A propos of #Congress celebrations for #Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary . A look at his legacy.

Nehru, writes French historian Alain Danielou, “was the perfect replica of a certain type of Englishman. He often used the expression ‘continental people’, with an amused and sarcastic manner, to designate French or Italians. He despised non-anglicised Indians and had a very superficial and partial knowledge of India. His ideal was the romantic socialism of 19th century Britain. But this type of socialism was totally unfit to India, where there was no class struggle and where the conditions were totally different from 19th century Europe.” (Histoire de l’Inde p. 349)

It should be added that Nehru was not a fiery leader, maybe because of his innate “gentlemanship” and often succumbed not only to Gandhi’s views, with which he sometimes disagreed, not only to the blackmailing of Jinnah and the fanatical Indian Muslim minority, but also to the British, particularly Lord Mountbatten, whom history has portrayed as the benevolent last Viceroy of India, but who actually was most instrumental in the partition of India, whatever “Freedom at Midnight” a very romanticised book, says. (Remember Churchill’s words on learning about Partition: “At last we had the last word”). It may be added that the British had a habit of leaving a total mess when they had to surrender a colony, witness Palestine, Ireland, or India.

Nehru has also been made into a myth by foreign writers, such as French Catherine Clement, who wrote a ridiculous and pompous novel depicting the loves between Nehru and Lady Mountbatten. The problem is not whether they had sex or not together, the problem rather, is that this “affair” only symbolizes the fatal attraction which Nehru had for the White Skin – for Edwina Mountbatten was certainly not a beauty, but was in fact renowned for her nymphomania and inconsequence – an attraction for the White Skin which the Congress perpetuated faithfully and still incarnated today by Sonia Gandhi, who was, till Mr Narendra Modi came on the scene, able to woo the masses, when she has absolutely no qualifications to lead India. The problem is not whether Mountbatten was made a cuckold or not – but that it was India which was cuckolded, for Nehru was unfaithful to India by letting his weaknesses influence him in accepting partition and the terms dictated by the British.

The Congress has today made an icon out Nehru, and is trying to perpetuate it through its pompous 125th birth anniversary celebrations, which will not evoke much international interest, for Nehru belongs to India’s past: the Soviet model, the denigration of India’s ancient spirituality and anything Hindu, the huge elephants of nationalized industries, the creating of a privileged caste of VIP politicians answerable to nobody, the pampering to the Muslims for selfish electoral motives, the devastating Hindi-Chini bhaibhai policy, the huge bureaucracy and corruption, the mistrust of America, etc.

Thus, Nehru did tremendous harm to India by initiating movements and patterns, which not only did vast damage in their times, but continue to survive and weigh down the Indian nation, long after their uselessness has been realized.