Nehru and Nation Building

Jawaharlal Nehru was the real architect of modern India. His efforts to combine science and technology with the concept of planned development with a view to achieving socialist pattern of society was his unique contribution to India. The Nehruvian model of development had definitely provided direction to the making of modern India. As a result, India today is in a position not only to take care of her agricultural, industrial and defence needs but also in a position to export technology in many fields. However, the recent focus on privatisation and liberalisation for the last one decade has resulted into jobless growth and marginalisation of the weaker sections. Such a scenario compels us to look back Nehru’s Economic Wisdom. For a country like India, where poverty, illiteracy, inequality and injustice characterises the socio-economic system, it is still the constitutional responsibility of the state to protect the socialistic pattern of development. In the transitional phase an optimal balance has to be maintained between the socialistic goals and the development challenges of modern era. Whatever Nehru’s critics might say, his commitment to secularism, socialism, nationalism, internationalism, humanism, liberalism, and science and technology and above all to nation building was total. The ideas of Nehru on these issues are more valid and relevant today in the light of degenerated, devalued, dehumanised and criminalised processes of Indian politics. The present volume is full of insight into Nehru’s ideas and philosophy on various national issues. The essays contained in the volume reflect upon the critical assessment of his contributions to various activities of nation building. The present volume will be found useful to students, social scientists, policy makers and politicians who are interested in understanding Nehru’s ideas of nation building and their relevance to present national problems.