Jawaharlal Nehru is indisputably the greatest ‘architect of modern India’ and a founding father of ‘multiple agendas’ for India. His role in sustaining India from breaking down or falling to the pray of sectarian divisions and in securing India from all kinds of external threats and interventions are phenomenal. Till his death in 1964, “Nehru had a colossal influence on the direction taken and not taken by the new, large, diverse and very conflicted nation” (Guha, 2012) and even after his death, Nehru’s thoughts still resonate on politics, policies and society in India.

Nehru had in his mind multiple agendas for Independent India in socio, political and economic frontiers. Among all the things Nehru said and done, it is his economic ideas which created huge controversies. Many academicians attribute Nehru to popular economic ideologies, especially Socialism. Nehru’s biographer B. R. Nanda said that “Nehru found it difficult to give up any of the three basic tenets of his political creed: secularism, democracy, and socialism. Above all, he is not prepared to jeopardize the stability and unity of India” (Nanda, 1998). So, on one side, he is committed to socialism, not dogmatically, and on the other side, he doesn’t want to put the nation’s interests and unity at stake. Nehru found a beautiful compromise between both in form of ‘Mixed Economy’. This is central to the National Planning under Nehru. In March 1949, Nehru said

Our problem is to raise the standard of the masses, supply them with their needs, and give them the wherewithal to lead a decent life…. I do not care what ‘ism’ it is that helps me to set them on the road provided I do it. And if one thing fails, we will try another’.

So, for Nehru, it is not the ideology that is important, but bringing a positive change is at most priority. Nehru said: “It is not the question of the theory of communism or socialism or capitalism. It is a question of hard fact. In India, if we do not ultimately solve the basic problems of our country- the problem of food, clothing, housing, and so on- it will not matter whether we call ourselves capitalists, socialists, communists or anything else. If we fail to solve these problems, we shall be swept away and somebody else will come and try to solve them” (Nanda, 1998).

Nehru from very beginning of Indian Independence evoked his commitment to lay down a path of prosperity for India. In his first speech delivered on the eve of India’s Independence, he said, that “the service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over” (Dey, 2014). Writing in 1953, six years after Indian Independence, the rulers of Indian States, Nehru said,

India has become a republic and a new constitution of the Republic was adopted and given affect to. In accordance with that constitution, general elections were held early in 1952 and these elections demonstrated again the peaceful and democratic character of the Indian People. The political revolution in India was thus completed. But this does not mean that we have entered a static phase. Immediately we had to face economic problems and the vital and urgent necessity of increasing the well-being of the people of India. Indeed, these problems had been before us even earlier. They had been somewhat overshadowed by the political struggle for Independence. The constitution itself laid down certain basic principles of social justice and the directive principles of policy (Nehru, 2007).

This shows the deep commitment in Nehru to combat poverty and inequality. Nehru was well aware of the hurdles of the time which have to be crossed to attain this objective. In the same letter as quoted above, Nehru further wrote that, “We have, in fact, to produce greater wealth and to see that it is properly distributed among our people. Both greater production and a more equitable distribution are essential. At the same time, we have to meet the problem of ever-increasing population which demands the necessities of life. This increasing population leads to growing unemployment” (Nehru, 2007). To conquer these hurdles, Nehru sought to create a welfare state. According to Nehru, “The welfare state means welfare for all and not a section of community only. It means productive and gainful employment for all and the removal of great disparities in incomes and methods of living that exist in India today” (Guha, 2012).

From this short note, it could be established that Jawaharlal Nehru is deeply committed, and superbly active in his attempts to bring changes in India. His thoughts are relevant and guiding principles for his times and the times we live in today. We will be greatly benefited if we can look back into his thoughts and make them relevant for the times we are living in to solve the present-day world problems.

References

Dey, P. (2014). Nehru: Legacy and Relevance . New Delhi: ABD Publishers.

Guha, R. (2012). Makers of Modern India. (R. Guha, Ed.) Gurgaon: Penguin Random House.

Nanda, B. R. (1998). Jawaharlal Nehru: Rebel and Statesman. Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Nehru, J. (1962). An Autobiography. Delhi.

Nehru, J. (2007). The Oxford India Nehru. (U. Iyengar, Ed.) New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

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