It has become customary for many to blame Nehru Ji for the 1962 Indo China War debacle. Let us know that Jawahar Lal Nehru is son of Motilal Nehru. He hails from Allahabad. J Nehru is father of Indira Priyadarshini alias Indira Gandhi. Jawahar did his Law in England and imbibed National spirit there. By the Year 1962 JawaharLalNehru was already a World Hero in many ways. Nehru did his level best to make India self reliant in production of food grains and in production of iron. (India lost Food producing districts of Punjab to Pakistan when India became a Republic.)
He did establish several Heavy industries as part of infrastructural development of India. He made India a leading country by participating in and settling several International disputes. Nehru was one of the pioneers of Non aligned Movement. He gave shelter to Dalai Lama, Spiritual leader of Tibet who was in exile from Tibet.
And giving asylum to #DalaiLama may be one of the main reasons for Chinese aggression in 1962.
And India under Nehru participated and was Arbitrator / Judge in good number of International issues.
China War in 1962 was unprecedented one for Nehru. Fact is that China wanted to teach a lesson to India for hosting Dalai Lama in India. So the Chinese aggression. Territorial dispute was only a pretext. Even today India is not prepared strategically in case of any eventuality with any Country. India do not produce even hand guns of use for Indian Soldiers! Not to speak of Fighter planes, Naval combat boats! So why blame Nehru for 1962 episode.
My above letter and one of the responses to my letter were in response to a news item, “Nehru’s ambition to become world hero responsible for 1962 Himalayan blunder: Ti..dt. 26.1.12. .“, “Former Prime Minister (PM) of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru’s ambition to become world hero, had surrendered the national security interest during 1962 Indo-China war,” said Air Chief Marshal Anil Y Tipnis, former chief of Indian Air Force (IAF).
One called AP replied like this to my above comment in TOI:
Janardhaji, Well put! On one side Karnad/GP saying India was meek and appeasing china. On other side Malik saying india adopted Forward Policy which is anything but appeasement. There lies ignorance, confusion and betrayal by chiefs and generals.
Nehru’s only blunder was his commitment to democracy. If Nehru kept the issue to himself, he could have solved it peacefully like U Nu of Barma. These generals/chiefs are coward Uttara Kumaras.
Gen Timmayya in fact said it is impossible to face china since they’re 100 times stronger. Claim that India could have won if Menon bought few more guns is nonsense. We Indians were asking for war and forced Nehru to get one. Yet we are such cowards that we still cry over 3,000 deaths after 50 years.
It was china that ran away in the end. Yet we INSIST WE LOST. If any country finds out, they will laugh at us.
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It is saddening to see only Congress people mourning Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s death anniversary.
Nehru was personification of the Nation. He was leader of our Nation when it was an infant. India gained international acclaim because of his personality.
He gave us the Constitution. Our federal system with unitary features owes so much to the great leader Nehru ji.
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Sardar Patel and Nehru were a team and cannot be separated in the work of construction of Indian Union when India became a Republic.
Nehru may be a favourite boy of Mahatma Gandhi but their views about political destiny of India were different and sometimes contradictory. Next, when India was divided into two Nations – One Indian Republic and another Pakistan – India lost its food bowl to Pakistan.
He had National vision.
Nehru built dams and barrages across several rivers and mitigated the problem of food shortage.
He believed in Socialism, he made Congress to agree for Socialistic path of development for India in 1955 and his daughter Indiraji included the word in the preamble of our Constitution later in 1975.
And he was instrumental in infrastructural development of India. He established Heavy industries, ONGC, Atomic research, IITs, etc., Nehru did what he could in a short span of 15 Years.
And India played crucial roles in settling international disputes across the globe under the aegis Nehru. One of them was being drawing the line dividing North and South Koreas.
Nehru was one of the greatest leaders of not only India but also of the the World.
Nehru left this world at the ripe age of 75. .
Nehru was leader of the Nation. Not simply one of the Prime Ministers from Congress party. So let us salute him and take pride in the fact that Nehru is one of the greatest sons of Indian soil.
My dear Sudhir, the epithet Pandit used for J Nehru is not personal one. Pandits are Brahmins of Kashmir. Obviously Nehrus are Kashmiri Brahmins.
And many may not be knowing a fact that Dr Ambetkar was defeated in every Parliament elections he fought on his own. It was Nehru who made Ambetkar Law Minister by electing him as Rajya Sabha MP if I remember so.
The above two letters in TOI were written by me in response to the news item, ” Leaders pay homage to Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary”. PTI | May 27, 2013, 11.03 AM IST.