This refers to your BS Weekend cover-story “Two months that changed India” (July 2) by A K Bhattacharya. Though the author has detailed the events grippingly, he has not addressed an important question — how did the country find itself in an economic crisis? The answer lies in the “socialist” politics of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the failure of the Soviet-style five-year plans. It’s ironic that Nehru preached socialism from his 10-acre residence, Teen Murti Bhavan — which is now the biggest mausoleum for a non-royalty. Indira Gandhi went a step ahead by including the word “socialist” in the preamble of the Constitution, taking advantage of the Emergency. And the Congress now claims that Rajiv Gandhi is the father of liberalisation. Surely, if liberalisation had failed, the Congress would have unhesitatingly put the blame on Narasimha Rao, who is the true father of modern India.
T R Ramaswami, on email
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