlest of beings. But this soft-spoken law...