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Nehru and the principles of Panchsheel
Nehru played a special role in organizing and integrating Indian independence. He refused to play a secondary role in the world for both power groups (USA and Russia). But he explained and propagated five important elements of Panchsheel for absolutism or non-alignment and coexistence to realize the dream of India’s independence. He saw this idea come to fruition and together with Nasser of Egypt and Tito of Yugoslavia held a conference in Belgrade to make the world free of atomic bombs and establish peace.
Nehru and the Planning Commission
Nehru understood that the pillars of independence were economic development and self-reliance. In 1950, the government set up a Planning Commission so that it could present a roadmap for the speedy economic development of the country, always existing poverty, social justice, and ending tyranny. The results of the First Five Year Plan 1951-56 and the Second Five Year Plan 1957-61 were not good enough, because the problem of refugees and drought hindered their efforts and then in 1962 China gave India a blow that we could not even imagine. could. The result was the development of the whole country.
Nehru and democracy
Nehru emphasized democracy and established a parliamentary system in the country. He also played a special role in the formation of the new Constitution of India. He placed the “Preamble”, in which the outline of the Indian constitutional system was presented. The first sentence of the resolution for this purpose was as follows – “We the people of India will make India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic” and our Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
Nehru and the Constitution
Nehru led his party ‘Indian National Congress’ in 3 general elections. When it was seen that there were some flaws left in the constitution, amendments were also suggested from time to time and 17 amendments were done during Nehru’s life so that the changed economic and social conditions could be dealt with. Nehru has to give credit for the fact that he nurtured the roots of democracy in India and today it has become a part of our consciousness. For the last 50 years, democracy is working well in India, while almost all the countries around us like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, etc. have started looking for alternatives to democracy and military dictatorship.
Nehru and Congress
Unfortunately, Nehru proved to be neither a reformer nor a good party builder. Nehru was unhappy with the internal conflicts of Congress and the conduct of the party. He wrote in 1948, “It is a matter of great sadness that we are losing our values and we are sinking into the filth of opportunistic politics. Back in 1957, he said this to the members of the Congress Party. It said: Congress is getting lax. Our strong point is our past. Unless we come out of the present pattern, the destruction of our party is certain.”
When the Congress party’s vote share fell further in the 1962 general election, Pandit Nehru, with the help of the Chief Minister of Madras (modern Tamil Nadu) Mr. K. Kamaraj, made a desperate attempt to restore the credibility of the Congress party. Under this Kamaraj plan, 6 federal ministers – Morarji Desai, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jagjivan Ram, SK Patil, B. Gopal Reddy, and K.L. Shrimali, and six chief ministers tried to reorganize the Congress by relinquishing their respective posts.
In January 1964, Kamaraj started working in the organization of Congress. Unfortunately, the party did not show any special enthusiasm as the Chief Ministers who had resigned were engaged in the politics of manipulative power in their respective areas. Nehru himself was paralyzed in January 1964 and hence he himself could not participate in any major effort. Perhaps he had neither the enthusiasm nor the strength.
Nehru’s International Failure
Perhaps Nehru’s biggest failure was in international relations. She had started her foreign policy with a lot of noise but now she was ending it by ‘singing’. He had taken the Kashmir problem to the United Nations without thinking and had also proposed to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir after peace was established. It is difficult to say whether he did so on the suggestion of Lord Mountbatten or in his own passion. But the responsibility lies with them. Similarly, on the question of the Indo-China border dispute, it is difficult to say whether he did this at the behest of his military commanders or at the behest of his political advisors, or in the spirit of his mental idealism.
In any case, the consequences for his own fame proved fatal. He left for India both such problems which are difficult to solve and which we are still suffering today. Although the Modi government has now tried to solve the problem by removing Article 370. But even now terrorism has put obstacles in it.
Nehru’s place in history
If we are to consider Nehru’s place in the history of India, we must not forget that the British had left India in absolute poverty and extreme backwardness in agriculture and industry. In fact, the British had also formed imperialist ideology, which included landownerism, politically based casteism (ie special protection or concessions of some castes), communalism and regionalism and distorted modernity. Dealing with all this was a huge challenge. After the World War, the division of the world into factions was a challenge. Nehru tried his best to deal with all these difficult situations. But his achievements could not get much mention. In fact, even the atmosphere of moral credibility acquired by Gandhiji in the world had now faded.
Conclusion
Be that as it may, Nehru has the place of an honorable hero in Indian history. They will be considered as the setting benchmark in many fields, especially for equal rights for gender, caste and class. Do not forget that untouchability was prevalent in India. The Shudras were not even allowed to visit some public places, let alone some temples. Women had no right in the property of the father. The daughter-in-law system is present among the Muslims but it was also in the Hindus.
He was instrumental in making laws to change this medieval society. Although the biggest contribution behind this was Dr. Ambedkar. He is credited with giving legal protection to the Shudras, women and tribes who were suppressed for thousands of years. It is true that the reformers of the 19th century, Swami Dayanand etc. had submitted a role for this. But perhaps it would have remained locked in the books if they were not given a constitutional form. Whatever it is, his contribution will remain unforgettable in Indian history.