Read the following very different statements made in August 1947 –
"Today you have worn on your heads a crown of thorns. The seat of
power is a nasty thing. You have to remain ever wakeful on that seat….
you have to be more humble and forbearing…now there will be no end
to your being tested." — M.K GANDHI
"…India will awake to a life of freedom….we step out from the old to the
new…we end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself
again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of
opportunity…" — JAWAHARLAL NEHRU
Spell out the agenda of nation building that flows from these two
statements. Which one appeals more to you and why?
Answers
Answer:
M K Gandhi appeals more to us
Answer:
As per Mahatma Gandhi, the various challenges to nation building included working towards unity, establishing democracy and ensuring welfare of the society inclusive of all its sections. Such challenges would have confronted the country repeatedly had the leaders not been aware and forbearing. It is true because the partition was one of the most tragic moments in Indian history as it led to transfer of an unprecedented transfer of population and was a test for the Indian leaders.
For Nehru, on the other hand, freedom was a new beginning that would enable solving existing problems of poverty, unemployment etc.
Gandhi’s statement is more convincing as it is relevant even today, after so many years of achieving independence.