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.
Let us make it clear that partition is not past. It is a festering wound that continues to hurt, because it is an unfinished project.
Let us also be unafraid to name the victims – Hindus and other Dharmics suffered disproportionately at the hand of savage mobs who took the opportunity to try to slaughter as many “infidels” as they could. Maybe restore their empire in “Hind” (like in the Khilafat movement) that never succeeded?
Our civilisation lost its most ancient historical sites, our people were displaced, lost their livelihoods, ancestral lands, and culture and identity (yes, just look at the Urduised bastardisation of Dharmic culture in so-called Pakistan today) – and that’s just talking about those who managed to survive, their selves and dharma in one piece.
On the other hand, some entitled pricks who voted for the partition and participated in the brutalities now want to have the cake and eat it too, claiming they “chose” India.