On 15 November 1947, Mahatma Gandhi referred to allegations by the Hindu Mahasabha that Congress had surrendered its soul to Muslims, Gandhi was a washout, Nehru was no better, and a portion of Patel was a sound Hindu, but after all he was a Congressman.

Then Gandhi asked, 'Who is there in the Hindu Mahasabha who can replace the Congress leadership?'

Then he wrote about Nehru and stated, 'It is because of him that we are held in high esteem in the world today. He is respected outside India as one of the world's greatest statesmen. Many Europeans have told me that the world has not known such a high-minded statesman. I have known Americans who held Jawaharlal in higher esteem than they hold President Truman. Even those who have fabulous wealth, vast armies and the atom bomb respect the moral worth of Jawaharlal's leadership. We in India ought to have due appreciation for it.'

The manner in which the Hindu Mahasabha dismissed Congress, Gandhi, Nehru and Sardar Patel as unfit to lead India in 1947 is reflected in Ram Guha’s analysis dismissing Congress and Rahul Gandhi as incapable of taking on the Modi regime and the BJP.

Guha's recent article titled 'How the Gandhi family has helped Modi consolidate power', advanced an utterly unpersuasive argument in defence of his stand against the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Because Mahatma Gandhi’s remark in the context of the Congress and Nehru that "we in India ought to have due appreciation for it" is applicable to the context of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi in 2026.

It is rather perplexing that a........

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