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Misunderstood Messiah

It is true that Nehru did want to be the prime minister. But was he a powermonger?

No.

Nehru was keen to become prime minister because he had a vision of India that he wanted to implement quickly, and he was confident that his vision of India was better than anyone else's, including Gandhi's.

Where the idealist Gandhi wanted a village cottage industry-based economy, Nehru wanted India to catch up with the economic and technological progress of the West. He feared that if India did not hop on to the technology bus at least at this late stage, there was every chance of it being enslaved again.

Where Gandhi wanted to keep intact the conservative social fabric, including the zamindari system and orthodox religious codes, and wanted change to come occur through a change of heart in individuals, Nehru neither had the patience nor the time to wait for a change of heart to occur one at a time.

He wanted to reform Indian society, build democratic institutions, carry out land and legal reforms, build up infrastructure for industrial development and ensure India's technological progress right from day one.

Moreover, Nehru understood that given the rudimentary state of industry, gross illiteracy, social conservatism and the numerous narrow interest groups operating in India, change and progress had to be effected quickly and on a massive scale, and that could be done only through government fiat and action.

Nehru releases a dove as a symbol of peace, November 18, 1954 during a ceremony held in honour of his 65th birthday at the New Delhi stadium. Also read: Let us now praise famous men