Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India, and its longest-serving till date, being in office for more than 16 years. Nehru was a barrister by profession, and played a key role in India’s freedom movement. He is often called the architect of modern India, laying the foundations of a free, independent and modern India. Nehru is also celebrated for his charisma, and huge crowds used to turn up to hear him speak.
Born into a privileged, educated family, he was sent to England at age 15 to study. He returned with democratic and liberal values. Nehru was a socialist at heart, and his policies reflected that. Nehru promoted a pluralistic multi-party democracy in India. He implemented moderate socialist economic reforms and committed India to a policy of industrialisation. In foreign affairs, he played a leading role in establishing the Non-Aligned Movement. Under Nehru’s leadership, the Congress emerged as a catch-all party, dominating national and state-level politics and winning elections in 1951, 1957 and 1962.
Some of the highlights of his tenure as prime minister included the India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, the India-China war of 1962, the reorganisation of states along linguistic lines, the Five-Year plans setting up of IITs, IIMS, ISRO, DRDO, among others. Nehru died while in office, serving as the PM for the fourth time.
With all due respect classical liberalism is more closer to Consevatism now a days than before and in 1962 it was more evident as liberals were going against the tenets of classical liberalism therefore it is not wrong to say he was a conservative.
I pay my respects to the free market troika. Long live free market.
Well written. Swatantra was India’s only truly liberal party, which stood for the emancipation of the smallest businessman and consumers. No wonder they did not win the support of big business who were more then content with Nehruvian licence-permit Raj that provided them a captive market on whom they could dump their shoddy high priced goods, at inflated prices. It is India’s supreme tragedy that it never came to power. All we had and still have are those that wish to curtail economic freedom in the name of socialism and patriotism. Where profits are private and losses borne by the tax payer.
A Very Very good Article
And coming from a Student
And subject which I had studied and taught 40 years back
Way to go… Young Man
Wonderful
A national interest or ctc by shekhar ji or Ilanomics by Ila ma’am on this topic of free market critique of nehruvian state would be a delight.