Book 'Nehru'

I just finished reading the book 'Nehru' by Shashi Tharoor. He is one of my favourite authors (sometimes I wish he authored my history text books back in school!).It is probably the most comprehensive book on how 'socialism', and in turn Nehru, shaped the fate of India after he took over as the first Prime Minister of free India.

At a time, after WWII, when there were two currents dividing the world, Nehru chose the Russian(then USSR) way! Much of India's history has turned the way one person wanted it to, and that was Nehru. His countless number of days in prison, his fight against secularism and casteism( probably the only one of his kind in that age) and his charisma of a well groomed politician, a face of India which grew fans from all over the world(J.F. Kennedy was one of them!), only makes me look up to him. Yet, his policies have been the most detrimental to India's growth in the country's first 15 years.

During his lifetime, Nehru was surrounded by people who were against many of his ideas. India probably had to the slowest development rate among the Asian countries after WWII, and even then, there weren't politicians who rose up to the occasion. They were blinded by idol worship and, only another Nehru offspring could satisfy the Indian people. They believed Indira Gandhi would fill the void created by her father. There were many instances, quoted in the book, when Nehru came very close to resigning. At once the Congress members would convene and appease with him! May be people should have realized that it was OK to respect one person and at the same time be unsupportive of the person's ideas and stand against him!

We believe in the theory of ONE great leader, ONE great actor, ONE great musician etc. I wonder if it all starts right from when you are a kid at school looking up to ONE topper in school! May be that's where we should start to look for a change!