In the passing away of
Shri Arvindbhai Dalal we have lost a great professional. My association with him started more than six decades back. He had a soft corner for junior members of our profession and whenever a junior wanted his help, he was always available.
He served our profession in many different capacities. He was Chairman of WIRC in 1962-63, President of the BCA Society in 1963-64 and President of ICAI in 1989-90. He was also a Founder Trustee of the BCAS Foundation. During his association with all these professional bodies, he rendered exemplary service to the profession.
Some CA friends used to meet every Thursday to discuss the developments in the fields of taxation, accounting, auditing and other professional subjects. And Arvindbhai used to attend these meetings regularly. I came in close contact with him at these meetings. Even when his health was not good, he tried to attend these meetings and gave us the benefit of his knowledge.
He used to attend almost all the lecture meetings, seminars, conferences, and Residential Reference Courses organised by the WIRC, the BCAS, the ICAI and other professional bodies either as a paper writer, speaker or a participant. He always believed that by such participation we can share our knowledge with other professionals and also gain some knowledge. His pet subject was ‘Charitable Trusts’. In fact, he has authored the book ‘Taxation of Charitable Trusts’ published by the BCAS. He has argued several cases of Charitable Trusts before the Income-tax Appellate Authorities.
In 1998, the Golden Jubilee Year of the ICAI, the ICAI Council entrusted the work of writing the history of the accounting profession to me along with Arvindbhai and Shri Harishbhai Motiwala. We had to cover the period from 1973 to 1999 within one year. We completed the task in record time and the book ‘History of the Accounting Profession in India – Vol. II’ was published in January, 2000. Arvindbhai took great care in going through the draft of this publication, which records the achievements of our profession in these 25 years.
It is difficult to believe that Shri Arvindbhai is no more with us. All of us professionals will feel his absence. We pray that this noble soul rests in eternal peace.
– P.N. Shah, Past President, BCAS and ICAI
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Shri Arvindbhai became known to me as a worthy senior of stature from the day I joined the BCAS. It was indeed a privilege for me to have been, in the years to follow, associated with him at the BCAS, at the ICAI and also at the personal level. In him we have lost a fatherly figure to whom any junior could turn for guidance without any fear.
He was a great human being. He maintained high ethical standards as a professional all through. In his dealings with all he was soft-spoken and humble. His devotion to the Society and to the profession hardly had any parallel. He contributed as much to the development as to the academic profile of the profession. He remained active with the Society almost till the end, despite his uneven health during the last few years. It was so pleasing to see him participate in the lecture meetings as a keen learner till even very recently. In him we have lost a giant personality. He will always be remembered by all those around him.
May the members of his family have courage to bear this loss and may the noble soul rest in peace.
– Pinakin D. Desai, Past President, BCAS
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Shri Arvindbhai Dalal passed away peacefully on 15th March, 2021.We have lost a genuine well-wisher of the Society and a senior, disciplined guardian of the profession who was always extremely concerned about the image of our profession. His selfless and invaluable contribution with utmost devotion to the development of the profession in various aspects was self-evident and does not require any recognition. His commitment and dedicated approach in this regard were extremely remarkable and for this he remained active till his last days. I still recall that he last participated, despite his advanced age and health challenges, in the virtual post-Budget meeting of the BCAS Taxation Committee on 18th February, 2021, and even prior to that, he kept on checking with me about the BCAS Annual Budget Booklet of which he was one of the main pillars. I salute his dedication and passion for the development of our profession in general and the Society in particular.
I still can’t forget my initial introduction to him during one of the RRCs in the early 1980s at Matheran where I was innocently raising many questions during the reporting session as one of the young group leaders in his paper and the patience with which he was responding and encouraging me in the process. What was even more noteworthy was his approach during the General Assembly Session while giving his replies where, at appropriate relevant stages, he referred to such questions with my name and that shocked me as I had never expected such encouragement for a very junior member from such a senior professional. Of course, subsequently, I also learned that this kind of culture was nurtured by such pillars of the RRCs. This made me an integral part of the Society’s close academic circle, immensely benefiting me in making my academic career in the profession. For me, since then, in addition to a few others, Arvindbhai became a role model.
While I have many personal experiences to share, it is impossible to describe his innumerable qualities and his selfless contribution to the profession here. But I can’t resist mentioning one or two episodes. I still remember when we were revising the Tax Audit Manual of the BCAS around 1989; for that purpose we stayed in a hotel in Mumbai along with the late Shri Narayanbhai to complete the work in a short time – the kind of dedication and humility that I witnessed during that stay and the personal encouragement given to me are both unforgettable and remain etched in my mind even today.
He was a rare human being with such outstanding qualities. On the ethical front, I still recall his extreme resistance to my request to be a Faculty at the seminar following that Tax Audit Manual at Patkar Hall on the ground that since he is the Chairman of the Organising Committee, he can’t be a Faculty. It took a lot of time and effort to persuade him with the help of the late Narayanbhai in the evening discussion session in that hotel room to effectively thrust on him this responsibility for the benefit of the large number of members attending that seminar from various parts of the country. I had similar experiences as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee of the Society of which he was Chairman, as well as during my association with him as his Co-Chairman of the Taxation Committee.
On a personal note, I was fortunate to have had the privilege of working closely with him in the Society as well as at a personal level and to learn a lot from him, especially on the ethical front. I will be missing travelling with him regularly for punctually attending various BCAS and other meetings and our discussions on various subjects.
On his departure I feel like I have lost an elderly friend, philosopher and guide. He used to mostly call me on my wife’s mobile and would always first affectionately ask her, ‘Ilaben, kem cho?’ We will miss all this now. We sincerely pray to the Almighty that his soul rest in eternal peace.
– Kishor Karia, Past President, BCAS, Editorial Board
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I was fortunate to have come in contact with Arvindbhai in my formative years of practice, a time when he was the doyen of the profession. The association established then, in the early 80s, continued till God recalled him for better things. He was one of the very few persons who shaped and moulded my professional career and beyond. In recent years, since the passing away of my father, I relied on him as a source of inspiration in many matters of life.
The long association, full of fascinating and inspiring instances, is difficult to express in words; surely not in a note that is limited by the number of words. He was a kind of hand-holder for me who was around silently, throughout, without being physically present, and guided my thoughts, at times without expressly communicating it in words. The way he conducted himself and carried on with his life became guiding posts for me.
I first met him in his chamber at Nariman Point when he was already the Past President of the ICAI, a humbling experience which has stayed with me for long; a very unassuming place and the decorum and the person’s all-attentive stance and willingness to help with no desire to impress, in spite of his scholarly insight into the subjects of accounts, auditing and taxation. I was guided by his precision in writing; in editing any text, he would not hesitate to devote long hours to fine-tune any text on complex technical matters and would ensure that the final product is delivered within the deadline. Anyone who has sat with him in meetings of professional associations would have witnessed his immense contribution with humility, patience and persistence; all of these encouraged me to request him to join the Chamber’s Managing Committee. He not only honoured our request but guided the Chamber with exemplary leadership. Dignity was natural to him and those who were present at numerous full court conferences addressed by him would confirm this with respect.
We come across people who inspire our faith in them; but he was one who inspired one’s faith in one’s own abilities. I will always remember him for this. He was not ‘all work and no play’; he was witty and full of Surti humour and was fun to be with. The best example of his dedication to BCAS is that he attended the last meeting of the BCA Foundation.
I had the benefit of presenting several papers under his chairmanship and I have no hesitation in stating that those were the best of the times, where he would very politely but firmly correct mistakes, share valuable suggestions and at times be a shield and would still ensure that he claimed no credit for the same.
I conclude with a fervent hope that his life continues to guide the profession in the right direction and
his soul enlightens our path by being a torchbearer for long.
– Pradip Kapasi, Past President, BCAS
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Rare are the people who are calm reservoir of knowledge and experience and are generous with it. Rarer are those who inspire those qualities in others with their life example. In spite of many achievements and stature, they remain approachable and accessible. Arvindbhai was such a person ever since I have known him since I was a young boy. Author, speaker, guide, past president of BCAS and ICAI and a friend and elder to so many.
We would have asked several times questions on charitable trust matters and taken his counsel for our clients. At the BCAS he was someone you could call upon and count on. Today many people are very busy and have little time to spare. He shared his time and so his life for the BCAS. At RRCs and on overnight train travels especially, it was a treat to hear him chit chat. He often shared stories of his times. At lecture meetings, one saw him sitting in the first row listening attentively and patiently. As a Chairman of sessions, his words were measured and his comments were not taxing. We will miss his benign demeanor, meticulous counsel. However, above all we will have one person less to go to and look upon as an elder.
– Editor, BCAJ
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Shri Arvind Bhai Dalal was one of the best but unassuming chartered accountants I have seen. I had the pleasure of working with him in Central Council for six years. As President of Institute, he had initiated far-reaching steps for the growth of the professional. He will be missed by the profession.
– Anand Rathi, Central Council Member, ICAI – 1985 to 1991, Ex President, BSE
