‘हिन्द के जवाहर’ This was the line used in the advertisements commemorating The Visionary, The First Prime Minister of India : Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on his 125^th Birth Anniversary.

Can there ever be any better line to remember the great son of India who dedicated his entire life to the cause and idea of India! From fighting the Britishers to gain independence or to prove the naysayers wrong by building the Independent India from scratch and shaping its character, from fighting and taking the opposition both within and outside the government together on the path of Nation Building he did it all in his life time.

While some of the countries in our region were mired with instability and military rule but it was his unwavering commitment to the great idea of Democracy that we continue to uphold the principals come what may. Some of us may continue to romanticize the idea of military or an authoritarian rule cannot even begin to fathom the results of such a false notion.

Following the teaching of the Father of the Nation and keeping in view the Directive Principles as laid down by Article 40 of the our Constitution, Pandit ji laid the foundation of democratic decentralization in the form of Panchayati Raj on Gandhi Jayanti at Nagaur in the year 1959. Rajasthan became the pioneer state in India to implement the Panchayati Raj at that time my Grand Father Lat Shri ML Sukhadia ji was the Chief Minister of the state. The fruits of this decentralization that transferred the decision making to the lowest denominator of governance can still be enjoyed by the millions of Indians.

His commitment to Democracy and Free Thinking was not only restricted at the National Level but surpassed our boundaries. At that time where the world was divided between the two super powers i.e. Soviet Russia and America he stuck to his stand and formed the Non Aligned Movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement. The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by Pandit ji, Indonesia’s Sukarno; Egypt’s  Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia’s, Josip Broz Tito. The principles that formed the basis of this movement were to respect mutual territory, sovereignty, to work towards equality, mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence to name a few.

Immediately after independence he went about setting up Capital Intensive Industry in the Public Sector, for he knew Indian Entrepreneur then lacked the necessary capital and moreover it was in the hands of few without the benefit of public at large. IIT, IIM were established to ignite the minds of young students and provide them knowledge that was at par with the best in the world.

Irrespective of the way the current dispensation may try to live down the legacy of Nehru ji the guiding principle have now been etched in the hearts of Indians that cannot be tampered with, for history has judged him kindly and will continue to do so no matter the falsehood and the propaganda their organizations spread. The greatness of Pandit ji cannot be transcribed in a few words and nor can it be tarnished by canards of few.

To Quote from his famous The Discovery of India “India has known the innocence and insouciance of childhood, the passion and abandon of youth, and the ripe wisdom of maturity that comes from long experience of pain and pleasure; and over and over again she has renewed her childhood and youth and age.

Fine buildings, fine pictures and books and everything that is beautiful are certainly signs of civilization. But an even better sign is a fine man who is unselfish and works with others for the good of all. To work together is better than to work singly, and to work together for the common good is best of all.”