Far from receding into the fog of history, Jawaharlal Nehru retains a quick recall factor not many public figures can rival even today. Nehru’s ability to animate politics with such intensity more than six decades since his death is an indicator of his central location in the ongoing struggle over the meaning of India itself.

By continuously pushing the notion of his “mistakes”, the attempt is to dispute Nehru’s position as a historical statesman and turn him into a convenient repository of blame. While many debaters on all sides of the ideological divide engage in polemics around Nehru, the task for those seeking to develop an understanding of history is neither to sanctify him nor to shield him from criticism, but to place him, his ideas, and his actions within the constraints and dilemmas of his time.

Nehru governed a nation newly emerging from the debilitating violence of colonial rule and the immediate trauma of Partition. Not only was the young India economically weak and socially fractured, its administrators and institutions also had no experience as autonomous functionaries.

While many post-colonial states quickly descended into coups and one-party systems, Nehru played a central role in legitimising parliamentary politics through........

© Indian Express