Has congress fallen in love with defeats
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]I[/dropcap]n Part 1, I have discussed how the Congress is lead by Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty over the years. Here I would like to highlight the non-dynasty Prime Ministers and their performance.
Such is the Congress’ obsession with the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that it is unable to perceive that there could be life beyond the family. Indeed there were periods in the past when the party and the country were served by non-dynasts—and served much better than by the royals. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lal Bahadur Shastri and P.V. Narasimha Rao were among the best prime ministers that the country has seen since Independence. Both were inarguably better than any PM who has come from the family.
Consider the case of Shastri, perhaps the first commoner to have ruled in Delhi. This short (but not small) man of slight build did more than anybody else in instilling pride and confidence in a nation that was militarily battered and psychologically shattered after the India-China war in 1962.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]S[/dropcap]ucceeding the aristocratic and pompous Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964, his appearance was unassuming to the extent of being deceptive. Writing in The Hindustan Times (October 8, 2016), the Historian Ramchandra Guha wrote, “Not long after Shastri became Prime Minister, he stopped in Karachi, then the capital of Pakistan, while on his way home from Cairo. He met President Ayub Khan at the airport, who, noticing his tiny frame and 26-inch chest, wondered how such a little man could rule such a large nation. It is said that this sight of Shastri in the flesh convinced Ayub (himself an Army General) that the time was ripe for a fresh incursion into Kashmir. He was convinced that the new leader of India would not be able to effectively defend his country when war came.”
The general apparently had ‘brain fade’; he forgot that heads of state/government don’t fight in battlefields; soldiers do and soldiers fight well if the political and military leadership is good. In 1962, it was awful; right from the confused and craven Nehru to the traitorous V.K. Krishna Menon to the generals they deployed—everybody was incompetent. The effect was of the defeat was so cataclysmic that, we are ruing the war till date.
Unlike Nehru, Shastri was not swayed by speeches, slogans, sanctimony, or subterfuge. He ensured the modernization of armed forces. More importantly, he gave complete freedom to the military top brass and allowed them to open the second front in Punjab, which proved to be the game-changer and tilted the war in our favor.
Shastri was equally perceptive about domestic problems. He laid the foundations of agrarian renewal and economic reforms. His successor, Indira Gandhi, carried forward the good work in the farm sector that Shastri had initiated and the result was the green revolution (she got the credit for it, while Shastri’s role was downplayed). But, unfortunately, liberalization died with Shastri, as instead of opening up the economy, further strangled—and the nation lost a quarter of century to the worst features of socialism.
[dropcap color=”#008040″ boxed=”yes” boxed_radius=”8px” class=”” id=””]I[/dropcap]t was left to the other non-dynast Congress prime minister, Narasimha Rao, to take up the unfinished business of Shastri. If India is today a major economy, it is because of the herculean efforts made by Rao. He got rid of multifarious controls, thus making it possible for the entrepreneurial energies to be released.
His interventions in foreign policy were equally important, though not widely known. He normalized diplomatic ties with Israel. This was not done earlier because our politicians wanted to appease Muslims. Even after several Arab nations befriended Israel, India had refused to do that before Rao. He was also an author of the “Look East Policy”, which led to several initiatives. It was under Rao’s stewardship that normalcy in Punjab was restored. Further, he floated the idea of a nuclear test which was later carried out by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In short, both non-dynasty prime ministers were extremely competent and effective leaders; they served the country very well. But their contributions have been minimized while the (mostly fictional) feats of dynasts are magnified not only by family retainers in the party but also a wide section of the intellectual class. These manipulations have succeeded to such an extent that now even Congress leaders have accepted the only-dynasty-can-save-party notion as gospel truth. The notion has enslaved them, and they are contented in slavery.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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Your glorification of Narasimha Rao is born out of disdain for the Nehru Family.
Narasimha Rao was as corrupt as the Nehru Family with a scam in each & every deal
Rao’s contribution to destruction of Indian Economy is much as the Nehru Family
It’s become a fashion among NEHRU HATERS to eulogize Rao citing his ‘globalization’/’liberalization’
Rao & Manmohan r agents of the US & who helped the West with RECOLONIZATION of India
It is these two traitors who agreed to all ANTI INDIAN CLAUSES in WTO agreements.
MASS SUICIDES of Indian Farmers started because of the policies of these two criminals
If anything globalization destroyed India by bringing in / free hand zero tech Industries like – Pepsi, Fast food restaurants, Packed foods, wafers, Chocolates, Mechanized slaughter houses
They are all exemplary Statesman . Gandhi’s of present day are incapable lot . Big Head attitude. They are out permanently. Hope so
Excellent analysis. I totally agree with the author’s view on Sri LBSastri. Congress under Sonia and Rahul Goundhai can not rise again, unless it is led by a non-dynast person.
Regards.
T.V.Padmanabhan.