By Kajal Chatterjee
Just within 14 years of independence, as many as 5 IITs had started their journey of excellence — all under the stewardship of Jawaharlal Nehru possessing the vision of building “Temples of modern India”!
Despite the relentless anti-Nehru/Congress campaign armed with the coinage “Nothing Happened prior to 2014”; the fact remains that right from major dams and hydro-electric projects to steel plants and other industries, extensive railway infrastructure to reputed educational and medical institutions to IT sector — the whole infrastructure of the Indian society had been set up during the early innings of the Congress Governments led by the much-maligned Jawaharlal Nehru!
The visionary Nehru was enlightened enough to not mix religion with governance and State apparatus so as to respect the religious diversity of the nation and secular spirit of the Constitution. One holds every right to remain true to his/her religion, but it needs to be exercised in private domain and confined within personal consciousness. But no way can religion be allowed to dominate public space or influence governance as the State and the leaders are bound to act absolutely neutral with equal treatment to people of all religious linguistic and racial groups.
In contrast what is getting witnessed nowadays! Far from coming up with a single constructive project worth mentioning; the health of the earlier carefully nurtured Banking system, Telecom , Airlines to Indian Railways are lying in tatters! Even highways are being handed to the private players! When the policies of Nehru centered around job generation, today we are witnessing how bizarrely job opportunities are being shrinked resulting in achieving a record of joblessness all around the country! And as if sprinkling salt upon the wounds of the ever-increasing unemployed lot, they are being advised to start pakora shops and learn to prepare Dosa!
Instead of generating income opportunities, employment windows or investing all energy resources and time towards delivering welfare to the citizens with special emphasis to the non-privileged; the national discourse remain obsessed with all sorts of divisionary issues fragmenting the nation through brute communal hatred, vitriol-filled cuss words and violence with particular religious and caste groups bearing the worst ! And of course the project of “restoring national confidence” through gigantic statues, Bullet trains and Vistas! In Nehru’s foresight, Dams resembled the temples of modern India which he worshipped; now it is the age of only Grand temples and glittering temple corridors! The whole secular concept of separation of the State from religion is going for a toss! All in the name of “restoration of national confidence”!
Also Nehru’s impeccable call of “Don’t Spare Me Shankar” not only spoke of his respect towards freedom of expression, it also proved his tolerance towards different/opposite points of view. Only a supremely liberal humble and confident democrat can afford to boldly welcome criticism.
What a pity that the intolerant brigade, who can’t hold a candle to the greatness of Nehru in any aspect, not only try to erase his unfathomable contribution towards the country and display temerity enough to belittle the giant ; are hell-bent on thwarting any sort of criticism against them, thereby making a mockery of the liberal values of the Constitution and freedom of expression!
Would Shankar have been appreciated and honoured to such a respectable extent had he been alive today and dared to criticise the powerful leaders and regime! No prizes for guessing the correct answer! After all, today a stand-up comedian can also get arrested just on the speculation of what he would come up with in the upcoming show!
Jawaharlal Nehru had said “Politics and religion are obsolete. The time has come for science and spirituality”.
But when mythology superstition epics religion and politics are allowed to dominate over science and spirituality with Ganesh/Karna getting projected as “proof” of plastic surgery /test tube baby technology prevalent in ancient India; that time is bound to arrive when the Pandit will be made absolutely obsolete along with his “modern temples”, scientific temperament, secularism and liberal mindset of encouraging criticism!
And what better avenue can be found to relegate Jawaharlal Nehru to oblivion than omission of his impeccable contribution and values from the textbooks of history!
Catch them young! Bharat Mata is indeed crying!
