When he was a graduate student at Loyola College during the heady days of the freedom struggle, he marched in a rally along with other students to protest the imprisonment of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru by the British. Father Murphy, an Irish father who headed the Mathematics department at Loyola College, called on all the students who participated in the rally to apologize for taking part in political activities against the ruling British. The rest of his classmates apologized. He alone refused to do so. He paid a heavy price for it, as in retaliation, Father Murphy delayed issuing his "conduct certificate" and he lost a fellowship he was promised at Maharaja's College in Cochin. Throughout his life, he steadfastly stood for what he believed was right on issues, big or small, no matter what opposition or setbacks he had to face. Last year, Forbes magazine had advertised a small gift for renewing his subscription. The gift arrived but was defective and would not work. He painstakingly wrote letter after letter to the magazine pointing out the error. I asked him, "The postage you used on the letters is probably more than the cost of the gift. Why do you persist?" He simply replied, "It is a matter of principle." He finally won his point and Forbes sent a replacement gift. In a world where people often seek the "easy way out," this self-made man never hesitated to walk the extra mile to do what he believed was right.