Don’t blame Nehru for problems in ‘New India’

Ironic that Narendra Modi can blame Jawaharlal Nehru for thinking poorly of Indians.

Did Jawaharlal Nehru call Indians lazy and unintelligent, as alleged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament?  Quite the contrary. Be it in the excerpt tweeted by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, or in the speech reproduced in its entirety in sections of the media, the message that comes through is the opposite of what Modi made it out to be.

The 1959 Independence Day Speech was a sharing of thoughts by a head of state with his citizens on a momentous occasion for both. India was still a new republic; the memory of the struggle to throw out the colonisers was still fresh. It was common knowledge that Nehru had been at the forefront of that struggle. But there was no boastfulness in his speech.

India’s first Prime Minister spoke to his fellow citizens of the difficulties overcome in the first 12 years of freedom, as well as the challenges ahead; the struggle to throw off old habits, (“ridding ourselves of our weaknesses and the thousands of burdens we were carrying”) and the task of building an economy which would benefit everyone (“… Hindustan is made up of lakhs of villages... They will grow with your and our efforts, but at the end of the day, they will grow because of their own efforts, trusting themselves…”).

This was a Prime Minister treating his people as equals, sharing his reflections with them about “what we want to be, what path we want to take…” It was a leader instilling self-belief in a people, telling them that there was a lot to be done, that they could make their country as good as any developed country, and “create a new, prosperous Hindustan” if they worked hard, “because the world runs on the hard work of people, whether it is the farmers, the labourers, the shopkeepers or the artisans…”.

Such intimacy between the tallest leader of a country and the masses is rare, and would certainly be difficult to appreciate by the kind of leader who talks down to his audience, or treats them like beneficiaries of his largesse. A Prime Minister sharing his concerns and his vision of nation-building with the people, must seem odd to one who credits himself with most of the achievements the country has seen, including some imaginary ones.

It’s ironic indeed that Modi can blame Nehru for thinking poorly of Indians. Narendra Modi remains so far, the only Indian leader to belittle his country and his compatriots in foreign lands while in office. In 2015, after barely a year in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told audiences in Seoul (South Korea) and Shanghai (China) that till he came on the scene, Indians used to curse their destiny for being born in India.

The reverse could well be true. When Nehru died, India had been Independent for just 17 years. A country looted by the British for almost 200 years had, in that short span, built hydroelectric dams as well as premier institutes of technology, medicine, and scientific research. More than these remarkable institutions, what India could boast of by 1964 were two institutions not many new republics had: an independent judiciary and press. When Indians travelled abroad, there was a lot to be proud of, not least that they came from the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

It’s after 2014 that the image of Indians has changed. Hyperventilating ultra-nationalistic television anchors have been compared — unfavourably — to Fox News. But it’s our social media presence that’s received international notoriety. We are known as the largest purveyors of fake news in the world; and, Indians on social media were conspicuous for the glee with which they hailed Israel’s unrelenting bombing of Palestinian civilians.

Indian cricket fans used to be known for their appreciation of the game; but spectators in ‘New India’ disgraced the sport and the Indian team during the World Cup last year by their trolling, religious sloganeering, and even physical attacks on fans of opposing teams. India’s inclusive diversity was once its hallmark; after 2014, we are known for meting out instance ‘justice’ to minorities through lynch mobs and bulldozers.

Supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party point to the poverty that persisted even 70 years after Independence. But what does high GDP growth mean when in terms of per capita income, we are ranked 143 out of 195 in the world? In the world’s fifth-largest economy, young men are so desperate that thousands of them sign up for jobs in war-torn Israel. 

‘Mother of democracy’ sounds good, but can’t hide our descent to the bottom when it comes to the vital indices of press freedom and electoral democracy.

There’s enough here to shame us; and a Prime Minister who died six decades ago has nothing to do with it.

(Jyoti Punwani is a senior journalist.)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.