Skip to main content

Everything made him thoughtful, all Indians inspired him, so he inspired all Indians

By Alexander K Luke*

Let us now praise a great man...
He was one of us, one amongst us, but he stood apart. Harrow and Cambridge taught him to love English but not England. There was another land, to which he was a stranger, which claimed him, he returned to it. For the next thirty years, ten in jail, he changed his attire and walked with Gandhi in his epic search for freedom and morality.
Nehru, our Prime Minister in those first dangerous years, respected by the good and great of the world, a thinker and a man excited by possibilities not yet real; he attracted many, big and small. Andre Malraux of France held intense conversations with him, to children he was Chacha Nehru, and he loved roses. Gandhi pointed to him as our leader, the issue was settled for Indians.
Everything made him thoughtful, all Indians inspired him, so he inspired all Indians. Lata's great song brought tears to his eyes, but she could sing it because of him. He made what was beautiful more beautiful. The films and songs of the fifties, dances and stories were in a real sense his.
Recall the last scene of "Mother India". Nargis, an old woman now, life's battles fought, one son lost but her face serene, alight with hope for future... The new canal water flows, Nehru's promise. Mehboob made the film, it was a syncretic time...
But Nehru was also a writer, not perhaps a great one but very near it. “The Discovery of India” is a fine book, well written with a craftsman's skill and discipline. He describes his wife's death. She is in a Swiss sanatorium. The year is 1936, Hitler raging, Churchill defiant, Stalin waiting. Great armies are on the move.
One sick woman in the midst, her husband a revolutionary fighting for India's freedom. To stay or to return? She dies, Nehru by her side, very moving. He must have cried, alone...
---
*1975 batch Gujarat cadre IAS official, who turned around several sick state PSUs; resigned from service in 2006

Comments

shailesh gandhi said…
A sensitively penned tribute to a man who greatly contributed to the idea of India
Deepak Pradhan said…
Very well expressed qualities of great human , also loved leader of millions . He was true visionary . Might have done some mistakes , felt now , but today after 75 years of independence ,we have vibrant democracy existing existing.
6th Sense said…
Excellent write up only a person like Alexander Luke can narrate such lucidly

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative  In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman  ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.