A Fresh Look at Nehru -India's First Prime Minister

Nehru is a much respected figure in Indian History. Thus to write something adverse about him amounts to blasphemy. But at the same time there is a need to critically evaluate his contribution to India and the legacy left behind him. There is no doubt that intellectually Nehru was a giant, but his contribution to the Indian Nation shows that he had little grasp of power politics and roles of nations.

Firstly partition. This was his first mistake where his ambition to be the Prime Minister Of India put paid to any chance of India remaining united. Jaswant Singh and earlier Leonard Mosley have discussed this aspect . But once he became Prime Minister he accepted Chinese suzerainty over Tibet in return for Autonomy for Tibet. This showed his naivety as China under Mao understood only that 'Power comes out of the barrel of a gun'. With mistaken zeal he withdrew Indian troops from Tibet as was in vogue by the British and talked of Hindi Chini bhai -bhai. He talked of the Himalayas as a 'natural barrier' without realising that modern armies recognise no such barriers. The result was painful as his policy led to Chinese occupation of the entire eastern Ladakh ( Aksai Chin).

His failure to sustain the Indian Army as a potent force and excessive reliance on diplomacy and his world image resulted in Chinese consolidating their occupation. He failed to realise that a nations standing in the world polity of nations is basically on their Military might. He triggered the India China war by his ill-fated remark that 'I have asked the Army to evict theChinese'. This is brought out by Maxwell Taylor in his "India's China war". The result was disastrous as the Chinese mounted an offensive and the Indian Army was dragged into a web of defeat. Correspondingly Nehru's international image also took a dip and he was never the same man after that.

The Kashmir problem was another blunder for which History will judge him harshly. He appeared to be led by Mountbatten, the then Viceroy and awaited all the while for the signed accession of the Kashmir Raja-Hari Singh before he intervened.This was a massive blunder as Pakistani raiders quickly spread in the valley and routed the Forces of Hari Singh.Srinagar was almost lost till the intervention of the Indian Army saved a difficult situation. It's a moot point that when the Pakistani tribal warriors were advancing into Kashmir and had taken over Gilgit, why was Nehru just twiddling his thumbs. Why did he not ask the Army to be air lifted to Gilgit? Why was he waiting for the accession from Hari Singh? If that had happened Azad Kashmir may have well been with India.

Subsequently the Army threw the raiders out from the valley. But the battle took almost 6 months and Nehru had no stomach for this. He then made two historical blunders. Firstly he agreed for a cease fire and reference to the UNO and secondly he made an ill-fated offer of a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Both these have cost India dear and now we are saddled with a problem that defies solution.

Even on the home front Nehru was more the idealist than the hard headed political leader. He agreed for the division of India into linguistic states. For 2 thousand years India was never divided or carved up on the basis of language. Yet Nehru opened a can of worms that has now struck at the roots of the Indian nation. Coupled with the caste system, fissiparous tendencies are everywhere. Who will forgive Nehru for all this ?Even in economics his vision of an India with a mixed economy with the core sectors like steel etc with the government and 5 year plans put paid to the progress of India. Surely History will judge him for what he was