A Nascent Nation and Nehru

India 'achieved' its freedom and independence in 1947. The big and foremost question was- what to do with this freedom? Fortunately, over the decades and years, some kind of common stands and strands had been evolved. Among those voices, one of the prominent was of Jawaharlal Nehru. "A moment comes rarely in history when we step out from old to new when an age ends and when the soul of a nation- long suppressed finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity." 

Through these quotations from Tryst with Destiny speech of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister pointed towards the most crucial aspect freedom could have given- supremacy and sovereignty to the people of India. It's fitting to take a glance at Nehru's role in building post-independent, post-colonial India and its foreign policy as we celebrate the 75th year of Independence and the 132nd birth anniversary of India's first PM. Although times have changed much and it's public debate whether Nehru's legacy in itself have any relevance, it's pertinent to understand democratic, pluralist India and its roots.

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If one look towards India in 1947, it was a country torn by Partition, where acute poverty prevailed, numerous ethnicities, castes, language groups wanted their demands to be fulfilled first. It was in this context Nehru took over as the Prime Minister of Independent India. The prominent task was to build a nation, steer it towards a staunch and robust democracy with "commanding heights of the economy."

Nehru's contribution lies in he didn't turn into an autocratic dictator when he had every chance to assume unbridled power. By writing we want no Caesars criticising himself in an anonymous article, he clearly demarcated his democratic credentials. This respect for democracy and INSTITUTIONS was also significant for India's parliamentary democratic tradition and its guardian, Judiciary. The tussle between his government and Supreme Court over Land reforms has been foundational for tug of war between fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy giving space for interpretations for constitutional values.

Nehru took over the task of integrating Unity in Diversity by having secularism as its base. The Indian model of secularism which talks of Sarva Dharma Sambhav - equal respect to all religions have been a guiding light to many third world countries. The ethos of the constitution on social matters was largely preserved in the Nehruvian era starting what Granville Austin talked of as 'constitutional Social revolution.'

The mixed model economy of the Nehruvian era was dominated by Five-year plans and heavy industries. A mixed model was suitable for countries like India where large scale poverty and illiteracy prevailed. However, it came with banes of its own which later revealed themselves. The mixed model didn't give the pace to the Indian economy which was expected. On one hand, Public Sector Units(PSUs) were ravaged by bureaucratic red-tapism and on the other, the private sector didn't have any incentive to grow in License Quota Permit Raj.

Nehru years also saw the emergence of India's brainpower in science and technology. Atomic Energy Commission, IITs, Nuclear reactors, establishing TERLS for space research were all products of Nehruvian vision of science and technology for developing countries and make life easy.

Any talk about Nehru would be futile without discussing the non-alignment policy. In an era dominated by two camps- USA and USSR, Nehru wanted India to stay out of block politics. Not only Nehru but there was Pan Party consensus on Non-alignment as nascent nation's priority was economic development than playing a game of thrones on the world chessboard. Non-alignment was strategic autonomy, the shield of sovereignty and independence, and economic benefits from both camps.

Nehruvian outlook on the world and his internationalism was a quest for establishing India on the global map very firmly. While the Non-Alignment Movement became the moral voice of the third world, it also gave the opportunity to India to diversify its relationships. Nehru's respect for United Nations and calls for disarmament were also for purpose of boosting the stature of India as a nation that can speak up for itself. He saw the UN as a force to bury colonialism. It was supposed to be a force of peace that would allow India and its counterparts in the developing world to engage fully towards economic development rather than engaging in wars. 

Along with achievements, Nehru also failed on various counts. It's beyond debate that the debacle of 1962 with China was Nehru and his government's failure to play Realpolitik in the actual sense. He institutionalized democracy but failed to bring efficiency in economic arenas. The growth stagnated for decades after his death. Although he largely respected opposition, few criticized him for having a self-centred authoritarian personality. 

(Source)- The Dilemma of Nehru on China
(Nehru famously said to Shankar,the cartoonist who caricatured Nehru like this- "DON'T SPARE ME") 

His ideas and policies did face criticism. Alternative paths were suggested by stalwarts such as Ram Manohar Lohia. Nehru's strategy to deal with these was to engage in dialogue and debate rather than belittling opposition. He enjoyed huge respect and following from all parties of the time. Its succinct to quote Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a staunch critique of Nehru's policies on opposition benches, who mourned Nehru's death with following words- "with the prime minister’s passing ‘a dream has remained half ­fulfilled, a song has become silent, and a flame has vanished into the Unknown. India's beloved Prince has gone to sleep. " 

Nehru's policies went to burial slowly after his death. Times have much changed now. The non-alignment has been turned into 'issue-based alignments' and multi alignment in the contemporary world. India is a thriving capitalist economy for the last 30 years, far from Nehruvian socialism. However, the institutions nurtured in the first decade of independence under Nehru's leadership when a nascent nation was in turmoil have been crucial to giving required flexibility and fluidness to adopt these changes.  That's why the Nehruvian legacy has to be continued through dialogue, democracy, its institutions including a free press, pluralism and a quest for an egalitarian social order based on justice.

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