I am a great fan of Jawaharlal Nehru, he was India’s first prime minister, a die-hard nationalist and an atheist. While I was reading his ‘The Discovery of India‘ something caught my eye.
Now, this requires some context. This was around 1935 when the British had passed the ‘Government of India Act‘, which put in place ministers from the Indian National Congress in some positions of power but still under the oppressive reign of British Governors and the Viceroy. These were the days when they fought against the tyrannical rule of imperialism, people bled for democracy and freedom. The whole nation believed that Democracy can change their fate; they believed in Leaders; they believed it was the answer. In a country of hundred religions, where people killed each other in the name of god, an atheist became the first democratically elected Prime Minister! That was the respect and devotion that people had for politicians and politics.
What happened?
Populist politics, Caste vote, violent coercion of voters, instigation of religious riots, walkouts from the parliament sessions which is paid for by taxes, corruption, scams and things that on mention makes you shudder in disgust; I’ve spent the larger part of my life in the 21st century and all this seems too familiar now , a very sad realization indeed. When was the last time you heard an intelligent and educated youth talk good about politics? The mere mention of the word brings a feeling of repugnance to the listener. Why has this happened? Why wouldn’t this happen? I’ve never known a politician whom i can adore, whose honor i am willing to defend.
I am deeply disturbed and saddened by this. We don’t understand the domino effect of this disbelief. The general contempt and aversion that the people hold towards the politicians echo across the spectrum of governance. People trust NGOs more that the governments they voted for; and when the faith in the government falls, people’s faith in the currency falls, people even stop exercising their right to vote. People lose faith in democracy! It is easy to be is heartened and to become a cynic; and as of now we are not short of reasons to lose hope.
I love this country and its people, I want us to do great things. I want a politician who defies the current meaning of the word. I want somebody to love and trust. I want a secular non-partisan idealist. I want to believe that the government is good again. I want to be a nationalist. Give me hope!
I wanna believe in democracy again!
I want to be a Patriot!
BrainKrack Journals 
Beg to differ with you when you on many aspects yet I like your approach . Probably both want to see the same India but the one you appreciated was an individual politically very powerful and as per me power hungry . Had not he been power hungry he would have given the PMship to Jinnah and would have avoided partition. He was the favourite of Gandhi hence was by default deserving but there were lot many people who truely deserved to lead the nation Like Sardar Patel. What he did , did all Congress men !! Big Deal !! Then why not Sardar Patel who with his decision making abilities united all the states willing to separate and many more .
Well I have so many points that I would end up writing an article big enough to leave Congress supporters speechless and with relevant data … Had the country gone under right leadership we would not have been cribbing for peace and anti-corruption till date !! Congress has ruled the nation for most of the years and they have let India down and they are not even secular . Had they been,1984 Anti-Sikh riots could have been avoided !!
A true leadership is possible only under Rahul Gandhi provided he stops thinking about his family heritage and responsibilities. He is a right man in the wrong party !! The perfect leader for India is Narendra Modi . No Not a fan … may never be but he has what they call is true leader inside him !!! Secular from inside and had he not been ,Muslim constituencies would not have voted for him this time …. !!
The article kind of instigated me to speak out my part but I respect your thoughts and just wanted to put my point across !!
First of all, thank you! Its is always a delight to meet someone who is also interested about where this country is going.
I’m not trying to glorify Nehru completely, he had his pitfalls but we can both agree that he is better than most of the contemporary politicians.
I lost respect for the Congress long back. What once was a truly a force for good that stood for the common man has turned into a heirloom that is passed down a family tree irrespective of the individual’s caliber. Still, there are truly good and educated politicians in the congress like Sashi Tharoor but the elite class of the party will never let anyone except the Gandhi family or themselves to rise to the top.
When you tell that Narendra modi is “Secular from the inside”, you have to consider the fact that there are more religious fundamentalists in his party that secular individuals and don’t even get me started on the radical elements associated with his party. If he is to lead India, then it won’t be just him. We would have to strike the word secular from the preamble of our constitution.
The point of an article like this IS to start a fruitful dialogue or a discussion and I respect that you took your time to speak out.
well , if we give it a thought … Modi runs BJP in Gujarat and so will he if he comes to Centre and that is the only reason .. I feel he deserves to lead. After all , Modi is BJP .. BJP is not MOdi !! 🙂 I feel if he can run a state with authority why not the country … Yes .. I would agree , coalition govt cannot be led by him as the allies would not like being subdued by him !! Its pity that these small regional parties have worsened the governance all the more !! Small little thing and they threaten to take the Govt for a ride !!!
Well, I am happy to meet like minded people !! 🙂