Very Short Answer Questions
1. What were the main objectives of Nehrurian approach to nation-building?
Answers
Explanation:
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of nascent nation of independent India and one of the most astute statesman India has ever produced. Born in an aristocratic family, brought up and educated in the world renowned university of the country wedded to the Parliamentary Democracy, he imbibed the concepts of modernity, which inspired him in joining the movement of freedom of India launched by Gandhiji. After winning the freedom for India he became the Prime Minister and played a pivotal role in nation building. Nehru’s contribution to the growth and development of country is immeasurable. Being a visionary and modernist he laid the foundation of the principles of democracy, secularism, fraternity & liberty - upon which our nation rests today. Nehru was a liberal democrat who shaped the destiny of a newly independent nation as “World’s largest democracy”, unlike his contemporary freedom fighters- Sukarno in Indonesia and Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana- who eventually turned into dictators. He instituted and nurtured democratic institutions enshrined in the constitution of the country, which are also known as the Pillars of Democracy- Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Free Press. He sought to strengthen them with free and fair regular elections, guaranteeing fundamental rights to everyone and following directive principles of state policy. Being a Fabian Socialist and attracted by Soviet model of centralized planning, he constituted the Planning Commission in India to propel an all-round and balanced development of the country. Nehru was not only a popular leader among the masses but also a great administrator and a parliamentarian. His dialogue with the masses and parliamentary speeches reflected his deep understanding of country’s problems and his vision and confidence to solve them by taking everyone along. Nehru was meticulously involved in every aspect of nation building. His ‘Letters to the Chief Ministers’ can be a source of inspiration and guidance to Chief Ministers even today. His commitment to the values of secularism reflects his thorough understanding of India with diverse religious, social, cultural and ethnic differences, eventually leading to the unity and integrity of the nation - which are his valuable political contributions. Nehru was an active parliamentarian and under his leadership all the problems and policies concerning the nation were meticulously debated. He held Parliament in high esteem and has set an example for others by remaining invariably present when Parliament was in session. He also respected the views of the opposition and was not stubborn to accept their demands maintaining high standard of parliamentary procedure. In many western democracies, voting was a prerogative of a few elitist section of society; whereas, Nehru guaranteed Universal Adult Franchise without discrimination against gender, caste, religion, and class. Nehru being thoroughly knowledgeable with international affairs had conceived the concept of “World Federation”. His vision of the international politics was to remove poverty, ignorance, slavery from the World as a whole. He believed that imperialism is responsible for these ills resulting in under-development of the newly independent nations. In the Cold War era when the World became divided into two blocs, Nehru conceived and started the Non-Alignment Movement comprising of Asian, African and some Eastern European countries, keeping equidistance from two blocs and for taking necessary steps for maintaining world peace and development of non-aligned countries. The period of Nehru is recorded in the history as “Nehruvian Era” during which democracy took the roots; and social, economic, cultural and educational development for the nation building. This paper discusses Nehru’s political legacy, particularly Democracy, Secularism, Constitution and Non-Alignment, and highlights his contribution in building a modern nation.