Nehru’s death anniversary: Time for Congress to show courage and vision like the first PM

Is Congress, of late, paying the price for turning somewhat cold to Jawaharlal Nehru? Or, is this also the case with his rich legacy that has endured through the better part of independent India’s journey so far to keep, among other things, Congress in a prime position?

The question naturally comes to mind as the Congress top brass once again gathers at Shanti Van on the banks of the Yamuna in New Delhi on May 27, this time to mark the 58th death anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister.

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No doubt, nowadays, Nehru is shunned or even looked at with disdain by the powers-that-be. Only the other day, one of his statues was vandalised in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh without any resistance being offered. This is the case despite Congress having hefty presence in the State which, if not equal to the BJP, is only a close second to it.

The onslaught against Nehru from Congress’ rivals, or under their watch, can well be understandable. But the Congress fighting shy of even emulating Nehru, if not defending him as stoutly as it should, is intriguing. More so, since the attacks on Nehru are not because of his economic policy alone that was in any case reset under the Congress rule when Manmohan Singh became the Union Finance Minister over three decades ago from now.

Deeper reasons

The underlying reasons for jettisoning Jawaharlal Nehru are deeper. These have ideological undercurrents which at best are being sensed by the Congress rather belatedly and yet the party seems to be lacking the will, courage and resolve to take on today’s Nehru-bashers.

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Such motivation against Nehruvian politics and ethos obviously comes from the desire to relegate the Congress completely. Nehru stood against narrow sectarianism. This also includes majoritarianism. He never used any of this to achieve his political ends. He took a forward view of history and showed the imagination of a modernist whereby parochialism of all kinds could be subsumed without causing religious destabilisation.

But the case today is totally reverse and this is what unnerves the Congress so much as to put the party into virtual silence not only over the profound changes taking place both in the polity and society but also relentless Nehru bashing where among other things his staunch secular beliefs are trashed.

Significantly, Nehru was as avowed a democrat as he was a secularist. Yet, this could not be as steadfastly the case with his successors in the Congress. Indira Gandhi faltered on the first count (or democracy) while Rajiv Gandhi blinked on the second (secularism). Though both, unlike Nehru, died prematurely, the brunt of the inadequacies on the part of the two had to be taken by the Congress.

Ironically, behind the undoing of Indira soon after emergency, was Nehru’s deeply nurtured idea of democracy. Also, Rajiv’s slipshod moves in the Shahbano case alongside his fascination for Ram Rajya via Shilanayas or foundation laying of temple at Ayodhya (near what used to be Babari Masjid) amounted to tinkering with the secular tenets founded by Nehru. So much so that this eventually paved the way for the Sangh or RSS Raj.

Tale of two assassinations

Politics took even more tragic turns after Indira’s return to power. She was assassinated in revenge to Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar that she ordered to quell separatism in Punjab. Soon, frenzied mobs tried to avenge her death by taking thousands of innocent lives. And, thus, was created a dangerous precedent for mass sectarian violence that presumably entailed little possibility of justice for victims and virtual impunity for the perpetrators.

Yet, it is a fact that in the wake of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel saw to it that frenzy could not get the better of the people. Gandhiji was killed months after Independence when partition riots had already taken the highest toll ever known in the history of the country. Gandhiji had resorted to fasting to bring peace and yet had to pay with his life for his noble efforts.

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As for how Nehru faced the partition riots, renowned American journalist and author Norman Cousins (1915-1990) thus recalled the Prime Minister’s courage: “Late one night a Hindu mob, inflamed by stories of Moslem terror to the northwest, swept into Connaught Circle, the main shopping area in New Delhi. The rioters smashed their way into Moslem stores, destroying and looting and ready to kill.

“Even before the police arrived in force, Jawaharlal Nehru was on the scene. He plunged into the crowd in the darkness, trying to bring the people into their senses. He spied a Moslem who had just been seized by Hindus. He interposed himself between the man and his attackers.

“Suddenly a cry went up: ‘Jawaharlal is here! Jawaharlal is here! Don’t hurt Jawharlal Nehru!’

“The cry spread through the crowd. It had a magical effect. People stood still and dropped their arms to their sides. Looted merchandise was dropped. The mob psychology disintegrated. By the time police arrived, people were dispersing. The riot was over.”

One with the masses

Cousins wrote about another incident that Nehru faced head on: “Not many weeks after the communal rioting subsided, the Prime Minister and a foreign guest were driving in his private car about fifteen miles South of Delhi. The traffic piled up behind a caravan of camels in a village preponderantly populated by Moslems. Only recently, this village had figured in mass violence.

“The combination of the heat, the heavy chalky dust from the dry dirt road, temper of the camel drivers and the screams of people in the stalled buses, trucks, wagons, and automobiles provided the combustible materials for a communal riot. Young Moslems from the village suddenly appeared with knives. They surrounded Nehru’s car. One of them recognized the Prime Minister and shouted angry words at him.

“Nehru stepped out of the car, walked up to the young man, spoke to him quietly. Suddenly, a cheer went up for the Prime Minister. The Moslems surrounded him, expressing their devotion and loyalty. Then some of them began to weep in shame for their action. Nehru spoke with them, answering their questions, telling them of his hopes.”

These two incidents are part of Cousins’ tribute to Nehru after his death. It was published as a part of series of similar tributes to Nehru by those who knew him as a compilation under the title The Legacy of Nehru, as edited by veteran Congress leader and former diplomat K Natwar Singh.

Anyway, after both these incidents Nehru was advised by his several acquaintances and well wishers to mind his safety first which he appreciated as it involved risk. Yet, he excused himself from being forced to stay away from people and not doing what was expected of him to calm down the fraying tempers in his times.

So, now the task for the party that was once led by Nehru is to summon and show the courage, grit and vision like him while taking on what it thinks to be going wrong for it and the people of India in these testing times.

(The writer is an independent journalist based in Delhi-NCR. He tweets @abidshahjourno.)

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