Now A days , day in or day out either on electronic media or print media , the election news , opinions, reportage peppered with satires bordering toward sarcasm full of ridicule ,mockery,venom & whatnot with gesticulations .Every political leader of every political party big or small ,conscious of scribes camera focusing over them waving gestures after gestures & spewing bytes as if he is more patriot & concerned for have not . As of television bytes ,difficult to say who is supplementing whom !
I had been avid news hungry person & I don't remember ,from which age , I was news hungry . This very hunger for news was able to tie me not only to newspaper but to satiate my hunger further, propelled me to be history buff & enthusiast . Automatically, I foraged to newspaper archives & history books to get the feel of the relevant periods depicted . First it was for decades & afterwards it graduated to centuries This is because historiography of any period structured is based on the footprints of events.
I was going through the surfing of Internet which has turned into floodgate of information & knowledge & I came across a rare photograph of the persons who were able to weave narrative of Indian history for decades.
By seeing them in comely family photograph is charming & at the same time , each of them had been able provide very portent narrative to Indian history from the period of my news hungriness In the same series of classic photo album ,I was able to see Motilal Nehru & Jawahirlal Nehru .
I don't know much about Motilal Nehru except he was president of Indian National Congress in the decade of 1940ties & adorned the pantheon of portraits of Congress Presidents . His chief contribution was Anand Bhawan building of Allahabad which is now 'Congress Party' property .
As of Jawahirlal Nehru , he was fiery patriot & one of the chief confidant of Mahatma Gandhi . Mahatma Gandhi bequeathed political legacy to Jawahirlal Nehru giving Sardar Vallavbhai Patel, who was more pragmatic , 2nd in command to run free India. None can put an iota of doubt in the decision taken by Mahatma Gandhi . So far well , so far good .
But Pt. Nehru was highly romantic in taking decision & always paraded high lofty ideas & at critical juncture of events his decisions were devoid of pragmatism .I st was the case of Jammu & Kashmir & 2nd critical moment was Indo-China war of 1962 . At both times ,he goofed up in taking decisions. In the 1st case of Jammu & Kashmir , the line of control has turned into gangrene on the body of mother India ,irrespective of treatments meted to it time to time .
In 1962 , I was reading in school & the Chinese war on Himalyan theatre was nightmarish experience for me .The war of 1962 for more than two weeks was the period of utter humiliation of my psyche . As I remember , I waited for newspaper hawker to come , flipping this page or that page to search reportage of this theatre or that Himalyan theater of war ,but finding spectre of Indian defeat everywhere . The report of defeat after defeat was unnerving . Only the saga of chivalry & valour of army battalions were repeated . Indian soldiers were handling 1st Word War fame Rifle 303 against recoil less guns of Chinese soldier. Indian defence preparedness was pathetic & defence minister V.K. Krishnamenon was giving funny & maverick statements . What an ineptitude in defence preparedness when Pt Nehru was trumpeting ' Panch Sheel ' to world & now telling China & Chinese premier Chou-En-Lie has stabbed him in the back . The utter humiliation meted to Indian psyche has not been obliterated till now & China is still seen as perfidious in Indian vision . It was only colossal aura oozing out from Pt Nehru's personality dwarfed all opposition to this mammoth fiasco .
If at all , I was his admirer , it was his book 'Discovery of India' written by him in jail during freedom struggle . I picked this book from Papa's personnel library & always went through its pages
& found every page & long paragraphs were written like poetry in the grammar of prose . This book still adorns my personnel library . The famous T.V. serial 'भारत एक खोज' Shyam Benegal is still liked by me & many others .
Continued.....
I had been avid news hungry person & I don't remember ,from which age , I was news hungry . This very hunger for news was able to tie me not only to newspaper but to satiate my hunger further, propelled me to be history buff & enthusiast . Automatically, I foraged to newspaper archives & history books to get the feel of the relevant periods depicted . First it was for decades & afterwards it graduated to centuries This is because historiography of any period structured is based on the footprints of events.
I was going through the surfing of Internet which has turned into floodgate of information & knowledge & I came across a rare photograph of the persons who were able to weave narrative of Indian history for decades.
 |
| Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, Sanjai Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi , Rahul & Priyanka Gandhi |
I don't know much about Motilal Nehru except he was president of Indian National Congress in the decade of 1940ties & adorned the pantheon of portraits of Congress Presidents . His chief contribution was Anand Bhawan building of Allahabad which is now 'Congress Party' property .
As of Jawahirlal Nehru , he was fiery patriot & one of the chief confidant of Mahatma Gandhi . Mahatma Gandhi bequeathed political legacy to Jawahirlal Nehru giving Sardar Vallavbhai Patel, who was more pragmatic , 2nd in command to run free India. None can put an iota of doubt in the decision taken by Mahatma Gandhi . So far well , so far good .
But Pt. Nehru was highly romantic in taking decision & always paraded high lofty ideas & at critical juncture of events his decisions were devoid of pragmatism .I st was the case of Jammu & Kashmir & 2nd critical moment was Indo-China war of 1962 . At both times ,he goofed up in taking decisions. In the 1st case of Jammu & Kashmir , the line of control has turned into gangrene on the body of mother India ,irrespective of treatments meted to it time to time .
 | |||
| Motilal Nehru , Jawhirlal Nehru . Indira Gandhi & other family members |
In 1962 , I was reading in school & the Chinese war on Himalyan theatre was nightmarish experience for me .The war of 1962 for more than two weeks was the period of utter humiliation of my psyche . As I remember , I waited for newspaper hawker to come , flipping this page or that page to search reportage of this theatre or that Himalyan theater of war ,but finding spectre of Indian defeat everywhere . The report of defeat after defeat was unnerving . Only the saga of chivalry & valour of army battalions were repeated . Indian soldiers were handling 1st Word War fame Rifle 303 against recoil less guns of Chinese soldier. Indian defence preparedness was pathetic & defence minister V.K. Krishnamenon was giving funny & maverick statements . What an ineptitude in defence preparedness when Pt Nehru was trumpeting ' Panch Sheel ' to world & now telling China & Chinese premier Chou-En-Lie has stabbed him in the back . The utter humiliation meted to Indian psyche has not been obliterated till now & China is still seen as perfidious in Indian vision . It was only colossal aura oozing out from Pt Nehru's personality dwarfed all opposition to this mammoth fiasco .
If at all , I was his admirer , it was his book 'Discovery of India' written by him in jail during freedom struggle . I picked this book from Papa's personnel library & always went through its pages
& found every page & long paragraphs were written like poetry in the grammar of prose . This book still adorns my personnel library . The famous T.V. serial 'भारत एक खोज' Shyam Benegal is still liked by me & many others .
Continued.....
I think of your assessment of Motilal Nehru is unkind. He was a brilliant person, borned three months after the death of his father he was a self made man who helped a great deal to his family members and others. Inspired by his son (and Mahatma Ji), he joined freedom movement, after living a life of utmost luxury as one of the top barristers of his times, went to jail at the age of 69 . How many of us will do that with inspiration of our son. He had no political ambitions, as India's freedom was a distant dream at his time (he died in 1931, soon after release from Jail).
ReplyDeleteMy assessment of Moti Lal Nehru is not unkind but His son Jawhar Lal Nehru was more famous & youth icon. Presume Jawahar Lal Nehru had not been enormously famous, Moti Lal Nehru had been in the pantheon of many INA presidents,who were all patriots in their own right !
ReplyDeleteBefore forming an opinion , just have a look at all the stories trending on Internet regarding the entire Nehru clan. Jinnah, Shekh Abdulla and Nehru were half brothers. Firoz was Muslim and not Parsi and Indira herself was not Nehru's daughter. Sanjay we all know was M A Mathai's son. This family together robbed India of its glory for almost 60 years ! This is a most wretched family -- no statesmanship as Gandhi has been attributed to but was an opportunist ! If only Sardar Patel had become Prime Minister in 1950, the story of India would have been altogether different !
DeleteNever the bastardization of History or of a historical clan has been done ,as it is done in India . Shekhar Kapoor was director of a British film 'Elizabeth' & the film didn't get the release order till it was not vetted by British Historical Society ,just to see whether Mr Kapoor hasn't done any transgressing on the story content of the film, as Elizabeth Tudor was important part of British history .
ReplyDeleteBut in India ,there is no such regulatory body & with impunity one indulges in myriad of untruth . T.V. serials are worst offenders as they are least concerned with historical facts & more with T.R.P ,so hell with young mind who make their own opinion by seeing these distorted facts about historical characters & perhaps this is also 'Incredible India '