History is full of instances where faults are found with people of previous eras with the benefit of hindsight. Nehru is no exception and, as Ramachandra Guha says, politicians of all hues fault Nehru for India’s miseries. It is a pity that the Congress of today, while not forgetting Nehru, does not remember him correctly. The editor rightly notes in his preface to this book that “attempts are made to pillory the sturdy pillars of the Nehruvian edifice of state and society.”
This collection of 23 essays is an effort at understanding Nehru and his philosophy in its entirety. The spectrum of subjects dealt with is quite large and opinions are presented by experts from different fields. It is not as though Nehru did not have shortcomings; those are also projected, thus ensuring that the book is not an eulogy.
Nehru was a writer to cherish, with his most monumental works, Glimpses of World History and Discovery of India , written in prison. In his preface to Discovery , Nehru stated that H.G. Wells was a major influence on him and The New York Times described the volume as “one of the most remarkable books ever written,” going on to add that “Nehru makes even H.G. Wells seem singularly insular. One is awed by the breadth of Nehru’s culture.”
The editor, P.J. Alexander, elaborates on the Nehruvian model and makes convincing arguments. The editor’s introductory chapter places the reader in a position from which to understand Nehru through other experts in the following chapters. Through extensive quotes from Nehru’s autobiography and from other sources, he attempts to illustrate Nehru’s qualities. The other essays are but extensions of what the editor has said, but some articles stand out.
In ‘Nehru: The Secularist’, K.T. Thomas talks about secularism and Nehru’s views, highlighting that though the word ‘secular’ in the preamble of the Constitution was added by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, the spirit of the Constitution was clear about secularism. Having been a judge himself, Thomas notes that in his view “the secularist image of Jawaharlal Nehru would have escalated to a much higher level if the mandate contained in Article 144 was carried out during his period.” Article 144 directs the state to bring in a uniform civil code. Notwithstanding such points, the author explains why Nehru was the most outstanding secularist with several examples.
In ‘Nehru: The Parliamentarian’, M.G. Radhakrishnan makes a point about the dismissal of the Kerala government in 1959 being a blot on Nehru’s Prime Ministership. He quotes historians like S. Gopal and Ramachandra Guha to show how Nehru’s image as a parliamentarian was tarnished by this single act. However, he reasons that it was an unenviable task to govern a country of continental proportions with such stark diversity and that this act alone cannot diminish the greatness of Nehru.
In his essay, Jacob George shows how Nehru was futuristic in institution building and talks of Nehru’s work in planning cities such as Chandigarh by employing great designers like Le Corbusier.
Shashikant Pitre, a retired Army officer, in his brilliant narrative, ‘Nehru’s Security Policy,’ attempts an objective analysis of an area which has not been discussed much. He quotes extensively from three sources: B.K. Nehru, Jaswant Singh and defence analyst K. Subrahmaniyam. Unfortunately, Nehru’s distaste for military power destabilised India’s defence. In fact, Nehru believed that India faced no threats from any direction. While Mohammad Ali Jinnah assumed the position of Chief Executive of his newborn country, Nehru desired Mountbatten to be in charge. This, the author feels, was a mistake and not creating a Chief of Defence Staff made it worse.
Thus the Armed Forces were left with obsolete equipment, very little fire-power and no unified command. Nehru’s staunch belief in the improbability of an intrusion could be attributed to his idealism, but was not based on reality. Pitre quotes B.K. Nehru, “He was himself so pure of all guile and the pursuit of self-interest that he found it difficult to appreciate that there were people in the world not as pure as himself.”
Jawaharlal Nehru and The Indian Polity in Perspective; P.J. Alexander, T.M. Varghese Foundation, Rs. 1,100.
K.R.A. Narasiah is a writer and historian.
