Few, If Any, Could Have Done A Better Job Than Nehru But He Stayed On For Too Long
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Few, if any, could have
Few, if any, could have done a better job than Nehru but, yes, he stayed on for too long: Ramachandra Guha to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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In an interview to discuss and assess Jawaharlal Nehru, both as prime minister and as an individual, on the 60th anniversary of his death (27th May 1964) one of the finest and most highly regarded historians of modern India has said Nehru “made mistakes, to be sure, but other people in his place would most likely have made bigger ones”, adding that there were very few people, if any, who could have done a better job than he did in the trying circumstances that Nehru faced. However, Ramachandra Guha adds that Nehru stayed on for too long as prime minister and it would have been better if he had – as at the time he himself considered – stepped down in 1958.
This 44-minute interview is a tour d’horizon that covers and discusses Jawaharlal Nehru’s achievements and failures, the challenges he faced, the goals he set himself as well as the personality of the man, including his relationship with Edwina Mountbatten and the role she played in his life. Mr. Guha says that despite the enormous challenges Nehru faced, the fact India became a credible democracy with freedoms of speech, worship, association, a credibly functioning Parliament, a free press and an independent judiciary is remarkable and the credit for this must be shared with the stalwarts that made up Nehru’s first-star studded cabinet.
The interview also discusses Nehru’s relationship with Sardar Patel and why Gandhi chose him rather than Patel as prime minister. It goes into depth about Nehru’s handling or rather mishandling of China and his failure to do more to push primary education. But, at the same time, the interview also discusses Nehru’s careful and successful handling of India’s minorities and, in particular, the sizeable Muslim population which was battered and shaken by partition, the economy, non-alignment and the building of IITs and IIMs.
Towards the end, the interview analyses why there has been such a sharp decline and fall in Nehru’s reputation since his death and whether the sins of his daughter, grandson, grand daughter-in-law and great grandson have been inflicted upon him.
If you want to understand Jawaharlal Nehru – and today, let’s be honest, few people know anything about him – this is one interview I suggest you make time to see and hear. In what can only be called a command performance, Ramachandra Guha has objectively, critically but also sympathetically, and with great balance and fairness, assessed Nehru both as prime minister and as an individual.
To help, I’ll give you a list of the questions which have been meticulously followed.
Here they are:-
1) Today is the 60th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru’s death and I want to use the occasion to try and assess his prime ministership so that we have a better idea not just of his achievements and failures but also the challenges he faced and the goals he set himself as well as the personality of the man himself. Now in your essay ‘Verdicts on Nehru: The Rise and Fall of a Reputation’ you write: “It is safe to say that no modern politician had anywhere near as difficult a job as Jawaharlal Nehru. At Independence, the country he was asked to lead was faced with horrific problems … No new nation was ever born in less propitious circumstances.” Are you saying that in effect he started his prime ministership with his hands virtually tied behind his back?
2) Why did Mahatma Gandhi chose Nehru rather than Patel as prime minister? What qualities did the former have which the latter may not have had?
3) Against this background India became a credible democracy with freedoms of speech, worship, association, a credibly functioning Parliament, a free press and an independent judiciary. How much of that was because of the Constitution and how much of that was because Nehru was determined this should be the outcome?
4) The economy in Nehru’s days was what’s called a mixed economy. The government set up steel plants, dams and much of heavy industry. No doubt that gave India an economic foundation it didn’t have but was he mistaken not to pursue the sort of export-led growth that took countries like Taiwan, Korea, Singapore to growths of 8, 9 and even 10%?
5) One of the challenges Nehru inherited was a very sizeable Muslim population, battered and shaken by partition, uncertain and unsure of its position in India or even whether it belonged in the country. How effectively did he handle this? And today when he’s accused of appeasement is that fair or mistaken?
Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. @thewirenews
...........................................
In an interview to discuss and assess Jawaharlal Nehru, both as prime minister and as an individual, on the 60th anniversary of his death (27th May 1964) one of the finest and most highly regarded historians of modern India has said Nehru “made mistakes, to be sure, but other people in his place would most likely have made bigger ones”, adding that there were very few people, if any, who could have done a better job than he did in the trying circumstances that Nehru faced. However, Ramachandra Guha adds that Nehru stayed on for too long as prime minister and it would have been better if he had – as at the time he himself considered – stepped down in 1958.
This 44-minute interview is a tour d’horizon that covers and discusses Jawaharlal Nehru’s achievements and failures, the challenges he faced, the goals he set himself as well as the personality of the man, including his relationship with Edwina Mountbatten and the role she played in his life. Mr. Guha says that despite the enormous challenges Nehru faced, the fact India became a credible democracy with freedoms of speech, worship, association, a credibly functioning Parliament, a free press and an independent judiciary is remarkable and the credit for this must be shared with the stalwarts that made up Nehru’s first-star studded cabinet.
The interview also discusses Nehru’s relationship with Sardar Patel and why Gandhi chose him rather than Patel as prime minister. It goes into depth about Nehru’s handling or rather mishandling of China and his failure to do more to push primary education. But, at the same time, the interview also discusses Nehru’s careful and successful handling of India’s minorities and, in particular, the sizeable Muslim population which was battered and shaken by partition, the economy, non-alignment and the building of IITs and IIMs.
Towards the end, the interview analyses why there has been such a sharp decline and fall in Nehru’s reputation since his death and whether the sins of his daughter, grandson, grand daughter-in-law and great grandson have been inflicted upon him.
If you want to understand Jawaharlal Nehru – and today, let’s be honest, few people know anything about him – this is one interview I suggest you make time to see and hear. In what can only be called a command performance, Ramachandra Guha has objectively, critically but also sympathetically, and with great balance and fairness, assessed Nehru both as prime minister and as an individual.
To help, I’ll give you a list of the questions which have been meticulously followed.
Here they are:-
1) Today is the 60th anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru’s death and I want to use the occasion to try and assess his prime ministership so that we have a better idea not just of his achievements and failures but also the challenges he faced and the goals he set himself as well as the personality of the man himself. Now in your essay ‘Verdicts on Nehru: The Rise and Fall of a Reputation’ you write: “It is safe to say that no modern politician had anywhere near as difficult a job as Jawaharlal Nehru. At Independence, the country he was asked to lead was faced with horrific problems … No new nation was ever born in less propitious circumstances.” Are you saying that in effect he started his prime ministership with his hands virtually tied behind his back?
2) Why did Mahatma Gandhi chose Nehru rather than Patel as prime minister? What qualities did the former have which the latter may not have had?
3) Against this background India became a credible democracy with freedoms of speech, worship, association, a credibly functioning Parliament, a free press and an independent judiciary. How much of that was because of the Constitution and how much of that was because Nehru was determined this should be the outcome?
4) The economy in Nehru’s days was what’s called a mixed economy. The government set up steel plants, dams and much of heavy industry. No doubt that gave India an economic foundation it didn’t have but was he mistaken not to pursue the sort of export-led growth that took countries like Taiwan, Korea, Singapore to growths of 8, 9 and even 10%?
5) One of the challenges Nehru inherited was a very sizeable Muslim population, battered and shaken by partition, uncertain and unsure of its position in India or even whether it belonged in the country. How effectively did he handle this? And today when he’s accused of appeasement is that fair or mistaken?
Join The Wire's Youtube Membership and get exclusive content, member-only emojis, live interaction with The Wire's founders, editors and reporters and much more. Memberships to The Wire Crew start at Rs 89/month. @thewirenews
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در تاریخ 1403/03/07 منتشر شده
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