Nehru: ‘His mistakes are magnified, his achievements belittled’

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 11)

Criticism of Nehru’s Leadership

• In 2014, Madhav Godbole, a former civil servant, wrote The God Who Failed: An Assessment of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Leadership, questioning Nehru’s secular and socialist policies.

• Godbole argued that Nehru’s idea of secularism sometimes appeased Muslims and called for a “more balanced secularism.”

• Many other books have blamed Nehru for numerous present-day issues in India.

An Alternative Perspective on Nehru

• Academic Aditya Mukherjee, in his book Nehru’s India (The Most Definitive Book on Jawaharlal Nehru): Past, Present and Future, presents Nehru’s actions in the historical context of his time.

• Mukherjee highlights the challenges Nehru faced after Independence, including large-scale communal violence and displacement.

• Nehru firmly opposed religious rule and, in his speech on August 16, 1947, emphasized that India would remain a secular state.

• This policy remained in place until the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was passed in 2019, leading to protests like Shaheen Bagh.

Nehru’s Commitment to Scientific Temper

• Nehru strongly promoted scientific thinking and rational inquiry.

• Mukherjee contrasts Nehru’s approach with present-day political leaders who promote mythology as science.

• He criticizes claims that ancient India had advanced medical procedures, such as plastic surgery for Ganesha’s head.

• Mukherjee highlights how some leaders promoted unscientific remedies during the COVID-19 pandemic, like cow dung and urine.

The Political Narrative Against Nehru

• Nehru’s contributions are being ignored in textbooks, and even his image was removed from a historical poster celebrating 75 years of Independence.

• Critics blame Nehru for many of India’s present-day problems, from the Partition to the economic and agricultural crisis.

• Mukherjee refutes these claims, arguing that they stem from propaganda rather than historical facts.

Nehru’s Enduring Legacy

• Similar criticisms of Nehru existed during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure.

• In 2003, Shashi Tharoor noted in Nehru: The Invention of India that Nehruvian ideals had lost appeal, with critics magnifying his mistakes and downplaying his achievements.

• Mukherjee underscores Nehru’s support for freedom of expression, quoting his 1940 speech defending press freedom.

• Historian Irfan Habib, states that Nehru’s name may be removed from institutions, but his contributions will endure as long as truth and reason remain valued.