The man who saw tomorrow JAWAHARLAL NEHRU NOVEMBER 14, 1889 — MAY 27, 1964

To a majority of Indians, Nehru represents a vision. A vision of a democratic, progressive, secular and equitable India. It’s a vision that shaped modern India, and one whose legacy we continue to grapple with.
For some he is a demigod; for others he is responsible for everything that is wrong with India. But if there is one aspect of Nehru’s sprawling legacy that shines through it is his commitment to democracy. Most of the nationstates that emerged out of the debris of colonial empires quickly took the authoritarian route. India, which was thought to have among the worst chances of survival, was a rare exception. Not only did it survive, it did so as a thriving democracy. Nehru had a big hand in that unique achievement.
The Harrow- and Cambridge-educated Nehru was, however, not always comfortable with the idea of mass democracy. He once admitted in his classic, The Discovery of India, that he approached India as an alien critic. He also
despaired that Indian democracy would turn out to be a “preserve of those possessing thick skins and loud voices and accommodating consciences”. But that didn’t deflect from his faith in the people of India.
The other cardinal principle of Nehru’s philosophy was a belief in the centralised state and planning to overcome the intractable problems of a newly independent India. He felt that Soviet-style planning could not only chart a brave future for India but also deal with its myriad problems. This would form the blueprint for India’s industrialisation and result in the “temples of modern India” such as the Bhakra Nangal dam. It would also create a monster state that played God over common citizens but was dysfunctional in large swathes of the country.
It was Nehru who guided India to its tryst with destiny in 1947. By the time he died in 1964, shattered by the humiliating defeat to China, some of the Nehruvian ideals such as non-alignment were already losing their gloss. But his vision of a democratic India has long outlived his death and survived the test of time.