Nehru in the time of Modi

The criticisms gain traction because of the identity of the Nehru-Gandhi family with what now passes for Congress ideology

R K Laxman once portrayed Jawaharlal Nehru as a one-man orchestra playing all the instruments, with a smile on his face. At the cost of being pilloried by the legions of Narendra Modi fans as also his fierce Congress critics, one is tempted to observe that this cartoon could depict our current Prime Minister also, for reasons too obvious to elaborate.

The present orthodoxy has reduced Nehru’s legacy to faulty economic policies that hindered India’s growth, his western orientation that minimised Indian cultural heritage and his contribution to dynastic rule.  For four out of five Indians, Nehru is only a