Why Nehru Matters

Anyone trying to make some sense of Nehru and his legacy is faced with a gigantic task. Because, there is nothing like reading Nehru himself.

However, the published volumes of his writings and speeches up to 1946 number 15, while those covering his years in power number, to date, 31 — and they have reached only the mid-1950s! Therefore, it is with a sense of relief that one picks up this remarkable anthology, in which the late S. Gopal and Uma Iyengar have done justice to the range of Nehru’s work and vision while making their selection in just two volumes. It is important to remember that Nehru had a particular and specific understanding of history which formed the bedrock of his vision. He believed that it was progressive, with science and technology taking us to ever new heights. But, as his startling remarks at a 1961 Science Congress attest, it was not totally materialistic. Allied to this was his understanding of Indian history — a synthesis of traditions — reflected in the cadence and cascade of the Tryst With Destiny speech. And linked to this was Nehru’s almost mystical attachment to the people and land of India, which found its most profound expression in the Last Will And Testament.

Gandhi, of course, was the great love of Nehru’s life. He woke a dormant country and electrified a bored country lawyer into fulfilling his life. Is it any wonder then, that the best of Nehru’s writings, speeches and letters deal with his beloved Bapu? Nehru could disagree with Gandhi, publicly and privately, yet he never swerved from him. It is this which led Gandhi to make the fateful decision to anoint Nehru as his political heir and not a stubborn Netaji or an indomitable Sardar.

An anthology of this nature also sheds light on the more personal Nehru, one often overlooked by his biographers. For instance, there are observations on nature, a hilarious letter on Iqbal, a wry aside to Indira Gandhi about being accused of irreligion and being honoured in temples, and a sombre note on the changes which overtook India in the Second World War. Then, there is a lyrical letter on mountains to Edwina Mountbatten, which gives pause — if the correspondence is replete with such relaxed and beautiful writing, then perhaps, a second thought should be given by the powers that be to their publication.

A frequent charge made against Nehru during his lifetime and after was that he was arrogant in the pre-eminence of his power. Nehru was not perfect — after all, he was human. But to portray him as almost dictatorial is ridiculous. In a letter to Krishna Menon, he chastises one of his closest friends and then makes this stunning confession: “People tell me often that I am indispensable. I recognise my worth and my importance in the context of things today. But nothing is more foolish, I think, than to consider oneself indispensable and, if one is really indispensable, then it is a bad outlook for the country.”

Think of what happened in neighbouring China when Mao swept to power, or the chaos that plagued Pakistan. And then think of the horrors which culminated in the Partition riots. Think of the vicissitudes that this country faced in the early years of independence. India was indeed fortunate that from 1946 to 1964, the Ship of State sailed into uncharted waters with not a Great Helmsman, but a Great Captain.