This refers to Mihir S Sharma's column "The end of Nehru's republic" (Policy Rules, November 15). It appears that in the absence of any living credible leader, a desperate Congress is now digging up graveyards to seek a resurrection of Jawaharlal Nehru. Too much is being made of Nehru nowadays by the Congress and some representatives of the media. Let us not forget that in key areas of national importance he was a proven failure. After some much publicised overtures to China and the Panchsheel agreement, he was unable to secure the nation against the Chinese onslaught, resulting in a national humiliation. On the political front, it was Nehru who first flagged off the family dynasty by promoting his own daughter to the forefront. He was also the least democratic when he dismissed the first democratically-elected Communist government of the world headed by E M S Namboodiripad. Had he not craved for the post of prime minister, the country called Pakistan would not have been born.
On an international leadership rating scale, he would score much less if compared with leaders like Churchill, Bismarck or Mustafa Kemal Pasha. It is a pity that even after ruling the nation for more than 60 years, the Congress does not have any charismatic leader today and is looking into the archives for the buried and the dead. Incompetence cannot be hidden by invoking past glory. The party should realise that the people of India have now reached a state of realisation and the old gimmicks and calculations won't work.
K Muralidharan Thrissur
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