A Flawed Leader

The BJP blames Nehru for the many ills the country had to face

- Saswat Panigrahi

FOR the Congress, Jawaharlal Nehru is the “sole architect of modern India”, but the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fundamentally disagrees. Year in and year out, Nehru’s legacy has come under sustained attacks from the BJP as the saffron party tears down the “myths” to run its brand of politics and spread its ideology. There is nothing wrong with that as it very much falls within the purview of its political right.

As India gears up for the 2024 General Elections, this is not to dispute that Nehru will come under further attacks from the BJP. However, a careful study of the BJP’s perspective suggests that the saffron party’s “dislike” for Nehru was never personal. Instead, it is rooted in India’s political history.

Remember Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), who was a minister in Nehru’s Cabinet? The former president of the Hindu Mahasabha, Mookerjee was one of the two leaders from outside the Congress who were invited by Nehru to join his interim government. The other one was BR Ambedkar. In fact, it was Mahatma Gandhi who had advised Nehru to induct Mookerjee into his Cabinet. 

He served as the Minister for Industry and Supply, a position he held for three years. During his tenure, he laid the foundation of India’s industrial policy and sowed the seeds of the country’s industrial development in the years to come.