15th August 2020

 Musings.......

Freedom Fighters- Part 15 

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru - 

(The Architect of Modern India) 

Born 1889 in Allahabad, his father Motilal Nehru was a self made wealthy barrister from Kashmiri Pandit community. Motilal Nehru previously served as the President of Indian National Congress twice in 1919 and 1928. 

His elder sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit was the first female president of the UN General Assembly. His Youngest sister Krishna was a writer and has written many notable books on her brother. 

Nehru himself described his childhood as “ sheltered and uneventful one”.  He became a strong Nationalist in his youth.  Nehru was influenced by the Boer war and the Russo- Japanese war. Nehru graduated from the Trinity college, Cambridge in 1907. 

Nehru completed his law degree from the Inner Temple inn, London in 1912. 

In 1916 Nehru joined both the Home rule leagues- the ones led by Annie Besant and by Bal Gangadhar Tilak. 

The first major involvement of Nehru in the National movement came from the beginning of the Non- Cooperation movement in 1920. He led the movement in the United Provinces (UP) and was arrested on charges of sedition by the British in 1921. 

Nehru was loyal to Mahatma Gandhi even when he faced flak from within the Congress for abruptly ending the Non- Cooperation movement after the Chauri- Chaura incident. 

Nehru did not join the Swaraj Party formed by his father Motilal Nehru and CR Das. 

In 1927, Nehru represented the Indian National Congress in the newly formed Congress of Oppressed Nationalities in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting was aimed at formulating a coordinated effort in the fight against imperialism. 

Nehru played a vital part in Internationalising the struggle for Indian Independence.  

Nehru drafted the policies of the Congress and a future Indian nation in 1929 - when he presented the Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy resolutions. This was ratified by the historic Karachi session of Indian National Congress in 1931 chaired by Vallabhai Patel. 

Nehru was one of the first leaders within the Congress party who advocated for complete independence from the British. 

He formed the Independence for India league within Congress as a pressure group as early as 1927 despite Gandhis criticism. 

It was in the historic Lahore Session of INC in 1929, under Nehru presidency that the Congress adopted the resolution calling for “ Complete Independence”. 

At midnight on New Year’s Eve in 1929 Nehru hoisted the tricolour flag of India for the first time in the banks of the River Ravi. 

Nehru was the second Satyagrahi after Vinobha Bhave who participated in the Individual Satyagraha to protest against India’s participation in the World War II and August offer,  on Gandhijis call. 

Nehru along with other Congress leaders were arrested after the Quit India Resolution of 8th August 1942. 

Jawaharlal Nehru cumulatively spent 5221 days in Prison during the freedom struggle. The amount of sacrifice this man has made for India that we live in now, cannot be overemphasised and is one of the reason myself decided to write on Nehru after Gandhiji as the last freedom fighter in this series.  

Nehru was one of the pioneers of the Constituent Assembly. He moved the Objectives Resolution in 1946, which became the Preamble of our Constitution. He was the chairman of the States Committee, Union Powers Committee and Union Constitution Committee. 

Nehru can be regarded as the founder of the modern Indian state. This is mostly attributed to the National Philosophy for India that Nehru formulated. 

For Nehru, mordernisation was the National philosophy with seven goals - 

- [ ] National unity 

- [ ] Parliamentary Democracy 

- [ ] Industrialisation 

- [ ] Socialism 

- [ ] Development of scientific temper 

- [ ] Non- Alignment 

Contribution of Nehru 

- [ ] Institutionalisation of Democracy -

It was he who established the tradition of Parliamentary supremacy over the military that prevented India from becoming another junta- ruled third world autocracy. 

The Nehruvian way of politics ( Debate and Deliberation ) led to respect for parliamentary procedures, with faith in the constitutional system.  

- [ ] Secularism 

Nehru believed that India belonged to all who had contributed to its history and civilisation, and recognised the special obligation of the majority community to protect the rights, and promote the well being of the minorities. 

Nehru helped in building the narrative of    “ Unity in Diveristy” 

- [ ] Welfare State 

At Independence, India was a land of extreme poverty and inequality.  Nehru hence formulated the planned economy approach where objective of the government policy must be the welfare of the poorest, and most marginalised of the people. 

- [ ] Establishing Institutions of Excellence 

It was Nehru who built a scientific base for India’s triumphs today- 

- Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO) 

- Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) 

- Dual track Nuclear Programme - by which India achieved nuclear capable status 

- Medical developments - AIIMS, stress on government led hospitals and research. 

- Economic Policies - Investing in heavy industries, protecting manufacturing sector from foreign investments. 

- [ ] Foreign Policy 

Nehru’s response to Cold War era was his Non- Alignment(NAM) which gave our country a unique identity as the leader of the Third World. 

It was Nehru’s remarkable political acumen that prevented a newly formed country like India was not subordinated to either world powers of the time - US or USSR. 

Nehru was a skilled exponent of soft power even before the term was coined. This gave India global reputation and prestige across the world for years and strengthened India’s self respect as we stood proud and independent on the world stage. 

What marks the relavence of Nehruvian ideology even today is the fear of growing intolerance, communalism and inequality disrupting social harmony, erosion of democratic values, freedom of speech and autonomy of public institutions including the Judiciary. 

Like I said for Mahatma Gandhi, any number of articles on Nehru would not do justice to this Great man.  

The right wing may try as much as they want to tarnish Nehru’s image through their fake news and propaganda, but the mere fact that they are even discussing and criticising Nehru years after his death is testimony to the man’s Greatness. 

Nehru was a towering persona which will remain unmatched for decades to come.  I consider this right wing government an aberration. A small blip in the annals of history.  India will have to go back to Nehru and his Nehruvian socialism for sustaining a better future for its countrymen.  

I would like to end my article with a very relevant quote of Jawaharlal Nehru- which is even more relevant in times of the Modi Government- which goes like this 

“ There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action “ 

Food for Thought.......

RC