Nehru: The Invention of India| A Book Review

Nehru: The Invention of India by Shashi Tharoor

I began reading this book while on a trip to Abuja. I just could not put it down until I was finished. Shashi Tharoor is a captivating writer.

Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first Prime Minister. He belongs to the class of post-independence leaders of former colonies who genuinely, without an iota of doubt, had the best interest of their countries at the heart of every decision. Yet, for many of these leaders, even good intentions did not prevent them from making mistakes. Nehru shaped India in ways that today’s Indians cannot ignore but some try to deny. In recent years his reputation has come under attack. As someone who has read several books on how many former colonies fell apart after independence, especially how they lost their freedoms, I am fascinated by the Indian example. Yes, India is still poor but it is the largest democracy on earth! You need to think about that. If there is any country that has so many disparate units and has a good case for using dictators, yet it does not have one. Now, that’s where Nehru comes in. Jawaharlal Nehru was the chief architect that laid the ground for such democracy to thrive.

At the peak of his career, when his popularity was without question when he had written his resignation and told parliament that he was resigning but they had rejected, an opinion piece appeared in a magazine warning Indians against allowing their Prime Minister from becoming a Caesar. Who wrote the piece? It was the Prime Minister himself, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was a true democrat, he was a realist and an ideologue. He lived a thing when he believed it. And he believed in democracy. He genuinely thought that even if Indians do not get all that they need in terms of development within a short time, by having the power to constantly change their leaders, someday they will get it. He was correct.

Other legacies Nehru worked for are religious tolerance and strong respect for institutions. It was under Nehru’s watch that India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. He witnessed the devastating consequences of religious intolerance. By the way, Nehru was agnostic. It is strange that an agnostic was the first Prime Minister of one of the most religious countries on earth. Although Nehru had strong Hindu background, he worked hard to placate religious minorities such as Muslims and other minorities. He protected them, reassured them, and worked towards making sure they felt like Indians. Nehru did not just say these things in words, he lived them by his actions. Shashi shares a story that one time there was religious tension and a Muslim man had just been dragged out to be killed. When Nehru heard of this, he rushed to the scene and shielded the victim with his body insisting that if the Hindus wanted to kill the man, they had to kill him first! Nehru did this before the police arrived at the scene. When the police arrived, everyone was already dispatching, no one will be killed in Nehru’s India, Hindu or Muslim.

I was impressed by Nehru’s intellectual capacity. He wrote at least two books in Prison on history without any reference material. Wow! World over he was respected for his insight into world affairs and knowledge of other people’s and cultures. World leaders had wonderful comments about him. At the time he offered to resign, the President of the United States and the President of the Soviet Union both sent him messages hoping he would not resign. Remarkable, I must say. If both the United State and Russia agree on the same issue during the cold war, it must be quite something. But Nehru was quite something else!

He was an exemplary leader in several aspects. Yes, he made mistakes too. For instance, his economic policies were a total disaster. Although the Indian masses knew that he loved them and wanted the best for them, his policies did not make their lot better. Nehru was blinded by hate of anything imperialism and former colonial masters that he did not see how they had some policies that would help Indians.

Shashi Tharoor wrote a simple book that covered the life of a large man, he did a good job. This isn’t a scholarly book, it is a book for public reading and it does not disappoint, it is a good introduction to the man and early Indian history.

Did I mention that Nehru was Mahatma Gandhi’s mentee?