Why Indians celebrate Children’s Day on Nov 14th is a bit of a mystery to me. Of course I know that Jawaharlal Nehru, the father of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty was born on Nov 14th. Why would anyone consider him to be significant for Indian children is the mysterious part. If the facts be considered, Indians should observe Children’s Day on some other day than a day that is somehow related to Nehru. For two very pertinent reasons. First, contrary to the government brainwashing, Nehru wasn’t particularly fond of children. He was, according to some reliable sources, very short-tempered with them and had them removed from his presence immediately after the de rigueur photo ops. Sure, he liked roses and the ladies but I find all claims that he somehow adored children rather incredible.
But there is a more significant reason why I believe that Nehru should be the last person you’d want to associate with children. His policies have condemned a few generations of Indian children to horrifically sad childhoods. Hundreds of millions of children have had to grow up hungry and without even a decent primary education. Perhaps he did not specifically intend it to be so, but his social and economic policies have direct and robust links to India’s poverty, and children are the most vulnerable segment of the population under the stress of poverty.
Nehru was in dictatorial command of India for 17 years following India’s “independence” in 1947. To the one at the top of the heap goes the credit or the blame for the success or the failure of the enterprise. When the British left (and I use the word “left” advisedly), they transferred power to the Indian National Congress. Mohandas Gandhi had made Nehru the supreme commander of the INC — and therefore the Supreme Commander and Dear Leader of India. Nehru set India on such a disastrous path that it took until 2014 merely to get rid of his progeny from the levers of government. How long it will take for India to dig itself out of the hole that Nehruvian socialism has buried it in? I can’t tell for sure but given the depth, I am guessing about half a century. It will require not only time, but consummate skill and infinite dedication. Most of all, it will require an educated citizenry and polity. Which, in our case, we have not got.
Ganesh, the Remover of Obstacles, needs to be petitioned most earnestly. Mere human effort will not suffice, I think.
But times they are a-changing. Once upon a time, the government had control over what was published and what was said over the air-waves. So they concocted a fake story about how wonderful MK Gandhi, his blue-eyed boy Nehru, Nehru’s daughter (half of India believes that Indira was Gandhi’s daughter), her son Rajiv (the glorified bus driver aka as a pilot), Rajiv’s Italian wife (not merely uneducated but incompetent in everything other than hatching evil schemes), her son (some village is definitely missing its idiot) — the whole Nehru-Gandhi-Maino clan has been for India.
That fake story is unraveling fast. Thanks to the internet, people have the opportunity to read a more accurate story. Also, I am most thankful for smart phones and the modern mobile network for people to access the content on the internet. I am technology optimist and if anyone needs convincing that technology can do immense good, all you have to do is to point them to how technology will perhaps help India’s motto — Satyam Eva Jayate or Truth Alone Prevails — become a reality for Indians. Indians will know the truth about Nehru and then they will observe Nov 14th as the “Day of Shame and Lamentations for India.”
I would give it about 10 years for that change to happen.
Here are a couple of pieces related to Nehru the Disaster. (Yes, in our lifetime itself, that’ll be the title. You have your Alexander the Great. Nehru the Disaster will roll off the tongue equally easily. Just like Teresa the Merciless. And Raul the Retard.)
1. “Judging Jawaharlal Nehru on his 125th Birth Anniversary” is a quick read by Kumar Anand over at Spontaneous Order. I even wrote a comment there. Here it is, for the record:
Kumar Anand, you have very succinctly answered some of the usual Nehruvian apologetics, Nehru was incompetent and furthermore, was blind to his incompetence. The fact that he believed in governmental control of the economy can be easily understood — although that does not justify governmental control — by noting that he was in control and that being in control was consistent with his authoritarian nature, and that it suited him personally that he dictated the path to the “commanding heights of the economy.”
2. Rajnikant Puranik wrote a blog post to mark the occasion and says, “This blog (Part-I) attempts a summary evaluation of Nehru as a political leader. Being a summary, it does not go into details. Subsequent blogs in this series would take up each aspect in detail.””Evaluating Nehru”
Puranik’s post is really long. I have put it in the “to be read as soon as I am done with a blog post” pile. Now that I’m done with this blog post, I am ready to go read it and learn.
INCIDENTALLY:
1. I am in Leuven, Belgium. Got here on Tuesday morning and will leave for Mumbai on Monday morning.
2. I am done with most of what I was busy with (ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies) the last few months. That means I am now going to be regularly writing, on this blog and elsewhere.
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 
Hi Atanu,
Indeed, the emperor has no clothes!
Mises had correctly identified that the democratic process itself is responsible for the Nehrus and Gandhis, ideas eventually thrive only because of the electoral support.
Undoubtedly voters tend to pick candidates by employing their own subjective theories regarding the purpose of democratic governance. Each individual’s process of reasoning is driven by various external and innate factors which we can never fully comprehend or control.
Hayek thought that the perverse results brought about by the democratic process is because of the electorate’s application of primitive moral codes for decision making — prevalence of ethics which were ideal for the closed societies of the past but irreconcilable with the extended market order.
The evolutionary perspective makes sense, our present cultural value preferences are indeed the result of the various selection mechanisms which were at work. Most accessible ideas will survive, not be the best ones but merely the ones which are most suitable for the prevalent atmosphere.
Nehruvian ideas prevailed because of the various negative principles of selection at work, due to various subjective reasons the electorate thought central planning was a good idea. May be it was because of the theoretical artifacts left by our exposure to various hierarchical social orders of our past.
In other words, we have erected a western democratic institution of governance on top of a value framework which was naturally more compatible with our disparate past. Seems like we are taking some time to adapt to our new reality.
Exposure to more information should change our preferences within the political market of ideas. Even though how loathsome the present might look we can console ourselves by believing that it is merely the result of the ideas we endorsed in the past.
Reminds me of a simple but profoundly apt quote from the ‘Law Legislation and Liberty’ —
“Man is not and never will be the master of his fate; his very reason always progresses by leading him into the unknown and unforeseen where he learns new things”
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Dear Atanu, a great job of pulling the wool of the eyes of our citizens, about that wretched Commie lunatic! On another note:-Our country was the only nation to mourn the death of that mass murderer, “Stalin,” courtesy- “Idiot Nehru.” For the record, Sita Ram Goel was the 1st person to see through Nehru’s Communist Beliefs,which consigned our nation to the dustbin of economic development!
On a 2nd note, I’ll ask no questions, BUT I’m thrilled that we’re now going to hear from you regularly.
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So true. I was brainwashed when I was young about Chacha Nehru. Another Masterplan by the family to continue to create legacy when there is none.
You are so right about smartphones and Internet. I think with Modi and his team and the changing nature of information access we have a lot to look forward.
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“He was, according to some reliable sources, very short-tempered…”
Which sources, or is this in the time honored right-wing nutters basic strategy of wild allegations hoping to rile up the masses?
“His policies have condemned a few generations of Indian children …”
Really? Again maybe sources, statistics…? India took a short decade under Nehru to become self-sufficient in food grain production. I.e., from regular famines under 200 years of British rule, to self-sufficiency in basic commodities.
It’s easy to be wise in hind-sight, but there were no blue-prints for development available at the time of independence…policies could have been better and obviously the then governments could have changed courses much earlier when policies failed, but unlike the BJP’s murderous rath yatras and masjid demolitions, at least Nehru did not ever intentionally try and burn the country down to get to power.
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“”He was, according to some reliable sources, very short-tempered…”
Which sources, or is this in the time honored right-wing nutters basic strategy of wild allegations hoping to rile up the masses?”
That venerable institution known as “Fox News” does this ad nauseum and it has proven to be an effective polarizing strategy in the US.
“unlike the BJP’s murderous rath yatras and masjid demolitions, at least Nehru did not ever intentionally try and burn the country down to get to power.”
Couldn’t agree more…
While being hind-sight wise, Mr Dey also seems to be willfully blind and indifferent and, strangely silent to the current government’s policies that will condemn future generations of Indian children to an environment of ignorance and bombastic nationalism without substance, not to mention festering hatred between communities, that will be a huge drain on the country’s resources. How are the current government’s policies going to be any better than the failed Nehruvian policies?
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