Nehru was no match to Jinna in intelligence, nowhere near Sardar Patel in political and administrative capabilities, not at all equal to Rajgopalachari in understanding economic issues confronting India of those times, had to learn a lot from Ambedkar on social issues especially issues related to disadvantaged classes. . Still he becomes the first Prime Minister of India and no one questioned the decision. Sardar Patel had greater support in Congress working committee yet he withdrew his name from the race to Prime Ministership. . Why? . Mahatma Gandhi was one who legitimized Nehrus claim to the throne. He did it because he rated Nehru very high on two issues. Secularism and rural inclusiveness. . These two issues were very dear to Gandhi. He was of the opinion that the country should not be divided on religious basis and he also gave the concept of Gram Swarajya. . Nehru with his left leaning ideologies was very comfortable in accepting these two concepts propounded by Gandhi in India. He never believed in the idea that India belonged to Hindus only and he with his misunderstood Soviet mindset was ready and willing to handover a lot of power to Gram Panchayats. . But Nehru was never questioned by any of the top leaders of Congress or Muslim League. Everyone accepted his position after Gandhi in Congress. Why was Nehru never questioned? Because Gandhi was legitimizing his claim. . This continued even after independence and after Gandhis death it became impossible to dethrone Nehru as there was no one to question Nehrus claim. . Had Gandhi lived a little longer, I believe, he himself would have questioned Nehru. Nehru who under true Soviet ideology became centralizing figure after 1955. He also lost his secularism along the way in his overzealous effort to be called an international Statesman. His secularism became a lot of appeasement. Gandhi sure would have opposed these changes in Nehru. But, alas! he died, or was killed by a Hindu extremist. . This killing of Gandhi further strengthened Nehrus claim and pushed Hinduism into the dark streets of public rejection. Common people who worshiped Gandhi never forgave Hindu extremists for this dastardly act. . Nehrus claim to throne was later very successfully passed on to his daughter and grandson as Indira too had the public blessings of Gandhi. She was willing to carry forward Nehrus legacy that too in a more extremist way. And two generations of legacy alongwith 37 years of rule is enough to give rise to a dynasty. . Hindu groups were finding it very hard to counter Nehru-Gandhi familys claim to power. Now there was no Gandhi to question their claim. How could Hindu groups and parties achieve this humongous goal? . Then came the idea. Weaken the foundation on which the dynasty has been built. Foundation of Gandhis power to be accepted by citizens of the country as a person beyond question. . They slowly and surely started breaking a lot of myths woven around Gandhi. Knowing fully well that any argument against the personality and character of Gandhi will not stand its ground, they based their attacks on specific events and actions without ever highlighting their broad import. . That is what we are witnessing all around us. Attacks on Gandhi without giving legitimate arguments. . And this is being done by people who believe in past glory of India. They do not seem to take pride in the most recent history and be proud of having a person like Gandhi to have lived in India. . Now since Nehru-Gandhi dynasty seems to have been decimated, I believe they will now let Gandhi rest in peace.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 07:09:42 +0000
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