Remembering Nehru:
On His 136th Birth Anniversary
It is no hidden fact that Nehru is the bête noire of the present dispensation, and that our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, harbours a particular dislike for him. That dislike seems to arise from envy, which over time has been channelled into anger. Today’s world lives inside bubbles of propaganda, fake news, altered histories, and social-media echo chambers – and India is no exception. Therefore, many of my compatriots will likely disagree with me when I say that Nehru was the central architect of India’s constitutional democracy and its first, steady implementer.
British rule of nearly 200 years denuded India of its material, intellectual, and human resources, leaving behind a nation of teeming, famished millions living at the edge. At independence, India was a desperately poor, deeply divided, bruised, and institutionally fragile country. In such conditions, Nehru’s ability to hold the nation together and commit it to a democratic path was an extraordinary feat.
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Nehru’s confidence stemmed from his belief in India’s civilisational depth and its long history of cultural pluralism and coexistence. He believed Indians would naturally understand secularism as a way of living with mutual respect, not as a borrowed Western idea. He also placed great faith in liberal democracy and in the fostering of a scientific temper. He trusted that India’s long tradition of open enquiry, public debate, and rational thinking would strengthen modern democracy and cultivate a scientific temperament in coming generations. This, he believed – perhaps rightly – would improve people’s lives over time and help India find its rightful place in the world.
A hallmark of India’s post-colonial history is that it continues to be a democracy, with orderly transfers of power. This alone sets it apart from many newly decolonised nations where democratic experiments failed. India has also progressed economically. Yet the evolution from a fledgling democracy to a fully liberal democracy has not unfolded as Nehru had envisioned.
Like many of his contemporaries, Nehru did not foresee the global resurgence of religious and racial parochialism or the intensity with which they would reshape societies, including our own. This gap between vision and reality does not diminish his legacy; rather, it highlights the scale of his ambition.
On his birth anniversary, the most meaningful tribute is to recognise the foundations he laid – democratic institutions, constitutional values, and a spirit of pluralism. These remain India’s strongest tools for building a fair and confident future, provided we choose to uphold them.
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