Jawaharlal Nehru and Modern India

8/10/2019 Jawaharlal Nehru and Modern India

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Indian Political Science ssociation

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AND MODERN INDIAAuthor(s): AGARALA EASWARA REDDY and D. SUNDAR RAMSource: The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 50, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec. 1989), pp. 445-468Published by: Indian Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41855452.

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JAWAHARLAL NEHRU AND MODERN INDIA

AGARALA EASWARA

REDDY and D.

SUNDAR RAM

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is an Indian to the core but,

he

being

also

an

internationalist,

has

made

us used to

looking

at

everything

n

the

international

light,

instead

of the

parochial

...

and

he

is

a

humanitarian

in the

sense that he reacts

to

every wrong

no

matter

where

perpetrated

... when I am

no

more,

he

will

know how

to

carry

on

the

work .

-

MAHATMA GANDHI

Pandit

Jawaharlal

Nehru

was

the

sole

architect

of the

Modern

India.

The

Centenary

year

of

Jawaharlal

Nehru

has

been

instrumental

in

focussing,

our

attention

on his

towering,

multi-dimensional

personality

and has

prompted

a

reassessment

of the exact

nature and

measure

of his

splendid greatness

and

immortal

fame

and

the

invaluable

services

rendered

by

him to

the

modern

India.

As

Michael

Brecher has

pointed

out

in

his

penetrating

political

biography,

he

was

the

philosopher,

the

architect,the engineerand the voice of his Country's policy to-

wards

the outside

world .1

This

paper attempts

to

highlight

Nehru's

contribution

to the

making

of modern

India.

To

speak

the

truth,

he

planted

the

seed of

parliamentary

democracy

in

modern

India,

which

in

course

of time

became

a

full-fledged

ree.

That is

why

Jawaharlal

Nehru

may

be

regarded,

and

rightly

n-

deed,

as the

'Father

of Indian

Democracy'.

Jawaharlal

Nehru

acted as

the

Super

leader

of

the

Party ,

even

when

not

its

President

and that

the

Congress

victory

of the

polls

was

mainly

due to his charismatic

leadership.2

On the

perso-

nality

of

Nehru

and his

typical

contribution to the

world,

Arnold

Tonybee

writes:

I find

it

difficult

to

pigeon-hole

this

human

Th

ndian

ournal

f

olitical

cience,

ol.

50,

No.

4,

October

December,

989.

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/25

446

THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F POLITICAL

SCIENCE

personality

in

any

of those

impersonal

categories

in which

histo-

rians deal. But, ifconstrained to

try

my

hand at this, I should

say

that

Nehru

served his fellow-men

most

fruitfully

nd most

characteristically by taking

his

place

in

a

series

of

interpreters

and

mediators between the civilization

of the

West

and

the

other

living

civilizations.

In modern

times the West

has been

making

a

revolutionary

mpact

on

the

rest of

the world.

The

impact

has

been

so

potent

that

non-Westerns

have been confronted

with

the

choice

of

coming

to

terms

with it or

being

hopelessly

overwhelm-

ed

by

it.

Conversely,

the West is now

finding

hat

it,

for

ts own

part,

has to come

to terms with the non-Western

majority

of the

human

race. We

seem,

in

fact, to be

in

the birth-throes

f

a

New

Society

embracing

the

whole human

race,

with

all the

manifold

and

contradictory

traditions

of

its

formerly egregated

sections.

This seems

to be

the

goal

towards

which the last

four

or

five

hundred

years

of the

World's

history

have been

leading.

If

the

diagnosis

is

correct,

the

role of

nterpretation

nd

mediation has

the

key

role

in

the

present age.

It

is

a

more

important

role than

the mere statements, and, in fact, some of the most effectiveof

the

interpreters

have done their

work

outside the

political

arena.

They

have

done

it

as

scholars,

writers,

rtists,

poets

and

prophets.

Nehru

was one

of

those

who have

played

this

part

on

the

politi-

cal

stage;

and

among

the

Statesmen-interpreters

of

one civiliza-

tion to

another,

one

can

distinguish

more than one

type. 3

Jawaharlal

Nehru

was

a

revolutionary

ndowed

with

a

vision

and

his

responses

went

far

beyond

the national

frontiers.

He

was

a fighter ll his life,strivingto achieve liberty nd human dignity

not

only

for

his

countrymen

but for all

peoples

of the

world.

Rasheeduddin

Khan

writes:

Jawaharlal

Nehru's most

conspicu-

ous

impact

on

the

course

of

history

-

Indian,

Asian

and

Global

-

is

probably

as

a

powerful

and

consistent articulator

of

the

historic

urges

and

suppressed

impulses

of the

people

in

struggle

against

imperialism

and

inequity

and as

a

system

builder for

a

democratic

secular

polity.

He was

not

only

an

architect of

re-

surgent

India,

but

also of an

awakened and

emanicipated

Asia,

and the emergingdecolonised world .4 About Nehru's charisma,

Lord

Mountbatten

observed that

As for

Nehru

himself,

he

was

a

many-sided

personality

of

whom

it

could

fairly

be

said

the

pre-

dominant

characteristics n

each of the

other

great

protagonists

were

all

contained

and

blended in

himself. He

was

truly

Gandhi's



4/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND MODERN

NDIA

447

disciple

in his

emphasis

on

personal

and

moral

values. He

was

not without Patel's

toughness

of

fibre,

Jinnah's

remoteness or

Liaquas

equanimity.

But,

of course

his

individuality

was

not

simply

the sum of

their.

He had

very

rare

qualities

of

his own-

the artist's

insight

and

the

Philosopher's

wisdom .5

Nehru's life

was

woven

into

the

nation's

life. From his

early

childhood,

from

attending

the

1912

Congress

Session

at Patna

as

a

Member,

to

his

demise

in

1964,

he

was

involved

totally

with

India,

India's

development

and India's

progress.

Nehru ndFreedomMovement

Jawaharlal

Nehru,

along

with

Gandhi,

Sardar

Patel,

and

the

other

greats

of

our

freedom

struggle

-

Netaji

Subhash

Chandra

Bose,

Rajendra

Prasad,

Maulana

Azad,

Rajaji,

Govind

Ballabh

Pant

and

many

others

-

was

a

stalwart of

our

freedom

struggle

who

then

went

on to

become

a

builder of

modern

India.

India

was

singularly

fortunate

n

having

three

great

leaders

-

Mahatma

Gandhi,

Jawaharlal

Nehru and Vallabhbhai

Patel.

The

role

of

all

these

three

leaders

has been

unique

in

the

attainment of

nde-

pendence

for

India

and

in the

development

of

the

country.

The

three

leaders

made

supreme

sacrifices

nd

kept

the

interest

f the

people

at their

heart.

Their

policies

and

programmes

should

be

people

-

centric

rather

than self-centric.

When

we

think

of

free

India,

the

triumvirate,Gandhi,

Nehru and

Patel,

appear

simula-

taneously

before

our vision.

They

were

embodiments of a

master-

passion.

In

their

life time

they

became the

torch

bearers of

liberty.

They

claimed

liberty

as

human

prerogative

and

they

broke the chains which bound them, freed themselves first, nd

liberated

millions,

who were

in

bondage.

Hailed

as

the

saviours

of

a

race,

humanity

has

saluted them

and their

memories

are

cherished.

During

our

struggle

for

political

freedom under

the

leader-

ship

of

Gandhiji

and

Nehru,

the

whole

country

rallied

round

the

banner

of

Indian

National

Congress

and

made

history

by

fighting

the

mighty

British

Empire

in

a

non-violent

manner.

When the

dream of

free India

guided

their

struggle

and their

efforts,

o

trace of regionalism,linguismor religionismcould be seen and it

appeared

that

the nation

was

completely integrated

when

it

followed

the

lead

of

Gandhiji

and

Nehru.6

In the

national

struggle

for

freedom

Nehru

was second

only

to Mahatma

Gandhi

as a

symbol

of

Indian

aspirations.



5/25

448

THE

INDIAN

JOURNAL

F

POLITICAL

CIENCE

The Year

1916

was

a

landmark

in

Jawaharlal's

Life;

his

first

meeting

with

Gandhiji

who had

newly

returnedfrom outh Africa.

Mahatma

Gandhi was soon to

dominate

Indian Politics and start

a

series

of

civil disobedience movements.

The association

of these

two

greatmen

had momentous

consequences

for

history.

In 1919

Nehru

entered the

Indian

National

Congress

which

represented

the

evolution of

national

consciousness

from

its

very

inception.

Gandhi

had

joined

it

a

few

years

earlier. From

1920

onward

the

shaping

of

the

organisation

and its

policy

owed as much

to Nehru

as

Gandhi.

The

latter

advocated

non-violence

to

fight

he

British.

Nehru

agreed,

for he

saw

that in the

prevailing

extreme

poverty

of

the

masses,

the

war

against

colonial

rule could

be

waged

only

through

non-violent

means. Within

the

Congress-fold

he was

responsible

for

building up

a

sense

of

discipline

and

loyalty

to

the

Organisation.

While

taking

keen interest

n the

affairs f

the

Congress,

Nehru

devoted himself to

studying

the

problems

and

aspirations

of

the

Indian

peasantry.

He

travelled

extensively

n

the

country

and was

seen and

heard

in

all

parts

of

thisvast land.

Writingabout his visit to Kisans in 1920, Nehru wrote:

They

(Kisans)

were in

miserable

rags,

men

and

women,

but

their

faces

were

full of

excitement

and their

eyes

glittered,

and

seemed to

expect

strange happenings

which

would,

as if

by

a

miracle,

put

an end to

their

ong

misery .

They

showered

their

affection on

us

and looked on us

with

living

and

hopeful

eyes,

as

if

we were

the bearers

ofgood

tidings,

the

guides

who were to lead themto the

promised

land.

Looking

at

them and

their

misery

and

overflowinggratitude,

I

was

filled

with

shame

and sor-

row,

shame

at

my

own

easy-going

and

comfortable

life

and

our

petty

politics

of the

city

which

ignores

this

vast

multitude

of

semi-

naked

sons and

daughters

of

India,

sorrow

at

the

degradation

and

overwhelming

poverty

of

India. A

new

picture

of

India

seemed to rise before

me,

naked,

starving,

crushed

and

utterly

miserable.

And

theirfaith in

us,

embarrassed me and filledme with

a

new

responsibility

hat

brightened

me .7

From

1922

non-cooperation

and

non-violence became

two

aspects

of

the

national

struggle

which

entered a

new and

signifia



6/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU AND MODERN

NDIA

449

cant

phase

when

on

the banks of

the river

Ravi the

Congress

under the

leadership

of

Jawaharlal

Nehru took the

pledge

of

complete

independence

as its

goal

on

the historic

day

of 31

December

1929.

As

the

President

of

the

Indian National

Con-

gress,

he

proclaimed

at

Lahore

in December

1929:

We

stand

today

for

the

fullest

freedom

of India.

This

Congress

has

not

acknowledged

the

right

of the

British

Parliament to dictate to

us

in

any

way.

To

it we

make

no

appeal.

But

we do

appeal

to

the Parliament

and

Conscience of the World and to them we shall demonst-

rate,

I

hope,

that India

submits

no

longer

to

any

foreign

domination

If

today

we

fail and

tomorrow

brings

no

success,

the

day

after will

follow and

bring

achieve

ment .8

Like

other

leaders

of

the

national

movement Nehru em-

phasized

that

the

national issues

in

the twentieth

century

should

be viewed

in

a

proper

international

perspective,

and the

political

and economic context of freedom should be defined. This was

an

important

diffrence

between

Nehru's

approach

and

that

of

other

leaders

in

the

Congress

Movement.

Nehru

had

a

keen

sense

of

history

and he

knew that the formal

nstitutions

f

demo-

cracy

could

be

sustained

only by

providing

economic

and

social

content.9

In

his

presidential

address

to

the

Lucknow

Session

of

the

Indian

National

Congress

in

1936,

Nehru Stated:

I

work for Indian

independence

because

the

nationalist in me cannot tolerate alien domination. I

work

for

t

even more

because

for

me

it is

the

inevitable

step

to social and

economic

change.

I should

like

the

Congress

to become

a

Socialist

Organisation

and

to

join

hands with

the other

forces

n

the

World

who

are

work-

ing

for

the new

civilisation.

But

I

realise

that

the

majo-

rity

of

the

Congress

as

it

is

constituted

today,

may

not

be

prepared

to

go

thus far ...

Much

as

I wish

for

the

advancement

of

Socialism

in

this

Country

I have

no

desire to force the issue on the Congress and thereby

create

difficulties

n the

way

of

our

struggle

for

nde-

pendence.

I

shall

co-operate

gladly

and with

all

the

strength

n me with

all

those

who

work

for

ndepen-

dence,

even

though they

do

not

agree

with

the

Socialist



7/25

450 THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F

POLITICAL CIENCE

Solution.

But

I shall do

so

stating

my

position

frankly,

and

hoping

in course of time to convert the

Congress

and the

Country

to

it,

for

only

thus

can I

see it

achiev-

ing

independence .10

Jawaharlal

Nehru

played

a

key

role in

Quit

India

Move-

ment.

On

August

8,

1942

Nehru moved

the

Quit

India Resolu-

tion,

which

sounded

the

final death-knell of the

British rule

in

India.

The

British

immediately

replied

by putting

Mahatma

Gandhi,

Jawaharlal

Nehru,

Sardar

Patel,

Dr.

Rajendra

Prasad,

Maulana Azad and other leading lights of the Indian Freedom

Movement

behind

bars.

Nehru was

put

in

Ahmednagar

Jail

where

he

remained

confined

for

nearly

three

years.

He

was

jailed

nine

times,

spending,

in

total,

more

than

one-eight

of his

living

years

in

prison.

Prison

became

a

second home

to him.

Prison

gave

him

time

for

reflection

and his

mind

brooded on

questions

of

social

reform,

economic

planning

and

democracy.

All his

great

books

acclaimed

for their

vision,

literarygrace

and brilli-

ance

were

written

n

prison

-

Autobigraphy, Glimpses

of

world

History and Discovery of India.

The

Discovery

of

India

reflectsNehru's

philosophy

of

ife.

He wrote:

India

was

in

my

blood and

there was much

in her

that

instinctively

thrilled

me.

And

yet

I

approached

her

almost

as

an alien

critic,

full of dislike for

the

present

as

well

as for

many

of

the

relics of

the

past

that I

saw.

To

some

extent,

I

came

to

her via

the

West

and looked

at her as a

friendly

Western

might

have done. I was

eagar

and

anxious

to

change

her outlook and

appear-

ance

and

give

her

the

garb

of

modernity.

And

yet

doubts

rose

within

me.

Did

I

know

India,

I who

pre-

sumed

to

scrap

much

of

her

past heritage?

There was

a

great

deal

that

had

to

be

scrapped,

that

must be

scrapp-

ed

but

surely

India

could

not have

been what she

undoubtedly

was,

and

could

not

have

continued

a

cul-

tured

existence

for

thousands

of

years,

if

she had

not

possessed

something

very

vital and

enduring

something

that

was

worthwhile.

What

was

this

something? 11

'Quit

India'

movement

decisively proved

that

the

days

of

the

British

in

India

were

numbered.

The

events

moved

fast



8/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND

MODERN

NDIA

451

under the

leadership

of

Mahatma Gandhi

and

soon

by

1947

-

beginning,

the British decided to unhoist the Union

Jack

from

the

Red

Fort,

free

India and handover

the

Government

of

India

to

Indians.

In

1946,

Nehru,

formed the

interim Government

of

India

and

since

August

15,

1947

he had been

the

Prime

Minister

of

India till

his death on

27th

May,

1964,

Pandit

Nehru,

who

symbolised

Supreme

courage,

dedication

to

country

and service

to

the

people

of

India,

made

long

strides

during

his

17

year

ste-

wardship

of

the

country,

to consolidate

its

freedom

and

laid

foundations of

greatness

and

strength

which

has

been

its

due

ever.

On the

solemn

midnight

of

the 15th

August

1947,

when

India

became

free Nehru

declared:

Long years

ago

we made

a

tryst

with

destiny,

and

now

the

time

comes

when we

shall

redeem

our

pledge,

not

wholly

or

in

full

measure,

but

very

substantially.

At

the

stroke

of the

midnight

hour,

when

the World

sleeps,

India

will

awake

to

life and

freedom.

A moment

comes,

which

comes

but

rarely

n

history,

when

we

stepout from the old to the

new,

when an

age

ends,

and

when the

soul of

a

nation,

long

suppressed,

finds

utter-

ance. It

is

fitting

that at this solemn

movement

we

take the

pledge

of dedication

to

the Service

of

India

and

her

people

and to the

still

larger

cause

of

humanity

The

past

is over and it

is

the future

that becomes

to

us

now ... that

future s

not one of

case

or

resting

but of

incessant

striving

o that we

may

fulfil he

pledges

we

have so often taken and the one we shall take today.

The service

of India

means

the service

of

the

millions

who

suffer.

It

means

the

ending

of

poverty

and

ignor-

rance

and

disease

and

inequality

of

opportunity.

The

ambition

of

the

greatest

man

of

our

generation

has

been

to

wipe

every

tear

from

very

year.

That

may

be

beyond

us,

but so

long

as there

are

tears

and

suffering,

o

long

our workwill

not

be

over

And so we have to labour and towork, nd workhard,

to

give reality

to our dreams.

These

dreams

are

for

India,

but

they

are also

for

he

world,

for

all the nations

and

peoples

are

too

closely,

knit

together

today

for

any

one of them to

imagine

it

can

live

part peace

has

been



9/25

452

THE

INDIAN

JOURNAL

F POLITICAL

CIENCE

said

to be

indivisible;

so

is

freedom,

o is

prosperity

now,

and so also is disaster in this one world that can no

longer

be

split

into isolated

fragments. 12

During

the

years

of his

premiership

of

free

India

from

1947

to

1964

he laid

the

foundation

of

new India

with

his

own

hands,

as

it

were,

brick,

working

round the clock.

Under the

inspiration

of Mahatma

Gandhi

and

under

Jawaharlal

Nehru's

guidance,

India

adopted

a

Constitution

which

conferred

on its

citizens

Jus-

tice

-

Social

and

economic

and

political; liberty

of

thought,

ex-

pression,faith and worship; equality of status and opportunity

and

sought

to

promote

among

them all

fraternity

ssuring

the

dignity

of

the individual and the

unity

and

integrty

of

the

nation.13

Nehru

will thus

be

remembered

today

as

an

incipient

nationalist,

a zealous

reformer,

a

champion

of

peace,

a

man

of

letters,

an

Architect

of Indian

Planning,

a

Foundar

of

NAM,

a

Champion

of

Industrialization,

and

a

man

of

liberalism,

humanism

and modernism.

Nehruand Indian Planning

Jawaharlal

Nehru was

a

great

believer

in

planned

develop-

ment.

Nehru

was

the

first

amongst

the

leaders of

Nationalist

India

to

recognise

the

importance

of

science and

technology

for

the modernization

of

Indian

Society.

The

idea

of

economic

planning

was

not

unknown

in India

before

Independence.

Nehru

had

preached

its virtues

since the

late

1920s.

In

1938,

under

his

inspiration,

the

Congress

formed a

National

Planning

Committee

of which

he also

was

the

Chairman. After

Nehru came to

powerhe renewed his interest n

Planning

forwelfareand the

Planning

Commission

was created in March

1950

with

Nehru

as

its

Chairman.

Later

he

became

the

pivot

around

which the

Cabinet,

the

Planning

Commission and

the

National

Development

Council

revolved.

Not

the least

important

was his

role

as

a

liaison

bet-

ween

the

planners

and the

people.

Nehru

was

the

most

effective

Salesman of

Planning

in

the

Country

as

a

whole. One of

his

major

contributions was

spreading

the

gospel

that

planning

was

the

key

to

welfare.14

Nehru considered

planning

as

something

dynamic,

as

a

move-

ment

in

thinking

nd

action,

from the

political

to

the Social

and

economic

plans.

And

such

a

movement

had

certain

basic

objec-

tives. As Professor

K.V.

Viswanathaiah

puts

it,

the

first

bjec-



10/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND MODERN NDIA 453

tive

was

to

establish

a

Socialist

State

and a

democratic,

Socialist

and Secular modern

Society.

The Socialism

^that

Nehru consi-

dered was

fa

growing

dynamic

concept,

as

something

which

is

not

rigid,

as

something

which must

fitwith the

changing

conditions

of

human

life

and the achievements of this

country.'

This

meant

that

there could

be no fixed

unchanging dogma

to

his

concept

of

socialism.

Secondly,

he wanted to

make the

state

a

powerful

engine

of

production

and distribution

so

that

equitable

distribu-

tion of ncome

and

wealth could

be

assured.

But,

he

wanted

to

go

about

this

objective by stages

and

not

abruptly. Thirdly,

he

wanted

to

protect

his

concept

of

planning

by

common

consent

and

broad

understanding.

That

is

to

say,

his

concept

of

planning

was

based on

the

force

of

persuasion

rather

than

the

use of

coercion.15

V.K.R.V.

Rao

says,

Planning

for

Nehru

was

essentially

linked

up

with

an

industrialization

and

eventual

self-

reliance

for

the

country

economy

on

a

self-accelerating

basis.

There was

no doubt

in his mind

that

the

democratic

way

of

planning

was

the

only

one

that

could work

in

India. 'It

is

clear'

Nehru said in 1950 when introducingthe FirstPlan in Parliament,

that so

far

as

this

country

s

[concerned,

we

cannot

attain

this

ideal

(of

economic

democracy)

by

conflict or

violence. India

is

not

only

a

big country,

but

also

a

varied

country,

and

if

anyone

takes

to the

sword,

he

will

inevitably

be

met

by

the

sword

of

someone

else...

and

all the limited

energies

of

the

nation

required

forbetter

ends

will be

destroyed

in

the

process .16

Under

his

leadership

Zamindari

was

abolished,

far-reaching

land

reforms

were

organized,

basic industries

were

nationalised,

the

public

sec-

tor was

given

the pre-eminent position in the Five Year Plans,

the

State

encouraged

the

co-operatives

and

co-operative

farming

and

there

was

progressive

taxation.

The

Plan

became an

instru-

ment

to raise

the

standard of

living

of

the

people,

to

reduce

economic

disparity

among

the

people

and

open

out

to the

people

new

opportunities

for

a

richer,

fuller

nd

happier

life. Thus

Nehru

had set

before

the

country

the

inspiring objective

of a

Socialist

and

Democratic

Society

not

through

violence or

revolution

but

through persuasion

and

reasoning.17

Jawaharlal

Nehru

adopted

planning

not as

an

end

but

as

a

means

aiming

at the

wellbeing

and

advancement

of

the

people

as

a

whole,

at

the

opening

out

of

opportunity

to

all and

the

growth

of

freedom

and

the method

of

co-operative

organization

P-

2



11/25

454

THE

INDIAN

JOURNAL

F POLITICAL CIENCE

and

action. 18

As

Professor H.

K.

Paranjape rightly puts

it>

Pandit Nehru was,

together

with

persons

like Shri M. Visves-

warayya

and

Shri

Subhas

Bose,

initially

responsible

for

creating

an

awareness

in

India

of the

necessity

of

national economic

planning.

As

the Chairman

of the

Congress

National

Planning

Committee

he

was

the

first o

guide organised

effort n the

direc-

tion of

planning.

As

the

Prime

Minister

he was

responsible

for

setting

up

the

Planning

Commission.

From the time he

became

the Chairman of the

Planning

Commission

at

its

inception

to his

death,

Pandit Nehru's

stewardship

of

the

Commission

helped

to

guide

Indian

Planning

in

a

definite

direction

and his

participation

and

support

were of

great

value to it

in

fulfilling

ts functions .1*

Jawaharlal

Nehru considered

Planning

as

a

perpetual

affair

which

was

apt

to

go

on for

generations.

Thus,

Nehru

was

described,

as

the architect of

democratic

planning

in

India .

Nehru's ideas

provided

the

basic

elements

of the

objectives

and

strategy

of

Indian

Plans

to

achieve

growth

with

Social

Justice.

The

development

of science

and

technology,

nfrastruc-

ture,

social

services and a

variety

of

institutionswas also

empha-

sized

in

the

plans

along

with

stress on

balanced

regional

develop-

ment

and national

self-reliance.20

Nehru

and

Democracy

Jawaharlal

Nehru

was a

great

democrat.

He

encouraged

the

growth

of

Parliamentary

democracy

guaranteeing

to

each

indivi-

dual

the

fundamental

freedoms of

speech,

thought

and

associa-

tion. He wanted India to develop throughdemocratic processes.

Of

democracy

he

said: It

involves

certain

contemplative

ten-

dencies and a

certain

inquisitive

search for

truth,

a

search

for

right .

Rajiv

Gandhi,

Prime

Minister

of

India and

a

grand-son

of

Nehru,

said: A

believer in

political

dialogue,

he

concentrated

on

principles,

ideas and

programmes,

and

lifting

debate

well

above

personal

differences. His

attempt

was

always

to

convince,

pursue,

and

cajole

and

not

to

impose

upon,

domineer

or

silence

the

opposition.

He

was

also

very

conscious

of

the

demands

that

would be made by democracy in termsof attitudesand behaviour

of

the

people .21

Nehru's

concept

of

democracy

was a

broad

one,

resting

on

atleast

four

main

pillars:

(1)

Individual

freedom,

the

freedom of



12/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND MODERN

NDIA 455

the individual

to

grow

and

to

make

the

best of his

capacities

and

abilities,

and tolerance not

merely

of those who

agree

with

us,

but

of those

who

do

not

agree

with

us;

(2)

representativegovern-

ment,

based on

popular

sovereignty

and elected

representatives;

(3)

economic

and

social

equality,

calling

for

a

proper

balance

between

freedom

nd

equality

and

a

'socialist

pattern

of

society';

and

(4)

social

self-discipline.22

Democracy

to him

was

a

dyna*

mie ideal

and

he

thought

it was

impossible

to

continue to

talk

in

terms

of the

Rights

of

man and the French

Revolution.

There

can

be

no

democracy

without

economic

justice

and

economic

justice

by

itself cannot

ensure

democracy.

Nehru's

conception

of

democracy

may

be

described

as neoliberal.23

Democracy

has been

sustained

in India

to

a

significant

x-

tent

because

of the

norms

set

by Jawaharlal

Nehru.

As a

true

democrat,

he

would

have wanted

democracy

to

grow,

thrive and

continually

agreed

like

a

banyan

tree

setting

down

more

and

more

creepers

which

take root

in

the

ground

and

grow.24

His

deep

seated

humanism,

fervent

individualism and

intense faith

in

the

people developed in him a great contempt forauthoritarianism

and

subsequently

drove

him

closer

to

democracy.25

Addressing

the

First

All-India

Seminar

on

Parliamentary Democracy

in

1956,

he observed:

Democracy

as

a

speaker

just

now

said,

is a

means

to

an

end. What

is the

end

we

aim

at?

I

do not

know

if

every-

body

will

agree

with

me,

but

I would

say

that

the

end is

the

good

life

for

the

individual

......

In

the

past

democracy

has

been

taken

chiefly

to mean

political democracy, roughly represented by the idea of every

person

having

a vote. It

is obvious that

a

vote

by

itself

does

not

mean

very

much

to

a

person

who is down and out

and

starving.

Such

a

person

will be

much more interested n

food

to eat than in

a

vote.

Therefore,

political democracy

by

itself is not

enough

that it

may

be

used

to obtain

a

gradually

increasing

measure

of

economic

democracy.

The

good things

of

life

must become

available

to

more

and

more

people

and

gross

inequalities

must

be

removed.

That

process

has,

no

doubt

gone

on

for

some

time

in countries where there is political democracy. 26 After one

year

later,

Speaking

at

the

AIGG Session at

Indore

in

1957,

he

emphasised

the same

point

of view:

we

have

definitely

ccepted

the

democratic

process.

Why

have we

accepted

it?

Well,

for

a

variety

of reasons.

Because we

think

n

the final

analysis

it

pro-



13/25

456

THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F POLITICAL CIENCE

motes

the

growth

of human

beings

and of

society,

because,

as

we

have said in our

Constitution,

we attach

great

value to individual

freedom;

we want the creative

and the

adventurous

spirit

of

man

to

grow.

It

is not

enough

for

us

merely

to

produce

the

material

goods

of the

world.

We

do want

to

have

high

standards

of

living,

but not at

the cost

of

man's creative

spirit,

his creative

energy,

his

spirit

of

adventure;

not at the cost

of

all those

fine

things

of

life

which have

ennobled

man

throughout

the

ages.

Democracy

is

not

merely

a

question

of

elections .27

As M.

C.

Setalvad

rightly

puts

it:

Nehru

was

a

great

lover of Civil

liberties

which

he

regarded

as of vital

importance

to

the

functioning

of

a free and

democratic

government.28

Nehru

nd

Opposition

Jawaharlal

Nehru was a

great parliamentarian

and

was

at

his best in the normal

give

and

take of debates

in the two

Houses.

He

articulated

the

people's hopes

and doubts

without

rancour

and

expostulated

with

his

parliamentary colleagues

without

fear

or favour. Indeed, he enjoyed answeringhis criticsand never let

go

of

any

opportunity

for such

exchanges

in the House

or

outside.

The

Congress

party

had a

rock-like

majority

in Parliament

and

its

leader,

Pandit

Jawaharlal

Nehru had

an

unchallengeable

authority.

During

his

period,

the

opposition

benches

were

graced

by great personalities

like

the

late Dr.

S.

P.

Mukherji,

Sri N. C*

Chatterji,

Prof. Hiren

Mukherji,

Sri Asoka

Mehta,

Dr. N. B

Khare,

Sri

H.

V.

Kamath,

Acharya

J.

B.

Kripalani,

Acharya

N.

G.

Ranga,

Dr.

Ram

Manohar

Lohia,

Dr. Lanka

Sundaram

and Sri M. R. Masani, etc Though the Indian National Congress

enjoyed

a

position

of

predominance

in the

post-

ndependent

poli-*

tical field

and Nehru

was

its beacon-

ight

yet

he

often

expressed

the

desirability

of

strong

opposition political parties.

The attitude

of

the

Government

can

best

be

described

in

the

words

of

Jawa*-

harlal

Nehru,

who

was the

leader of the

ruling party.

He

said:

We

welcome the

coming

to

this House of

the members of the

Opposition

who

ever

they

may

be,

and however much

we

might

differ

rom

them in

many

matters as

welcome

them,

because

un-

doubtedly, they represent a certain section of Indian opinion*

because it

is

good

in

a

House of this kind

to have

a

vigorous

op-

position

so

that

whether

it is

government

or

the

majority

party,

they

do

not

become

complacent.

If

I

may

strike

a

personal

note>

regardless

of

the

present differences,

when

I

see

many

faces

of

old



14/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND

MODERN

NDIA 457

comrades who

belong

to the

Opposition

now,

some

memories

of

the

past

come to me. I do not wish to

forget

them,

and I cannot

imagine

that

ways

may

not

be found

for

a

measure of

coopera-

tion

with

those

with whom we

have

co-operated

in

the

past. 29

On

another

occasion

Nehru once

again

said:

I

invite

members of the

opposition,

not

only

members

of

the

House,

but

others outside this

House

to come

and

confer with

us in

regard

to

planning

in

general

or

in

regard

to our

Five-Year Plan

As

a

matter

of

fact, our attitude here in regard to the opposition ought

to be

appreciated

not

only

with

respect

to

organizations

which

openly

have

the

policy

of

conducting

activities

but

with

every

kind of

opposition.

I

should

like

to

know

in

what

country

in

Asia,

America

Europe

or

Africa

op*

position

of this

type

has

greater

freedom?

The

House will

remember

that

on

a

previous

occasion

I said

that

I

would

welcome

as much

co-operation

as

possible

from members

opposite,

infact,

from

the

whole

House.

It is

very

difficult o findout a method or to

organise

a

method for

that

co-operation

And

I

mentioned

to

the

Members of

the

Opposition

that

I

would

like to con-

fer

with

them

on

any

important

matter that

arises

and

a

few

days

ago

we

had such

affairs

I

am

not

talk-

ing

of

co-operation

in

this House but

actual

consulta-

tions,

etc.

in

regard

to

important

matters .... In

admini-

stration

there

are

many

things

in

common

which

any

political party

would have to do

anyhow .30

Nehru was

fully

alive to

the

importance

of

an

opposition

to

the

adequate functioning

of

a

Parliamentary System

of Govern-

ment.

Speaking

in

Madras

in

1957,

he

said:

I

believe

completely

in

any

Government,

what

ever

it

might

be,

having

stout

critics,

having

an

opposition

to

face.

Without criticism

people

and

governments

become

complacent.

The whole

parliamentary

system

of

Government is based on such criticism. It would be a

bad

thing

for us if the

press

was not free

to

criticise,

f

people

were not allowed to

speak

and

criticise

Govern-

ment

fully

and

in

the

open,

it

would not be

parliament-

ary

government.

It

would not

be

a

proper democracy.



15/25

458

THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F

POLITICAL CIENCE

I

welcome

criticism

n

Parliament.

In

fact,

we

welcome

crticismfromour own partymembers. The amount of

room

we have

in

our own

party

for

criticism of

Govern-

ment's

policy

is

great. 31

Hiren

Mukarji

an

eminent

Parliamentarian,

has

rightly

re-

marked:

There was

nobody

as

punctilious

as

Jawaharlal

Nehru

in

regard

to the courtesies of

Parliamentary

life;

the

very

manner

of his

entry

nto

the

House,

the

deep

bow to

the

chair

as he

took

his

seat,

his observance

of

Parliamentary

etiquette

in

the

best

sense of the term particularly as regards respect to the whole

House

which found vent

in

a

constant

readiness

to

answer

even

irritating

nterruptions.

He

was no

expert

when

questions

relat-

ing

to

previlege

and such

things

cropped

up,

but he

was full

of

sound

sense

in his

suggestions

regarding procedure

and

was

always

keen on

upholding

the

prestige

of

the

House

asa

whole. 32

Nehru

nd

Public Administration

As early as 1925, Nehru realised theneed forPublic Adminis-

tration.

As

a

chairman

of the Allahabad

Municipal

Board

(1924-

25),

he had

acquired

a

sensitive

understanding

of

the

administra-

tive

thought

and behaviour and

this

understanding

became

deeper

a

decade

later

through

xtensive

reading

of

administrative

literature.

Writing

n 1935

he

observed:

I am

quite

sure

that

no new order can

be built

up

in

India so

long

as

the

spirit

of

the

ICS

pervades

our administration

and

our

Public

services.

That

spirit

of authoritarianism s

the

ally

of

imperialism,

and

it

cannot

co-exist with freedom... Therefore, t seems to me quite essential

that

the

ICS

and similar services

must

disappear

completely,

as

such,

before

we

can

start real

work on

a

new

order. 33

Soon

after

becoming

the Prime Minister

n

the

Interim

Central

Govern-

ment

in

1946,

he mentioned

at

the

Meerut

Session

of

the

Indian

National

Congress:

...

The

(Civil)

Services

were

fossilised n

their

mental

outlook.

They

were

wedded to

by gone

and

obsolete

methods and refused to move with the times... It re-

mains

to

be

seen

how

long

we

can

function

n

these

cir-

cumstances.

The

experience

of

the

past

three

or

four

months

has

shown us that

the

conduct

and

attitude

of

the Officers

have

not

changed. 34

Nehru's

views

on

civil



16/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND MODERN

NDIA

459

servant

was

very

well described

by

L. P.

Singh,

a

well

succeeded Editor of the Indian

Journal

of Public Ad-

ministration,

n the

following

words:

Nehru

considered

fundamental

changes

in

the

Civil Service

imperative

not

only

to

bring

it in

harmony

with

a

democratic

govern-

ment,

but

also

in

order

that

it

may

meet

the

needs of

a

society

exposed

to the influences of modern

Science

and

Technology

and involved

in a

process

of industrializa-

tion. He wanted

the

administration

to use

the tools and

methods

of

science and

to

recognize

that Statistics

and

research

are

essential

to modern Government.

He ex-

pected

the civil

servant to combine

a scientific

outlook

with

a

humanistic

approach .35

Nehru's

personality projected

itself in various fields

and

public

Administration was one of

them.

Nehru

helped

the

Indian

Institute of Public Administration

n

1954 of

which

he re-

mained as its

President

during

1954-1964. He

presided

over

and

addressed

every

annual

meeting

of

the Institute

whose main ob-

ject, he considered,was to fixstandards in administration nd set

tone ;

and his

presence

turned

a

business

meeting

into

a

memo-

rable

occasion.

It

became

an event

to

which those

connected

with

the Institute

looked

forward

eagerly

for

words

of wisdom

and

inspiration,

for

something

fresh nd

stimulating,

for

a

remin-

der,

in

language

of

intellectual distinction

and

exceptional

sensi-

bility,

that

at the

Centre of Public Administration

n

a

democracy

stood the

individual

human

being.36

When

he

inaugurated

the

Indian

Institute

of

Public

Administration,

Nehru observed

that:

the

administrator

may

think

n

abstract

of

the

people

he

deals

with,

come

to

conclusions

which

are

justifiable

apparently

but

which

may

miss the

human

element.

After

all

whatever

department

of

Government

you

deal

with,

it is

ultimately

a

problem

of

human

beings,

and

the

moment

we

forget

them,

we

are

driven

away

from

reality...

Administration s meant

to achieve

something,

and

not

to

exist in

some kind of

an

Nory

tower'

follow-

ing certain rules of procedure and Narcissus

-

like,

looking

on itself

with

complete

satisfaction. The test

after

all

is the human

beings

and their welfare .37

Public

Administration

to

Nehru

was

not an

isolated

activity

but

a

part

of the wider

effort

f the

Indian

people

to

achieve

a



17/25

460

THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F

POLITICAL

CIENCE

fuller

and better life and

a

just

and humane social

order. In one

of his addresses at I IPA, he said: ... It should beone of the

principal

functions of Public Administration n

its broader con-

text

to direct

democracy

into

right

channels .38

Again

he

said:

... In

the

modern

age,

the success of the

Public Servant

lies,

in

addition

to

ability,

efficiency

nd

integrity,

upon

his

capacity

to

co-operate

with the

public''.89

His

expectations,

and the

influence

of his

personality

have worked

in

so

many

tangible

and

intangi-

ble

ways

to

give

to

the

public

services

in India a

broader outlook

and a wider horizon.

In a

speech

delivered on

December

9,

1955

to

an audience

of Public Servants at

Kurnool,

he

said:

The

Per-

son

who

is

becoming

more and more

important

today

is

the

engi-

neer,

the

technical

man,

the Scientist. In

the old

days,

the

person

who

was most

important

was

the

administrator.

Now,

I

do

not

mean

to

say

that the

administrator has

become

less

important

.

But

the

fact remains

that the

other

types

of

specialized

workers

like

engineers

and the

Scientists

are

becoming

more

and more

important

... There

is

a

tendency, again

derived

from the

British

days, of treatingthe administrator at the top as far superiorto a

person

engaged

in

any

other

occupation

like

engineering,

cience

or

education

or

anything.

This is not a

good

tendency.

Because

today

our

country

s

becoming

more and more

technical

minded. 40

Nehru

wanted

the

Public

Servants

to

look out to the

wider

world

and to

identify

themselves with

the life and

aspirations

of the

community:

In

a

period

of

dynamic

growth

... we

want as

Civil

Servants

persons

who

are

...

people

with

minds,

people

with

a

desire

to

achieve,

who have some

initiative for

doing

a

job

and

who can thinkhow to do it .41 In order to understand his ad-

ministrative

hought

and

behaviour it

is

necessary

to recall

the

more

prominent

traits of

Nehru's

mind. Prof.

S.

R. Maheswari

has

rightly

observes

Nehru's

mind on

Public

Administration.

He

writes:

Nehru

was

basically

a

humanist.,

indignant

of

any

kind

of

injustice

and

exploitation,

and an

unflinching

upholder

of

the

human

dignity.

Secondly,

Nehru

had the

greatest

faith

in

science

and

technology,

and

regarded

these

as

of

key

importance

in

the

building

of

India's future.

As

early

as the late

thirties,

he

advo-

cated greaterattention to be given to Statistics. Thirdly,he was

deeply

socialised

in

Western liberalism and

may

even

be

regarded

as

the

last

of

the Fabians

in Indian

Politics.

Fourthly,

though

attracted

to

western

political

values,

he

made

a

distinction bet-

ween

democracy,

imperialism

and

structures of

administration.



18/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND

MODERN NDIA

461

He

admired

British

democracy,

but

was an

arch critic

of

imperia-

lism. What is

more,

he identified Indian Administrationwith

imperialism

and

held

it

in no

high

esteem .42

Nehru

and

Non-

Alignment:

The

concept

of

non-alignment

was

born

in

the

after-math

of the Second

World-war.

India,

under the

dynamic

leadership

of

its

first

rime

Minister,

Jawaharlal

Nehru,

adopted

non-align-

ment

as the

basis

of

independent

India's

foreign policy.

The

cold-

war gripped

the world

at the end of the Second World

War,

and Nehru

took

this

factor

into consideration

when

he

defined

the

foreign olicy

of

the Government

of

India

as

a

policy

of

not

entering

nto

military

lliances with

any country, especially

with

countries

belonging

to the Western

and

Communist

blocs.

It

was also

a

policy

of

making

decisions in

the

field of

foreign

rela-

tions

according

to one's

own

judgement

and of

maintaining

friendly

elations

with

all the

countries

of the

World.43

Nehru

spelt

out the

ingredients

of his

thinking

on

Non-alignment

very

clearly in his address to the Constituent Assembly of India on

September

7,

1946,

thus:

We

propose,

as

far

as

possible,

to

keep

away

from the

power politics

of

groups,

aligned

against

one

another,

which

have led

in the

past

to

world wars and which

may again

lead

to disasters

on an even vaster scale.

We

believe

that

peace

and

freedom

are indivisible and

that

the denial

of freedom

any

where

must

endanger

freedomelsewhere and lead to conflict

and

war. We

are

particularly

nterested

n the

emanicipation

of

colo-

nial

and

dependent

countries and

peoples

and

equal

opportunities

for

all

peoples. 44

In

a

speech

at

the

Indian

Parliament on

June

12,

1952

Nehru

reaffirmed is

policy

of

Non-alignment:

I submit

again

that,

so

far as our

policy

is concerned

we

have

not swerved at

all from

our

policy

of Non-

alignment with any group. We stuck to our Policy

even

though

we had

to

deny

ourselves to

offered

help.'*4*

Nehru's

enunciation

of

Non-alignment'*

and

Panch-Sheel

which

he

sought

to

develop

into

a

world

movement

with

the

help

P

-

3



19/25

462 THE

INDIAN

JOURNAL

F POLITICAL

CIENCE

of

like

minded

leaders

of his time such

as

Sukarno,

Tito,

Nasser*

Nkrumah and others at International Conferences at New

Delhi,

Bandung,

Brioni,

Belgrade

and the United Nations

were

an

ex-

tention

of

'Satyagraha'

or

fight

or Truth

through

non-violence.

With

the

enthusiastic

support

of these

leaders,

Non-alignment

soon

became a

global

movement.

Nehru

would

also

make

no

compromise

with the

demon

of

aparthied

and

used

every possible

international

forum to

campaign

against

it.46

Explaining

the

non-aligned

movement,

Nehru

said:

Having attained political freedom,we are earnestlyde-

sirous

of

removing

the

many

ills

that

our

country

suffers

from,

of

eliminating

poverty,

and

raising

the standards

of

our

people,

and

giving

them full

and

equal opportunities

of

growth

and

advancement.

I

speak

of

India,

because

it is

my Country.

But

many

other

countries

in

Asia

tell

the

same

Story,

for Asia

today

is

resurgent

and

these

Countries,

which

long lay

under

foreign yoke

have

won

back

their

ndependence

and are fired

by

a

new

Spirit

to strivetowards new ideals. To them, as to us, inde-

pendence

is as

vital

as

the

breath

they

take

to

sustain

life,

and

colonialsm

many

in

any

form,

or

anywhere

is

abhorrent.

The

vast strides that

technology

has made

have

brought

a

new

age,

of which the

United States of

America

is the

leader.

Today,

the whole

World

is our

neighbour

and the

old divisions

of

continents and

countries

matter

ess.

Peace and freedom

have

become

indivisible. The

preservation

of

peace

forms

the

central

aim of India's

policy.

It is in the

pursuit

of this

policy

that

we

have

chosen

the

path

of

non-alignment

n

any

military

or

like

pact

of

alliance.

Non-alignment

does not mean

passivity

of

mind

or

action,

lack of

faith

or conviction.

It

does

not

mean,

submission

to

what we consider

evil. It is

not

positive

and

dynamic

approach

to such

problems

that confront

us.

We

believe

that each

country

has

not

only

the

right

to freedom but also to decide its own policy and way of

life.

Only

this can

true freedom

flourish

and

a

people

grow

according

to their own

genius.

We

believe,

there-

fore,

n

non-aggression

nd

non-interference

y any

coun-

try

n

the

affairs

of

another,

and

the

growth

of tolerance



20/25

JAWAHARLAL

EHRU

AND MODERN

NDIA

463

between the

mand

the

capacity

for

peaceful

coexistence.

We think

that,

by

the free

exchange

of ideas and trade

and

other,

and truth will

prevail.

We,

therefore,

ndea-

vour

to

maintain

friendly

elations with all

countries,

even

though

we

may

disagree

with

them

n their

policies,

or

structure

of

government.

We

think

that,

by

this

ap-

proach,

we

can

sense not

only

our

country,

but

also

the

larger

causes of

peace

and

good

fellowship

n

the

world. 47

Non-alignment, in other words, is a positive assertion of

Independence

and the absence

of

the

negative

dependence

on

others. This was

Jawaharlal's

great

achievement,

both in his own

Country

and in the

new

turbulent world of

former

colonies,

deve-

loping

nations and

the Third

World

States.48

Nehru's

passionate

attachment

to the

Peace also served the

interests of the

Country.

According

to

him,

the

foremost ssue in

International

affairs

was

peace

or

War.

As

early

as

in

March 1947 in

his

inaugural

add-

ress at

the Asian Relations Conference in

New

Delhi,

he

talked

of

peace

thus.

Peace can

come

only

when nations are

free

and

also

when

human

beings

every

where

have

freedom

and

security

nd

opportunity.

Peace

and

freedom,

therefore,

have to

be

considered

both

in their

political

and

econo-

mic

aspects

... We

have

arrived

at

a

stage

in

human

affairs

when

the ideal

of one world

and some

kind of

a

World

Federation

seem

to be essential

...

We should

workforthat deal and not for ny groupingwhich comes

in the

way

of

this

larger

World

group.

We,

therefore,

*

support

the

United

Nations

structure which

is

painfully

emerging

from

its

infancy.

But in

order

to

have

one

World,

we

must

also,

in

Asia,

think

of the

countries,

of

Asia

co-operating

together

for

that

larger

ideal.

5,49

Nehru

is

still

recognised

as

a

staunch

supporter

of

World

Peace.

Lakhan

Lai

Mehrotra,

has

rightly

concluded

about

Nehru's

contribution

to

Peace:

Nehru

had

travelled

not

miles

but

centuries

before

he

went

to

sleep.

He lit the torch of

freedom

and

peace,

equality

and

justice

in

some of the

darkest

corners of

the

earth.

In some

measure

he

had

helped

to

achieve



21/25

464

THE INDIAN

JOURNAL

F

POLITICAL CIENCE

the

ancient

Indian

ideaFof

Vagudhaiva

Kutumba-

kam - of the Whole World

being

a

family.

He had

looked at the

panorama

of

history

from ts

very

dawn as

a

mighty

adventure.

He was not

the one who

would

stand

on

the

verge

of

it

and

stay

back.

On the

other

hand,

he

would

push

mankind

towards

new frontiers

with

all the

energy

and

dedication

at his command.

But this

movement would be

free

from violence.

Maha-

tma

Gandhi had said that after

he

was

gone,

Nehru

would

speak

his

language.

He had

learnt from

his

Master and

from

Buddha,

the

relevance of

right

means

for

right

ends,

of

the

importance

of ethics over

dogma

and

love

over hate.

Like Ashoka

two

millenia

ago,

he

spread

his

message

far and

wide

as

an

angel

of Peace

and

though

he

is

no

more with

us,

his

message

will last

for ever. 50

In

the

Seventeen

years

of

his

undisputed

leadership

in

Indepen-

dent

India,

Nehru

sought

to

build a

nation not only in terms of

Political

Institutions,

but

also in

terms of

mental

emanicipation

and

economic and

soial

progress.

With

the

sole

exception

of

Gandhi,

Nehru

was

the

only

Indian

leader

when

Independence

came

who had

thought

out

and

worked

out

for

himself a

definite

political,

economic

and

social

philosophy

for

National

Develop-

ment.

Johan

Gunther

who

met

him in

1937

described him

as

an

Indian

who

became

a

Westerner,

n

Aristocrat

who became a

Socialist,

an

individualist

who

became

a

great

mass leader .

Conclusion:

Jahwaharlal

Nehru

was a man

of

principle,

unyielding

under

pressure,

but

warmly

responsive

to

generosity,

ensitive,

but

resilient,

ogical

rather

than

intuitive,

forceful

but

reflective,

x-

plosive

but

magnanimous,

proud

but aware of his own

deficiencies.

He

provided

political

stability

to the

country, gave

plans

for

economic

development,

laid the

foundations of a Secular

State*

and

provided

impetus

to

Social

Change.

His

personality

reflected

the influence of so many traits: humanism, scientific temper*

agnosticism,

socialism,

nationalism,

internationalism,

liberalism

and

rationalism.51

In

conclusion,

it

may

be said

without

any

hesitation

that

the

contributions

of

Jawaharlal

Nehru

towards

the

modern

India

is

uncomparable.

His

political

and economic ideas

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