Integrity Score 110
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In these polarized times that we live in, it’s easy to pick sides. Throw your weight against or behind a leader as per your ideology.
But everything is not in black or white. No individual is flawless. Humans make mistakes and trying to whitewash them does their memory a disservice.
Nehru was a hero of India’s Independence struggle and its first Prime Minister. But he was not without his faults.
> Jawaharlal’s ascendency in Congress was studiously choreographed by his wealthy father with a helping hand extended by Mahatma Gandhi, who used his moral authority to arrest the rise of Nehru’s more accomplished rivals. Nehru went on to inject dynasticism in democratic India’s ruling party by grooming Indira to be his successor.
> His actions across the country showed his authoritarian streak: In Kerala, he engineered the overthrow of democratically elected Communist government. In Kashmir, he presided over an anti-democratic farce. In Nagaland, he authorized the bombing of Christians. AFSPA embodied his ruthlessness.
> Nehru made the mistake of referring Kashmir to the UN. Kashmir had acceded to India legally. It was up to Indian forces to recover the part fallen to Pakistan. His speech in Parliament needlessly elevated the dispute into a test of India’s secular identity. Having mortgaged its self-esteem to Kashmir, India became obsessively fixated on retaining it.
> In his personal life, he had a disastrous marriage with Kamala Kaul. Immersed in politics, Nehru cruelly neglected her. His sisters mercilessly mocked her. Kamala was always lonely in Anand Bhavan, the palace converted into an informal Congress HQ and crowded with party members.
Whitewashing the legacy of India’s most important public figure turns him into a caricature rather than a humanized, complex and multi-dimensional character.