The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Remembering Nehru

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Monday, May 31, 2004

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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Remembering Nehru

Sir, — I refer to the article, "Remembering Jawaharlal" (May 27), in which Inder Malhotra says the present generation indulges in Nehru-bashing because it believes he was responsible for embarking on a flawed path of socialism. While it is true that after Independence, the state had to play an important role in the economy, it is also a fact that Nehru actually discouraged, if not stymied, the growth of private sector.

The nationalisation of Air India, much against the wishes of J.R.D. Tata, is a case in point. Again, was it not Nehru's mistake to have taken the Kashmir dispute to the U.N.? Nehru's China policy was, by his own admission, a "Himalayan blunder."

I agree with the author that it was Panditji who built India into what it is today. But our generation is also aware of the fact that he did make some mistakes and we are still paying for them.

P.S. Sunil Kumar,
Bhubhaneshwar

Sir, — Winston Churchill said of Nehru that he was "a man of singular qualities who is very largely free from two of the worst faults of human nature, hatred and fear."

He added "we put that man in gaol for nine years, but he bears us no malice ... "

P.R. Krishna Narayanan,
Kochi

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