Monday 14 November 2011

To be or not to be Mr. Nehru...?



It's 14th November. The day our first PM, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru was born...

And I feel bound to write my opinions on him…

Mr. Nehru was certainly a very popular man for he’d been in the office for more time than anybody else. People of that generation (1940s) swears on him, they still think that time was the best modern India has ever seen.

So, was PT. Nehru actually so great?

There’s been a parallel theory running along. The theories that show the darker side of Panditji. But, every human has a greyer, if not darker side. So, why is it different for Nehru?

In India, there is this practise of Hero Praising with unbound devotion and love. So when a cricketer scores a century, he’s treated as God, and if he get out in duck, he’s publicly ridiculed. I think this was and still is the case with Nehru. He’s done his lot of good things and bad things both in his personal and official life. I shall not consider his personal life (no discussion on his affair with Lady Mountbatten). His role as the PM of India is the matter of my concern… I’m writing the main criticism he faced (still faces) because the good things he did would not start the debate…

Pre-Independence era,

I shall start with pre-independence era, the time India was boiling in the heat of Hindu-Muslim violence (it still does, but with much less or controlled tremor) that was the time where major Right or Wrong decisions were taken.

During that time, as some scholars say, Nehru took decisions in haste. India was not ready to bear the fruits of independence. Some say, it was his greed for power that led to the formation of two separate countries. But we bore independence at a cost far devastating than ever imagined… Millions lost their Lives; Millions lost their Wealth during transition and living in sheer desperation. I personally know a few friends and members of family who were hugely affected in terms of their wealth, properties and fame…

Who’s to be blamed for it, Jinnah, Nehru, Gandhi ji or the British? We’ll never have the answer…

Kashmir issue,

Nehru is criticised for his Kashmir stand. Being a Kashmiri Pandit himself, his actions are criticised very boldly. Despite the advice of his military generals, his deputy, Sardar Patel, he signed the Cease Fire treaty with Pakistan and allowed to hold elections under the UN. This led to the formation of POK, the cause of the trouble in Kashmir. His critics feel that Nehru was sensationalised by the idea of the US and the UN involvement. Had he taken advices of his advisors, we might not have been facing large scale terrorism in Kashmir, least the tremor would have been less.

China issue,

The 1961 war with China was an embarrassment largely due to Nehru’s China (Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai) Policies. Had he taken the advices of his military generals, our losses would have been far less and we could have easily gone for Kailash pilgrimage (Kailash is now under China's Tibet occupation). The border development in Ladhak and Arunanchal sectors were ignored, neither he took actions in Tibet against China. The soldiers were left to die in the only defeat India faced after independence. Vast tracts of land were lost (Akasi Chin). Had India prepared a course of action with strong political will, it could have been in a better position to barter.



Criticism are endless, we always think had this been done, this would have been better. Nehru was undoubtedly short sighted (he didn’t support family planning), not a great economist and ignored the advices of his advisors. Nothing could be done now. The only question remains, does he deserve the Celebrity, National figure status.? Now that the UPA government rules, guess he does…

2 comments:

  1. i didn't know that you support nehru..!?
    nice.. though i'm at the other end of the LIKE river..!

    ReplyDelete