As They Write Nehru Out

Written by Sachin Pilot | Published:November 14, 2015 12:10 am

It appears appropriate to look at great men of history through the lens of their
big projects, but their true character can be known only through their small
gestures. In todays India, when the protests of the creative class are berated
as politically motivated, a small incident from Pandit Nehrus life serves as a
reminder of the freedom of expression, a precious commodity now. In 1962, a
cartoon of Nehru by R.K. Laxman was published. Far from taking offence,
Nehru rang up Laxman and said, I so enjoyed your cartoon this morning. Can
I have a signed enlarged copy to frame?
Around 1947, several countries broke free of the colonial yoke. Yet, few are
vibrant democracies like India. The freedoms we defend today, the universal
suffrage we enjoy, are indebted to Nehrus inclusive vision. Thanks to his
efforts, India, a poor country riven by caste, language and dozens of fractious
states, enacted universal voting rights much before many developed
countries. Switzerland, for instance, introduced universal adult suffrage only in
1971.
The challenges that awaited newly independent India are hard to envision
today. Partition had come at a steep human cost. Not a family in north India
was untouched by the rupture. If Gandhiji led the moral force of tolerance and
nonviolence, it was Nehru who wove these principles into state policy.
Between him and his home minister, Sardar Patel, the princely states were
brought under the sovereign umbrella, even as doomsayers predicted the
failure of this historic project.
But the assimilation of the princely states was just the beginning. India also
had to be fed. Famines occurred regularly in enslaved India, and millions died
in the Bengal famine of 1943. Fortunately, Nehru was an institution builder. He
not only remedied British famine policies but also funded and catalysed
research that went into the Green Revolution. The PDS was implemented to
provide subsidised foodgrain, and between 1947-64, organisations such as
the Central Rice Institute in Cuttack, the Central Potato Research Institute in
Shimla, and universities such as the G.B. Pant University were established.
Nehrus efforts led to the introduction and adoption of high-yield wheat hybrids
on a large scale. These policies rescued generations of Indians from
malnutrition and poverty.
As India races past Mars into the far reaches of the solar system, one must
step back and look at the inspired beginning of Indias space programme. In
the 1960s, only the mightiest nations were thought to be capable of going into
space. Nehru foresaw that success in space would be critical for Indias
stature. Scientists like Vikram Sarabhai and M.G.K. Menon were instrumental

in turning Nehrus vision into a reality. It is a tribute to Nehru that Indias space
programme was not born out of military needs but of a dream of being able to
launch satellites. As we celebrate Nehrus birthday and battle efforts to belittle
his legacy, we need to relearn his contribution to the making of modern India.
The area in which his contributions are most discussed are foreign policy. In
the late 1940s, as countries were gaining independence and trying to find their
ideological moorings, Nehru, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt,
Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia devised the nonaligned doctrine. This moderated international politics and tempered the
extremes that pushed the world to the brink of war more than once during the
Cold War years. In fact, Nehrus international engagement started even before
India gained independence. The Congress criticised Nazism and Fascism
even when more established nations in Europe seemed oblivious to the peril
at their gates. This engagement continued after Nehru became prime minister.
Early in 1947, at the initiative of India, the Asian Relations Conference was
convened in Delhi, where the foreign policy principles of independent India
were proclaimed. Nehru also participated in the Afro-Asian Conference in
Bandung in 1955, and popularised non-alignment there. These conferences
emphasised economic and cultural cooperation, respect for human rights and
self- determination, and the promotion of world peace. Decades later, these
remain the cornerstones of Indias soft power, our Look East policy and
prominent role in international peacekeeping.
As parochialism of the narrowest variety seeks to rewrite history to besmirch
Nehrus contributions, it is instructive to be reminded of his legacy. We must
ensure that the efforts to write Indias tallest statesman out of the institutions
that celebrate him and his contributions do not succeed.
The writer, a former Union minister, is a member of the Congress party
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