Jawaharlal Nehru- and a politician scholar at par

Jawaharlal Nehru being the first Prime Minister of Independent India was no doubt a prolific scholar of repute apart from being the above. Nehru was also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru because of his vast erudition on various subjects. He remained as Prime Minister of Independent India from the years 1947 till his demise on May 27, 1964. His style of conducting various parliamentary proceedings was superb and lot to talk about. During his tenure as Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru exposed an exemplary demeanor not only within domestic segment but also on international level too. Now coming to parliamentary style of operations it was truly a unique aspect of its own. He was also unbiased in his approach towards proper conducting of different parliamentary proceedings.

He never discriminated between members of his party vis-à-vis to that of opposition parties. This was no doubt the appropriate way by which parliamentary proceedings should be carried on in modern surroundings. By glancing over various academic records it may deciphered that Nehru's style of functioning in modern parliamentary democratic proceedings seemed very much apt as actual parliamentary proceedings concerned. Even it is known to me that whenever parliamentarian of stature of Professor Hiren Mukherjee used to render his views on or against any motion then the entire members listen to him in rapt attention. This is very much lacking as per modern parliamentary proceedings concerned. Every member irrespective of ruling via opposition one used to listen to the speaker with utter reverence. Usage of language was superb and mellifluous.

Though protest was made but in a subtle and modest manner. Whenever Nehru used to travel overseas destinations along with his only issue, he was also well accepted and adored in that nation. Despite being an astute politician cum public figure of repute, Panditji's scholarly temperament remained unparalleled till his last breath. Thus in the subsequent paragraph it is my humble task to deeply introspect about Jawaharlal Nehru as a politician and scholar at par.

Jawaharlal Nehru- a politician scholar at par:

Jawaharlal Nehru was a politician scholar at par. Though he worked relentlessly for Independent India's progress and prosperity, but his scholarly temperament remained ingrained in his heart and mind forever. Right from his kid stage, young Jawaharlal was an avid reader on all subjects in both English and Hindi. It was through his intensive reading, he was able to grasp nitty-gritty of national and international scenes with ease and alacrity. He felt intensive reading will always open the mind to all the nook and corners of the globe. As Prime Minister of Independent India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for development of industry, science, technology, trade and commerce. He also advocated for socialist economic setup. That means his mission was to develop country's literacy rates to dizzy heights. The question mark remains in my heart is how far his mission was successful till date. To answer to it, needs an in-depth introspection. His Letters from Father to Daughterwill remain enshrined in the annals of English writing forever.

Goals of Jawaharlal Nehru:

There were various goals enunciated by Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister of Independent India. His mission was to steer India to such level that she will rise up to global level. Among all the goals enunciated by Jawaharlal Nehru, some of the common ones are stated as follow:

To build up socialistic pattern of economy in Independent India.

Pandit Nehru advocated for state sponsored industrialization.

Pandit Nehru advocated the use of atomic energy for civilian purpose.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for the development of agrarianeconomy and small scale industries.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru advocated for constitutional form of governance.

Pandit Nehru emphasized on linguistic and cultural pluralism.

Cultural and literary approach of Jawaharlal Nehru:

Jawaharlal Nehru was a high profiled cultural and literary personalities of repute. During his seventeen years tenure as Prime Minister of India, he motivated younger generations to get involved into cultural and literary activities of diverse types. To the younger generations, he always appealed to them to read more books of various types to know India and the world. Despite being a well-known public figure and writer of repute Nehru wrote several books. Among all the books some of the well-known ones are stated as follow:

Discovery of India

Glimpses of World History

Letters from father to a daughter

India and the World

China, Spain and the War

Agrarian Problems in India

Indian economic thought and development

Visit to America

Recent essays on India; about communalism and other subjects

Legacy of Nehru:

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru advocated five principal pillars of legacy, such as:

Nation building

Democratic Institution building should take place in Independent India.

Secularism setup should take place in Independent India.

Democratic setup should take place in Independent India

There should be a novel policy in Independent India.

Impact of Nehru's legacy in Bangladesh:

In Bangladesh there has been deep impact in Nehru's legacy. The intelligentsias of Bangladesh, especially the departments of history, political science and international relations are carrying on great researches on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Though researches are not carried on in a broader scale, it is still limited within ambit of academic fraternities. However whatever be the pros and cons about Pandit Nehru might be, his scholarly temperament is still popular among intellectuals of Bangladesh. Apart from the above, Nehru was also a confounder of Non-Align moment with co-partners like Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslav Republic and Gammel Abdel Nasser of Egypt. I am well aware of that in Dhaka Universities along with other universities of Bangladesh, departments of International Relations, History and Political Science are undertaking grand research on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

Conclusion:

Summing up my above views, one point remains apt in our mind, the name of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru still could not be erased off from the threshold of our memories. If anybody visiting New Delhi, the capital city of India, then visiting Nehru Memorial Library, the impressions about Nehru will automatically change. The scholars undertaking research work on Nehru will be richly benefited from NML. He might have had good intention to develop this newly independent nation, but circumstances prevented him from doing so. It is for the kind perusal of my online readers of India and Bangladesh, that I write this piece in connection with his birth anniversary on November 14, 2022.


Sujayendra Das
Senior writer, Kolkata, India