The fourteenth November from last few years has become a low profile, practically ignored event in the life of the Nation. Decades ago this was an occasion to pay tribute to the values and visions of builder of Modern India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Most of his basic polices, in all the arenas of society have practically been reversed and a word by mouth campaign is going on against him. Of all the people in the Hate List of the current ideologues of the politics of communalism and blind subservience to American Imperialism, he undeniably is in the topmost slot, gradually being forced out from the concepts of policy making and public memory.

His critics are on both the sides of divide, right and left. A section of progressives and human right activists blame him for the ills dodging the country because of his educational policies and the pattern of industrialization. The Hindu Right wing on the other, accuses him of bringing in the alien western values like secularism in this land! While it is nobody’s case that what he did stands above criticism and opposition, it is surely to be granted that he did take the country in proper direction, the direction of industrialization, educational spread and non alignment. Surely within these paradigms some of his policies do require a criticism from the angel of the adivasi and dalit sections of society. If one is to overall see the context in which he inherited a society ridden with feudal system and values, a state just emerging from colonial grip, he was nothing short a visionary of high order who executed the polices which in due course put the country on the path of progress and peace. This contrast becomes very clear when one compares our country with the countries which became independent around that time, especially in the subcontinent, barring of course the case of China, where things may be better or worse one does not know for sure, as it being a totalitarian state what is projected is again controlled by the state.

Why is Nehru the object of ridicule by the currently dominant ideology and politics. It was Nehru who regarded the education and industrialization as the base of the policy and progress. Apart from the recommendation of the Bombay plan by the emerging industrialists of the time who requested for state intervention to provide the base for their own growth, Nehru could see the dire need of centralized planning in most colonial countries whose resources were sucked out by the colonial powers. Knowing well that heavy investments are out of question by the private capital at that time he did come up with the concept of public sectors and centralized planning. Whatever be the evaluation of these sectors now, the speed with, which they are being dumped in to the laps of private capital on the grounds that they are inefficient, does not give a fair picture of their role in country’s progress. It is these sectors which provided the needed structure of the modern state. It is these policies, which especially brought to the fore the weaker sections of society, dalits and women included, in to the social sphere. Interestingly he regarded educational institutions and industries as temples of modern India. This stands in stark contrast to the politics of currently dominant ideology for which temples are the industries for electoral battles.

In the times when the our PM and the foreign ministers feel honored that Mr. George Bush gave them a out of the turn audience, it is difficult to visualize the times when Nehru could withstand the pressure of imperialist powers by leading the non aligned movement, by negotiating the space between two superpowers for the growth and development of the country. But that very concept is close to being buried when the batch of honor of our Government leaders is, how much they can bow and bend in front of the might of Uncle Sam. It is another matter that Uncle Sam, when the crunch comes, prefers to use the old reliable client state of Pakistan for its refueling base rather than the new base being offered by our worthies in the BJP led NDA.

The major reason for which he is denigrated by the Hindu right is his uncompromising stance on the issue of secularism. Time and again he realized that he is leading a secular state, but the society is riddled with communal mind set. The propaganda of Muslim League on one hand and of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS on the other had sown the seeds of communal thinking in large sections of society. Partition riots and Gandhi murder came as the result of this venom spread by communal organizations. His opposition to the President Rajendra Prasads’ taking part in Somnath temple inauguration, his regarding the religious matters as the private matters of individual was quiet in tune with what father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi thought, despite the present projections that they had differences on these issues. For him democracy was not possible without secularism. And secularism meant multiple things, keeping state away from the influence of clerics, separation of education from religion and giving equal opportunities to all irrespective of their religion erc.

For him communalism was not a superficial ideology but a reaction of the feudal thinking and mindset, which has no place in a modern democratic state. While he did recognize the possibilities of communalism in any religion he also emphasized the it is only majority communalism which paves the way for fascism.

As a firm believer of rationalism, he did feel that the communalism will get wiped away with the growth of industries and education. This thinking, which he shared with the progressive elements of society had a deeper flaw. Can an ideology which has its own autonomous existence, in addition to its rooting in the social interests of certain classes, get wiped out on its own? In hindsight one can see that it was a serious flaw not only of Nehru but most of the progressives of that time, unfortunately some of them believe so even today. And so the extra emphasis needed to weed out this poisonous seed were not undertaken to the extent at which they were needed. He did go on to form National Integration Council in the wake of the first post independence riots of Jabalpur in 1963. But symbolically this council has been frozen since the current BJP led NDA is ruling the country.

One recalls that he did insist upon the UP govt. to remove the Ram Lalla idols kept surreptitiously by some Hindutva elements in 1949. But the rot was deeper in the society and the authorities that be did not heed to his request. And as they say the rest is History, whose ill effects are being felt by the nation today as well. In a way Pandit Nehru and Dr. Ambedkar were ideal foil to each other. It was on Pandit Nehru’s request that Dr. Ambedkar went on to draft Hindu Code bill with the aim of giving justice to the Hindu women. The idea was to begin with the largest community, which can then be projected as the role model. It was the intense opposition to this code bill which put spokes in the wheel of social reforms and later on Shah Bano case took the question of gender justice on the communal terrain.

Decades after the death of the builder of modern India, the situation is dismal. All that he stood for in the social and political sphere is being reversed at a rapid pace. While he opposed the state dignitaries visiting holy places in official capacity, now that has become order of the day. While he was proudly upholding the case of secularism, now the concept is under severe abuse and the term pseudo secular is the most hurting political abuse. While he was for anti-Imperialist policies today the Nation is vying for a place in the shadows of US imperialism. While he wanted social reforms and gender justice those issues have been communalized to the core. While he was for the vision of a society where all can live with dignity and honor, the minorities are feeling intimidated and the poor are getting poorer and marginalized. While he stood for rationalism, the country is honoring karmakands and astrology by introducing these in university education. While one should not spare Nehru’s mistakes and weaknesses, there is need to bring back democracy and secularism and their accompanying paraphernalia as the core values of our society. Is anybody listening?