Today is November 14th, 2008. The 118th birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is today. For the love of Nehru to the children, this day is also called the Children's day. 119 years after his birth and 44 years after his death, does that handsome man with a lot of dreams hold any relevance for us?
We have, what I call the ultimate power, the power of HINDSIGHT to analyze, praise and criticize Nehru. In this new world of globalized economy and free markets, which has definitely brought India out of the slow growth momentum and set the world stage for a big move by the nation, Nehruvian thoughts don't seem to hold much relevance. But then. these are different times. Nehru, in the times that he lived, was among one of the best statesmen that the world has seen.
After 200 years of imperial rule and complete shattered economy, to take charge of the country must have been a challenging task. Had he resigned to a free market economy then, may be me and my father would still have been in the small village of Bhagalpur, chanting mantras at some temple to get 11 rupees as dakshina. Nehru realized that the Indian corporate of the 40's and 50's was not in a position to be completely relied for the development of the nation. A large part of the country was in villages and depended on agriculture. It was, a well thought decision that Nehru took charge of establishing key manufacturing industries under the state's control and managed to set the ball rolling for India. The Steel Authority of India and Oil and Natural Gas Corporations are examples of how these setups have not only paved a path for a stronger infrastructure for the country but also generated a lot of employment and led India to a fast urbanization.
Nehru, as is always said, was a dreamer. Philosophical in his thoughts, emotional in his approach and a strong lover of himself. He was a little too obsessed with himself and despite his exposure to both Socialism of USSR and the non-violence of Gandhi, he was able to frame his own style which can be named Nehruvianism, if allowed to. The ideas of a mixed economy, the policy of non-alignment to either of the world powers and the focus on industrialization were thoughts much ahead of his time. He dreamt of India as a world leader when we were still struggling for our quarter's meals and he believed in his dreams as well. May be soon enough, we shall be seeing his dreams fulfilled.
But, Nehru has also been criticized lately. For closing the doors of our economy to the world and thus depriving the nation from the benefits of foreign knowledge and foreign business. I can appreciate such criticism today with the power of the hindsight because opening up has turned out to be good for us. Aren't the critics also using the same power of hindsight in assessing Nehru's decision of keeping the economy under strict regulations. I think, if you think of India as an infant born on 15 August 1947 and handed over to the first governess named Nehru, the job was duly done by the dreamer. He was pretty clear that he shall not live to see the youth of the child he was rearing but he knew that he must set the foundations right so that when the kid is left on its own, it does not falter. Like a disciplined guardian, Nehru laid down rules that the infant India must follow in order to walk, feed and talk. By the time India was becoming a toddler, Nehru passed away. Shastri very intelligently gave the toddler a small bicycle to ride, but before he could train the kid, he passed away too.
What happened next was a little disastrous for the still young kid. India was reaching its adolescent stage, not too young, but still not old enough. This is the toughest time of life, one goes through a lot of changes and needs to be counselled as well as given freedom to explore the world. The next governess, Mrs. Gandhi wasn't too sure if the kid was ready for a bike or to go out with friends alone. Like a strict guardian, she still wanted a teen to be completely under her control. Eat when it is told and sleep when it is order. Teens, as we know, are not so easy to be ruled. So the nation erupted and enthusiastic teenage ideas kept questioning the governess. Irritated by this uncalled for behaviour, the strict governess locked the teenage into a room. No going out. No meeting friends and no partying. The teen better listen to the governess or else it will be punished. The doors of the room remain locked for long. And just when the governess thought that the teen would have been set right by now, she was amazed by how the locked kid had managed to out-throw the guardian.
But an adolescent is an adolescent after all. It was soon put under control and the governess was back in action. The soon-to-be adult kid now turned violent and killed the governess to set itself free. It was getting mature now and more than a guardian, it needed a friend, a guide. The new guardian was a young one, who understood the nuances of the new youth the nation was witnessing and also assured the kid that he shall be set free to lead an independent life soon. Before , Rajiv Gandhi, the new in-charge of the nation could take the nation to adulthood, he got killed too. This left the nation restless. This is the time of early adulthood, where you are restless, you explore drugs and hippies and rock and think that there is no point in making a career. A time where you indulge into futile violent activities. You party and you drink and you drive when drunk and meet accidents.
India also had this phase. Mosques getting broken, riots burning the cities, no stable government, chaos for almost a decade. But sooner or later, a well nursed child realizes its duties as an adult, so did India. Manmohan Singh and Narasimha Rao, rightly understood the dreams of Nehru and decided to let the adult India move freely in the world and make its own mark. It was time for the adult to leave the tender beds of comfort and lead oneself into the wide open world and explore its stand. The educated duo did it brilliantly. Amidst the chaos of early adulthood, India had entered its phase of making its own mark in the world.
Today, with all the energy, enthusiasm and intelligence of a well nurtured adult, India is fast making a progress in all fields. Nehru's thoughts might not seem relevant today and socialism might not be a top agenda of discussion anymore, but the values that was set in childhood shall reap us good benefits now.
Thank you Chacha..thank you for taking care when we needed it. Long live your thoughts and your memories.
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