Every year as Children’s day approaches, several articles revolving Jawaharlal Nehru come to surface from a sea of obscurity. Yes, our beloved Chacha Nehru might not be as beloved as we might think. A plethora of conspiracy theories surrounds the first Indian PM. Some famous ones being – having a Mughal dynasty genetic heritage, being born in a brothel, and having illicit relationships with Edwina Mountbatten. Apart from these allegations on his personal life, people dislike him for his embarrassing failure with the Chinese and the Kashmir fiasco. With overwhelming content rampant on social media, it seems nobody’s sure of what to think of him anymore. And even if they do, they either base their opinion on history textbooks (pro-Nehru) from school (where an abnormally large amount of history is forcefully condensed in a few chapters) or from unverified sources on the internet (anti-Nehru).

Just to address some of the most important lines of reason right away, the 1962 war was the direct result of Nehru’s foolishness. He was too eager to trust the Chinese, and we got horribly and brutally defeated by them. This was entirely his and the then defense minister Menon’s fault, and will forever remain a blot on his legacy. Also, his status as “India’s pioneering sleazebag” is widely agreed upon in the Indian public opinion. Although the majority of this public accepts that his personal vices, if true at all, were his own to bear. They play no role in his effectiveness as a politician and Prime Minister.

Following are some facts about the man which you may not know about –

1. Nehru, the freedom fighter

Say what you will about PM Nehru, you can’t possibly hold freedom fighter Nehru in contempt. The man fought for our freedom for decades, spent months in jail and earned the status of a preeminent revolutionary. Unbeknownst to a lot of people, Nehru was a radical voice for Swaraj, fighting ideological battles with his father, as well as, eminent revolutionaries like Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Gokhale dominated the political discourse at the time. And, he was a moderate who said that it was “madness to think of independence”. He rebelled against his father and became involved with aggressive nationalists who demanded Home Rule for Indians.

2. Played a major role in seducing Kashmir towards India

Again, this is not popular knowledge, but it was Nehru’s (then) good relations with Sheikh Abdullah – the founding leader of the National Conference Party – which led to Kashmir’s official accession to India. Since Sardar Patel was indifferent to the valley territory in the wake of annexation of Hyderabad from its Nizam, the burden fell to Nehru to turn Hari Singh towards India and make him sign the accession of Kashmir. If it wasn’t for his insistence on having a referendum for the Kashmiri people, Kashmir would be an integral part of India today.

3. He was truly committed to democracy

When he came into office, Nehru had an unprecedented amount of political power in his hands. Back then, it was almost a pre-set pattern that countries, post winning their freedom from an empire, proceeded to install a dictatorial or autocratic home regime. Exactly this happened with Pakistan after the death of Jinnah. If he so wanted, Nehru could’ve installed himself as the country’s dictator. He certainly had the power, resources, political pull, and good standing with the British to do that. But he didn’t do it, since he truly believed in the core values and merits of democracy.

4. His impressive intellect

Glimpses of World History and Discovery of India are literally among the best books ever written. His essays and other works are an absolute delight to read, regardless of what side of the political spectrum you are. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that the man was extremely intelligent.

What do you think of Jawaharlal Nehru? Do you agree with our list? Let us know in the comments below!

Anurag Gaur

Endings are never happy, they're the saddest part! So give me a happy middle, and a very happy start!