Since the bulk of citizens did not regard drinking as a crime, they had no respect for the prohibition laws and did not cooperate with the police, wrote MV Venkata Rao in 1962.
We now live in a world order that will keep shifting. India must use this window. This also means we remain disciplined enough not to be knee-jerked into reacting to what Pakistan sees as its moment in the sun.
“Though, it can be argued that he was right to not take it up at the time, in order to reassure the Muslims who had decided to stay back in India that their faith was welcomed. Nehru and his government were up against a difficult political context—its election had followed unprecedented physical and mental violence. Perhaps Nehru and Ambedkar felt it safer to proceed with reforms in the Hindu Personal Laws at the time.”
This, in my view, is the correct explanation for why Pandit Nehru did what he did. We should also keep in mind that the ideology of the Muslim League hadn’t completely died at that point of time for many people. The last thing the nation needed was a protracted conflict right after independence (in addition to what already happened in Kashmir). The real blame lies with Mrs Gandhi and the subsequent leaders who, despite having the time and capability, preferred appeasement in order to garner votes.
“Though, it can be argued that he was right to not take it up at the time, in order to reassure the Muslims who had decided to stay back in India that their faith was welcomed. Nehru and his government were up against a difficult political context—its election had followed unprecedented physical and mental violence. Perhaps Nehru and Ambedkar felt it safer to proceed with reforms in the Hindu Personal Laws at the time.”
This, in my view, is the correct explanation for why Pandit Nehru did what he did. We should also keep in mind that the ideology of the Muslim League hadn’t completely died at that point of time for many people. The last thing the nation needed was a protracted conflict right after independence (in addition to what already happened in Kashmir). The real blame lies with Mrs Gandhi and the subsequent leaders who, despite having the time and capability, preferred appeasement in order to garner votes.