World never accepted India as a socialism country, at least the East Block during the Cold War never did.Socialism
After cold war, people rather call north europe socialism or even French leftist government socialism.
Rename Hindu rate of growth as Nehru rate of growth
- Thread starter Sakal Gharelu Ustad
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After cold war, people rather call north europe socialism or even French leftist government socialism.
no smoking
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You still don't get it. It is not about who is wise or stupid. It is all about "price".
In 1949, India had far better basis to start an industrilization than China: every industrial productions, the number of technicians, the number of university graduates, etc. But in 1978, the table was completely turned. Mao had his mistakes (I would rather say it is the whole CCP's mistakes), but he did prepared all the necessary conditions for industrlization. Deng is great, but without Mao, there is not much he can do.
HOWEVER, Mao's contribution to China's industrilization was not the result of his own work, but a result motivated by Chinese people. In order to get what he archieved, Chinese people made huge sacrifications such as frozen income level in 30 years.
Many people laughed at the single color of Chinese clothes at that time. But they don't know that this can save the primitive chemical resource from daily live consumption and focus on the industrial building up.
Only with all these tears and bloods, Chinese can catch up with Indians.
So, Mao did what Chinese asked--building a basis for a strong country at any cost. In the mean time, Indians didn't put this task into Nehru's list.
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Economic Policies of Jawaharlal Nehru
The economic policies of Jawaharlal Nehru have been subject to much controversy in the past few decades. However, it is important to place Nehru's economic policies in context for a proper appreciation of his policies. Nehru's commitment to the cause of India's development remains unquestioned, and it is no doubt that much of his plans and speculations were jeopardized by the unexpected partition that came along with the independence of India, which brought about an unprecedented fissure in the economic resources of the Indian mainland. Nehru himself confessed that the partition brought about a large share of problems, including a great rift in the agricultural and the industrial sectors. A large portion of the most productive agricultural lands fell in Pakistan whereas the corresponding industries remained in Indian dominion. The problem faced by the Jute industry soon after Independence can be stated as a case in the point. The jute producing areas were in Pakistan whereas the Jute processing factories remained in India, thereby affecting jute productions on both sides of the border.
Early Economic Reforms of Nehru: Nehru started his career as the Prime Minister of independent India in 1947, and immediately launched a number of economic reforms. :thumb: Nehru was a firm believer in state control over the economic sectors. His socialist ideals revealed themselves in the way he introduced laws for land redistribution, in order to curtail the economic disparity in India among the landed and the land-less classes. One of Nehru's key economic reforms was the introduction of the Five Years Plan in 1951. It was introduce to determine the mode of government expenditure and grants in important development sectors like agriculture, industries and education.
The Ideology guiding Nehru's Economic Policies: Nehru's economic policies have often been considered to be Socialist in nature. It is no doubt that Socialism did play a very important role in Nehru's ideological make-up. But at the same time, it is also important to consider that Nehru himself denied any kind of overt Socialist tendencies in the economic policies adopted by him. Nehru advocated a kind of mixed economy. Any kind of unquestioned ideological adherence to any form of economic tenet, or 'ism', he realized, would be detrimental to India's growth. He wanted a practical approach in framing the Indian economy, which would suit best the country's needs. On the one hand, as a devoted Gandhian, he had strong belief in the betterment of rural economy. On the other hand, he had a strong belief that heavy industrial development would be the best way to serve India's economic interests.
Nehru's Industrial Policies: Nehru wanted to create a balance between the rural and the urban sectors in his economic policies. He stated there was no contradiction between the two and that both could go hand in hand. He denied to carry forward the age old city versus village controversy and hoped that in India, both could go hand in hand. Nehru was intent to harness and fully exploit the natural resources of India for the benefit of his countrymen. The main sector he identified was hydroelectricity, and he constructed a number of dams to achieve that end. The dams would not only harness energy, but would also support irrigation to a great degree. Nehru considered dams to be the very symbol of India's collective growth, as they were the platforms where industrial engineering and agriculture met on a common platform. Nehru also considered the possibility of nuclear growth during his tenure as the prime minister of India.
Nehru and Foreign Investment: Nehru inspired the industrialists to provide a fillip to India's economy. However, he had strict reservations on the question of foreign investment. Nehru was wary of foreign investment. Nehru's nationalist ideals confirmed in him the belief that India was self-sufficient to bolster her own growth. Although he did not officially decry the possibility of foreign investment in direct terms, he did stress that the sectors of foreign investment would be regularized, and the terms and conditions of investment and employment would be strictly controlled by government rules in case there were possibilities of a foreign investment. Nehru, moreover, emphasized that the key sectors will always be in government hand. This step of Nehru is much criticized now. Yet, it cannot be denied that Nehru aptly looked forward to long term investments for which he banked more on Indian industries. It is also often suggested that his endeavor to harness international support to develop India's infra-structural profile between 1947 and 1955 did not meet with much success. It, however, remains a fact that Nehru's regime was not one of great economic growth for India. Although his economic policies are blamed for the failure of India to turn into a major economic force in the aftermath of independence, yet Nehru was probably thinking on a more long term basis. It is often inferred that the economic liberation of the later years was possible only because of Nehru's policies in the initial stages. :thumb:
The State Control in Nehru's Economic Policies: The most distinctive, and often debated feature of Nehru's economic policies, was the high level of state and central control that was exercised on the industrial and business sectors of the country. Nehru emphasized that the state would control almost all key areas of the country's economy, either centrally or on a state-wise basis. His Socialist emphasis on state control somehow seemed to undermine his stress on industrial policies. The rigorous state laws and License rules put a great degree of restrain on the free execution of industrial policies. Even the farmers, along with the business personnel, found themselves to be at the receiving end of rigorous state control policies and high taxation. Poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout Nehru's governance. (around 95% poor and 2% rich at the time of 1947.)
Nehru's Views on Rural Economy: Nehru's policy towards the rural economy of India was also significant. Nehru felt for the rural self-development of India very strongly. He tried to boost India's cottage industries. Much on the lines of Gandhi, Nehru believed that the rural and cottage industries of India played a major role in the economic fabric of the country. But most of his cottage industry development programs were meant as a part of community development. He was also of the belief that small scale industries and cottage industries were effective solutions to the massive employment problems that remained a perpetual issue of concern throughout his tenure. :thumb:
The economic policies of Nehru are often blamed for the poor economy of India in the subsequent years. However, it cannot be denied that his decisions were necessitated by the needs of the times. India needed to effectively harness its domestic means as well as strengthen its governmental control to lay the base for future privatization. It is often speculated that Nehru would have embraced the economic reforms and economic liberalization of the late twentieth century if he was alive. :thumb:
Economic Policies of Jawaharlal Nehru
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Jawaharlal Nehru's contribution in building Modern India.
Jawaharlal Nehru, also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the foremost leaders of Indian freedom struggle. He was the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was a member of the Congress Party that led the freedom movement against British Empire. He was also the chief framer of domestic and international policies between 1947 and 1964. Nehru is widely regarded as the architect of modern India. He set up a Planning Commission, encouraged development of science and technology, and launched three successive five-year plans. His policies led to a sizable growth in agricultural and industrial production. Nehru also played a major role in developing independent India's foreign policy. In 1955 Nehru was awarded with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889, to a wealthy Kashmiri Brahmin family in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father Motilal Nehru was a well-known advocate and also a leading politician. Jawaharlal Nehru received education in some of the finest schools and universities of the world. He did his schooling from Harrow College and completed his Law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. During his stay in London, Nehru was attracted by the ideas of liberalism, socialism and nationalism. In 1912, he had returned to India and joined the Allahabad High Court Bar. He married Kamala Nehru in 1916. On19th November, 1917 she gave birth to Indira Priyadarshini, widely known as Indira Gandhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the Allahabad Municipal Corporation in 1924, and served for two years as the city's chief executive. He resigned in 1926 citing lack of cooperation from civil servants and obstruction from British authorities. From 1926 to 1928, Jawaharlal served as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. In December, 1929 Congress's annual session was held in Lahore and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as the President of the Congress Party. During that session a resolution demanding India's independence was passed and on January 26, 1930 in Lahore, Jawaharlal Nehru open out free India's flag.
Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested in 1942 during Quit India Movement. Released in 1945, he took a leading part in the negotiations that culminated in the emergence of the dominions of India and Pakistan in August, 1947. In 1947, he became the first Prime Minister of independent India.
Soon after independence, the Indian nation, under his guidance, achieved the first political objective of the renaissance by giving to itself a Constitution proclaiming India a sovereign democratic secular republic. Through his vigorous policy of planned industrialization and economic development, aided by scientific research through a chain of national laboratories and the nation¬wide community project movement, Jawaharlal Nehru has laid firm foundations for the achievement of another important objective of the Indian renaissance, namely, the economic redemption of the Indian masses. All the time he would contemplate over the issues pertaining to the economic sector of the country. In 1951, Jawaharlal Nehru launched the country's "First Five-Year Plan" emphasizing on the increase in the agricultural output. Nehru believed in planned economy for maximum utilization of resources. He did not favour nationalization of private capital. In his scheme of economic development, by increasing business and income taxes mixed economy should play a prominent role. He believed that the both public sector and private sector must help each other in removing poverty and the other basic problems of Indian Society. He realized the importance of setting up mega industries and usher in industrial growth so as to transform the traditional society into a modern one. Nehru felt that the state should play the crucial role in development and attributed high credentials and role to both the bureaucracy and public sector. Nehru wanted the public sector to have commanding heights in the economy. That is why he wanted the public sector to play a vital part in regard to the development of heavy industries like steel and the exploitation of oil resources in India. He encouraged the construction of large irrigation works and the generation of hydro electricity. Tungabhadra Dam, which irrigates 1.03 million acres of land, is a classic example for these projects. By the mid-1960's, as Jawaharlal Nehru has pointed out, India had made commendable progress in the field of Nuclear Research. The Atomic Energy Act was passed by the Constituent Assembly, creating the Atomic Energy Commission. During the early years of independence, India pursued what Nehru called "A peaceful nuclear programme", implying that the programme was developed not to manufacture nuclear weapons, but instead to provide energy to the people. The peaceful use of nuclear energy was the official policy of the Government of India. This point was highlighted in bilateral agreements with Canada, UK, USA and USSR.
:thumb:
Nehru highly concerned on the control of private Industry and State Investment in Industry. In consequence, the Industries Act (1951) was passed to control private industry to work in the interests of state-regulations of private companies along with the Companies Act (1956) to control monopolies. By these policies the Indian economy enjoyed a steady rate of growth at 2.5% per annum.
Jawaharlal Nehru was interested in education for India's children and youth. He is praised for creating a system providing universal primary education, reaching children in the farthest corners of rural India. Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village enrollment programmes and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru's education policy is also credited for the development of world-class educational institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institutes of Technology, and the Indian Institutes of Management. Adult education centres, vocational and technical schools were also organised for adults, especially in the rural areas.
Nehru's posture as a reliable nationalist led him to also implement policies which stressed commonality among Indians while still appreciating regional diversities. In making the Indian constitution secular and in providing equal rights to all religious groups Nehru's contribution is significant. If India remained as a modem state and civil society and the fact that a larger number of Muslims were living in freedom and security in India than in Pakistan, it was because of Nehru's continuous preaching of secularism in India. Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to Hindu law to criminalize caste discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women. Untouchability Act (1955), Hindu Marriage Act (1955), Hindu Succession Act (1956) were typical examples of a legislation which helped the Hindu society to make a transition from a feudal society to a modern one. Moreover a system of reservations in government services and educational institutions was created to eradicate the social inequalities and disadvantages faced by peoples of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Nehru also championed secularism and religious harmony, increasing the representation of minorities in government. While differences of culture and, especially, language threatened the unity of the new nation, Nehru established programs such as the National Book Trust and the National Literary Academy which promoted the translation of regional literatures between languages and also organized the transfer of materials between regions.
Apart from his careful handling of India's tumultuous domestic situation in the years immediately after the Independence, Nehru's major contribution lies in the field of foreign policies. As the first Minister for External Affairs, Nehru was responsible for developing an independent foreign policy for the country. In the initial statements explaining India's foreign policy Nehru claimed that it was an independent foreign policy. Reviewing the problem of cold war and bi-polar politics, Nehru designed the equidistance concept towards big powers while engaging with them in all possible fronts. Along with Nassar, Sukarno, Tito, Nehru played a crucial role in shaping the policy of Non-Alignment and institutionalized the Non-Aligned Movement. Nehru wanted that the non-aligned countries should function as a power block; they should share their wealth for their prosperity. NAM had clear objectives that included the gradual decolonization of the world, and a strong statement that the member countries were not party to the ever escalating tension of the Cold War. By his policy of non-alignment and active support to the United Nations Orga¬nization, he has not only helped to reduce international tensions, but also helped to project an image of India abroad as a creative force for peace and international fellowship. :thumb:
Nehru's greatest success was that he promoted the spirit of conciliation and negotiation between different political groups and gradually built up political stability and consensus. He played a constructive, mediatory role in bringing the Korean War to an end and in resolving other international crises, such as those over the Suez Canal and the Congo, the arbitration of the UK and World Bank, offering India's services for conciliation and international policing. He contributed behind the scenes toward the solution of several other explosive issues, such as those of West Berlin, Austria, and Laos. After Nehru's successful mediation in the Korean War and the Congo problem, putting an end to a long and violent struggle, his status as a commendable and efficient statesman reached new heights. India also contributed to the UN efforts in peace-keeping by sending its forces to many war-torn areas.
Despite the setback with China, India received the support of USA on many occasions. Similarly, USSR was India's natural ally on vital sectors. Furthermore Nehru was intent on a very warm and mutually beneficial relationship between India and China. China and India established diplomatic relations on April 1, 1950. India was the second country to establish diplomatic relations with China among the non-socialist countries.
In 1954, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Indian Prime Minister Nehru exchanged visits and jointly initiated the famous Five Principle of Peaceful Coexistence (Pancha Seela ). Later his policy of pacifism and conciliation with respect to China came unraveled when border disputes led to the Sino-Indian war in 1962. However the international community stood by him, as China withdrew under growing international pressure, fearing isolation and global opposition. It is interesting to note that while large number of countries expressed their sympathy and support to India in the India-China War, only two countries supported China, namely North Vietnam and Albania. Nehru played his last masterstroke in international policy, as he turned the military defeat into a moral victory for India.
Of course, one can understand the critics' view on Nehru's underestimating of Chinese tactics towards India. The war exposed the weaknesses of India's military, and Nehru was widely criticised for his government's inadequate attention to defense. Hence Nehru shared the blame along with V.K. Krishna Menon on the military setback with China in October 1962.
In 1957, despite of the major victory attained the elections, the Nehru led central government faced rising problems and criticism. The election of his daughter Indira as Congress President in 1959 also aroused criticism for assumed nepotism.
Kashmir was a continuous problem, and he failed to reach any successful negotiation regarding Kashmir with the neighbor Pakistan. He tried to force a negotiation with the Pakistani government through the United Nations. But the Pakistani military rulers denied any peaceful agreement. The Kashmir imbroglio is still continuous to disturb both India and Pakistan complicating the domestic politics of the two countries. Nevertheless Nehru signed the Indus Water Treaty in 1960 with Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan to resolve long-standing disputes about sharing the resources of the major rivers of the Punjab region.
Another major criticism with regard to the Partition from certain quarters was that if Nehru had yielded to some of the demands of the Muhammad Ali Jinnah, partition of the country would have been avoided.
The seventeen years of his of leadership gained a steady progress of India on many fronts. All aspects of Indian life blessed with his enlivening touch. Although critics would attack him on many issues like the setback in China policy, issue of Tibet imbroglio in Kashmir, the policy of non-alignment, issues and developments that led to the Partition, failure of public sector in contributing to socio-economic development, we could on the other side point out that, undoubtedly, Jawaharlal Nehru would remain a towering personality in modern Indian landscape.
Nevertheless, one could not ignore the role and major contributions of the Nehru towards building modern Indian state. It had contributed significantly in improving the levels of health, education, food, housing, employment etc. The Chinese invasion in 1962 came as a great blow to him and probably hastened his death. In 1964, this great leader of modern India, Jawaharlal Nehru suffered a stroke and a heart attack. On 27 May 1964, Nehru passed away. Nehru was cremated at the Shantivana on the banks of the Yamuna River, Delhi.
It is true that Nehru failed on certain areas, aspects and policies. But he played a phenomenal role in providing a strong socioeconomic foundation to India's growth and development. He was a statesman, institution-builder, secularist, pacifist, democrat with scientific and humanist values and temperament. As a true democrat he appreciated dissent and yielded to his critics' point of view. He was responsible for taking India to the pride of place among the nations of the world. Being a believer of Mahatma Gandhi, peace and moral values prevailed on him tremendously. His own vision and instinct, besides the international exposure he received, influenced his perspectives considerably. Modern India owes a great to this unique nation-builder of the 20th century. :thumb:
Jawaharlal Nehru's Contribution In Building Modern India. Article - News And Life Style Politics Articles
Jawaharlal Nehru, also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the foremost leaders of Indian freedom struggle. He was the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was a member of the Congress Party that led the freedom movement against British Empire. He was also the chief framer of domestic and international policies between 1947 and 1964. Nehru is widely regarded as the architect of modern India. He set up a Planning Commission, encouraged development of science and technology, and launched three successive five-year plans. His policies led to a sizable growth in agricultural and industrial production. Nehru also played a major role in developing independent India's foreign policy. In 1955 Nehru was awarded with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889, to a wealthy Kashmiri Brahmin family in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father Motilal Nehru was a well-known advocate and also a leading politician. Jawaharlal Nehru received education in some of the finest schools and universities of the world. He did his schooling from Harrow College and completed his Law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. During his stay in London, Nehru was attracted by the ideas of liberalism, socialism and nationalism. In 1912, he had returned to India and joined the Allahabad High Court Bar. He married Kamala Nehru in 1916. On19th November, 1917 she gave birth to Indira Priyadarshini, widely known as Indira Gandhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the Allahabad Municipal Corporation in 1924, and served for two years as the city's chief executive. He resigned in 1926 citing lack of cooperation from civil servants and obstruction from British authorities. From 1926 to 1928, Jawaharlal served as the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. In December, 1929 Congress's annual session was held in Lahore and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as the President of the Congress Party. During that session a resolution demanding India's independence was passed and on January 26, 1930 in Lahore, Jawaharlal Nehru open out free India's flag.
Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested in 1942 during Quit India Movement. Released in 1945, he took a leading part in the negotiations that culminated in the emergence of the dominions of India and Pakistan in August, 1947. In 1947, he became the first Prime Minister of independent India.
Soon after independence, the Indian nation, under his guidance, achieved the first political objective of the renaissance by giving to itself a Constitution proclaiming India a sovereign democratic secular republic. Through his vigorous policy of planned industrialization and economic development, aided by scientific research through a chain of national laboratories and the nation¬wide community project movement, Jawaharlal Nehru has laid firm foundations for the achievement of another important objective of the Indian renaissance, namely, the economic redemption of the Indian masses. All the time he would contemplate over the issues pertaining to the economic sector of the country. In 1951, Jawaharlal Nehru launched the country's "First Five-Year Plan" emphasizing on the increase in the agricultural output. Nehru believed in planned economy for maximum utilization of resources. He did not favour nationalization of private capital. In his scheme of economic development, by increasing business and income taxes mixed economy should play a prominent role. He believed that the both public sector and private sector must help each other in removing poverty and the other basic problems of Indian Society. He realized the importance of setting up mega industries and usher in industrial growth so as to transform the traditional society into a modern one. Nehru felt that the state should play the crucial role in development and attributed high credentials and role to both the bureaucracy and public sector. Nehru wanted the public sector to have commanding heights in the economy. That is why he wanted the public sector to play a vital part in regard to the development of heavy industries like steel and the exploitation of oil resources in India. He encouraged the construction of large irrigation works and the generation of hydro electricity. Tungabhadra Dam, which irrigates 1.03 million acres of land, is a classic example for these projects. By the mid-1960's, as Jawaharlal Nehru has pointed out, India had made commendable progress in the field of Nuclear Research. The Atomic Energy Act was passed by the Constituent Assembly, creating the Atomic Energy Commission. During the early years of independence, India pursued what Nehru called "A peaceful nuclear programme", implying that the programme was developed not to manufacture nuclear weapons, but instead to provide energy to the people. The peaceful use of nuclear energy was the official policy of the Government of India. This point was highlighted in bilateral agreements with Canada, UK, USA and USSR.
:thumb:
Nehru highly concerned on the control of private Industry and State Investment in Industry. In consequence, the Industries Act (1951) was passed to control private industry to work in the interests of state-regulations of private companies along with the Companies Act (1956) to control monopolies. By these policies the Indian economy enjoyed a steady rate of growth at 2.5% per annum.
Jawaharlal Nehru was interested in education for India's children and youth. He is praised for creating a system providing universal primary education, reaching children in the farthest corners of rural India. Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village enrollment programmes and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru's education policy is also credited for the development of world-class educational institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institutes of Technology, and the Indian Institutes of Management. Adult education centres, vocational and technical schools were also organised for adults, especially in the rural areas.
Nehru's posture as a reliable nationalist led him to also implement policies which stressed commonality among Indians while still appreciating regional diversities. In making the Indian constitution secular and in providing equal rights to all religious groups Nehru's contribution is significant. If India remained as a modem state and civil society and the fact that a larger number of Muslims were living in freedom and security in India than in Pakistan, it was because of Nehru's continuous preaching of secularism in India. Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to Hindu law to criminalize caste discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women. Untouchability Act (1955), Hindu Marriage Act (1955), Hindu Succession Act (1956) were typical examples of a legislation which helped the Hindu society to make a transition from a feudal society to a modern one. Moreover a system of reservations in government services and educational institutions was created to eradicate the social inequalities and disadvantages faced by peoples of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Nehru also championed secularism and religious harmony, increasing the representation of minorities in government. While differences of culture and, especially, language threatened the unity of the new nation, Nehru established programs such as the National Book Trust and the National Literary Academy which promoted the translation of regional literatures between languages and also organized the transfer of materials between regions.
Apart from his careful handling of India's tumultuous domestic situation in the years immediately after the Independence, Nehru's major contribution lies in the field of foreign policies. As the first Minister for External Affairs, Nehru was responsible for developing an independent foreign policy for the country. In the initial statements explaining India's foreign policy Nehru claimed that it was an independent foreign policy. Reviewing the problem of cold war and bi-polar politics, Nehru designed the equidistance concept towards big powers while engaging with them in all possible fronts. Along with Nassar, Sukarno, Tito, Nehru played a crucial role in shaping the policy of Non-Alignment and institutionalized the Non-Aligned Movement. Nehru wanted that the non-aligned countries should function as a power block; they should share their wealth for their prosperity. NAM had clear objectives that included the gradual decolonization of the world, and a strong statement that the member countries were not party to the ever escalating tension of the Cold War. By his policy of non-alignment and active support to the United Nations Orga¬nization, he has not only helped to reduce international tensions, but also helped to project an image of India abroad as a creative force for peace and international fellowship. :thumb:
Nehru's greatest success was that he promoted the spirit of conciliation and negotiation between different political groups and gradually built up political stability and consensus. He played a constructive, mediatory role in bringing the Korean War to an end and in resolving other international crises, such as those over the Suez Canal and the Congo, the arbitration of the UK and World Bank, offering India's services for conciliation and international policing. He contributed behind the scenes toward the solution of several other explosive issues, such as those of West Berlin, Austria, and Laos. After Nehru's successful mediation in the Korean War and the Congo problem, putting an end to a long and violent struggle, his status as a commendable and efficient statesman reached new heights. India also contributed to the UN efforts in peace-keeping by sending its forces to many war-torn areas.
Despite the setback with China, India received the support of USA on many occasions. Similarly, USSR was India's natural ally on vital sectors. Furthermore Nehru was intent on a very warm and mutually beneficial relationship between India and China. China and India established diplomatic relations on April 1, 1950. India was the second country to establish diplomatic relations with China among the non-socialist countries.
In 1954, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Indian Prime Minister Nehru exchanged visits and jointly initiated the famous Five Principle of Peaceful Coexistence (Pancha Seela ). Later his policy of pacifism and conciliation with respect to China came unraveled when border disputes led to the Sino-Indian war in 1962. However the international community stood by him, as China withdrew under growing international pressure, fearing isolation and global opposition. It is interesting to note that while large number of countries expressed their sympathy and support to India in the India-China War, only two countries supported China, namely North Vietnam and Albania. Nehru played his last masterstroke in international policy, as he turned the military defeat into a moral victory for India.
Of course, one can understand the critics' view on Nehru's underestimating of Chinese tactics towards India. The war exposed the weaknesses of India's military, and Nehru was widely criticised for his government's inadequate attention to defense. Hence Nehru shared the blame along with V.K. Krishna Menon on the military setback with China in October 1962.
In 1957, despite of the major victory attained the elections, the Nehru led central government faced rising problems and criticism. The election of his daughter Indira as Congress President in 1959 also aroused criticism for assumed nepotism.
Kashmir was a continuous problem, and he failed to reach any successful negotiation regarding Kashmir with the neighbor Pakistan. He tried to force a negotiation with the Pakistani government through the United Nations. But the Pakistani military rulers denied any peaceful agreement. The Kashmir imbroglio is still continuous to disturb both India and Pakistan complicating the domestic politics of the two countries. Nevertheless Nehru signed the Indus Water Treaty in 1960 with Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan to resolve long-standing disputes about sharing the resources of the major rivers of the Punjab region.
Another major criticism with regard to the Partition from certain quarters was that if Nehru had yielded to some of the demands of the Muhammad Ali Jinnah, partition of the country would have been avoided.
The seventeen years of his of leadership gained a steady progress of India on many fronts. All aspects of Indian life blessed with his enlivening touch. Although critics would attack him on many issues like the setback in China policy, issue of Tibet imbroglio in Kashmir, the policy of non-alignment, issues and developments that led to the Partition, failure of public sector in contributing to socio-economic development, we could on the other side point out that, undoubtedly, Jawaharlal Nehru would remain a towering personality in modern Indian landscape.
Nevertheless, one could not ignore the role and major contributions of the Nehru towards building modern Indian state. It had contributed significantly in improving the levels of health, education, food, housing, employment etc. The Chinese invasion in 1962 came as a great blow to him and probably hastened his death. In 1964, this great leader of modern India, Jawaharlal Nehru suffered a stroke and a heart attack. On 27 May 1964, Nehru passed away. Nehru was cremated at the Shantivana on the banks of the Yamuna River, Delhi.
It is true that Nehru failed on certain areas, aspects and policies. But he played a phenomenal role in providing a strong socioeconomic foundation to India's growth and development. He was a statesman, institution-builder, secularist, pacifist, democrat with scientific and humanist values and temperament. As a true democrat he appreciated dissent and yielded to his critics' point of view. He was responsible for taking India to the pride of place among the nations of the world. Being a believer of Mahatma Gandhi, peace and moral values prevailed on him tremendously. His own vision and instinct, besides the international exposure he received, influenced his perspectives considerably. Modern India owes a great to this unique nation-builder of the 20th century. :thumb:
Jawaharlal Nehru's Contribution In Building Modern India. Article - News And Life Style Politics Articles
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I am sorry but you again reiterated simple stuff everyone knows rather than answering the questions I raised above. On top of that these articles look like they are lifted straight away from a high-school textbook where we shower all possible praise on our first PM.
But still to clear your ideas about Chachaji's economic wisdom, read this:
For more journalistic vision, read here an entire series of eight articles: History of Indian economics more coverage - DNA
Chachaji either did not understand economics or willfully tried to be paternalistic. In any case, he was responsible for the failed economics. Read the bold part in the above quote till you understand the fallacy of "The Chacha".
I just quote one of the best lines from the set of articles I quoted above:
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Hello 2013: blame Nehru dynasty for India’s growth collapse | beyondbrics
Hello 2013: blame Nehru dynasty for India's growth collapse
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Hello 2013: blame Nehru dynasty for India’s growth collapse | beyondbrics
India's recent economic growth collapse is reminiscent of many similar declines seen in other countries*.
Whilst the proximate causes were severe macro-economic imbalances, the deeper causes were numerous micro-economic distortions and unsustainable politically-motivated fiscal expenditures. Bad policy has been the basic reason for these collapses.
But, the Indian growth collapse poses the puzzle: why have the economic reformers who initiated the economic liberalisation of 1991, and who have been in charge since 2004, allowed such bad policies to undermine their legacy?
The answer lies in the baleful effects of the political sway of the Nehru dynasty over most of India's independent history, and its basic misunderstanding of Indian society.
The political family founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, and now led by his grandson's widow, Sonia Gandhi, sees India as a social democratic country requiring welfare handouts to redress poverty.
It is important to note that the two bursts of economic liberalisation in 1991 and 2000-4 occurred under two non-dynasty prime ministers: Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Admittedly, Rao headed a government led by the Nehruvian Congress party and had to defend the reforms of Manmohan Singh, his finance minister, as a continuation rather than repudiation of Nehruvian policies.
Vajpayee, heading Bharatiya Janata Party administration, had no such inhibitions, and under his watch, major economic reforms were undertaken which put the Indian economy on a growth path of 8 per cent a year.
But the Congress Party returned to office in 2004 at the head of a disparate coalition. With the dynastic matriarch Sonia Gandhi holding power, and the reforming 1991 finance minister Manmohan Singh as prime minister, the government embarked on a massive enlargement of welfare spending. The economic reformers in the government were thwarted by the coterie of NGO activists formed into the National Advisory Council of the Congress Party president (Sonia Gandhi). The economy's growth rate has – predictably – slipped.
With the lower economic growth rate diminishing the tax revenues on which the enlarged spending on welfare had been predicated, a fiscal crisis was brewing until the government finally acted last year.
The prospect of losing the means to finance the welfare state that they wanted to create, forced Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul to come out in support of the reformers in the government for the minimal reforms they had spent the past three years thwarting.
The basic problem is that the dynasty and its acolytes have never come out openly to develop a public consensus for the classical liberal economy that is needed to replace the defunct Nehruvian socialist model.
So the reformers within the party have had to reform by stealth. When the Congress-backed former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee became India's president and announced that "trickle-down" from rapid growth cannot redress Indian poverty, it showed a shocking failure to recognise the outcomes of the recent period of rapid growth in reducing poverty at a speed that the failed Nehruvian model never delivered.
The expansion of unsustainable welfare entitlements lies in the failure of the Nehruvians to distinguish between two kinds of populism. The first, embraced by the Congress is redistributive with an extension of state largesse. It views the majority of its citizens as being dependent children who need the state to provide for them.
The other is to empower the people who are fully capable, autonomous beings held back by various impediments created by dirigisme, and the state's failure to provide the basic public goods of law and order and the merit goods of health and education.
In regional elections last year, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress crown prince, campaigned on the first form of populist programme. His opponents – Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, and NarendraModi in Gujarat – based their campaigns on the second form of populism – and trounced him.
This in turn reflects a distinction in the beliefs of two wings of what I have termed Macaulay's children**, who were the inheritors of Thomas Babington Macaulay, the Victorian reformer, who sought to create an English-speaking middle class in India.
The Nehruvian wing embraced English as its first language; followers of the Gandhian wing saw English as an instrumental second language but retained India's native tongues as their primary languages.
As the primary language of a group determines the world view of the speakers, (see my Unintended Consequences***), the Nehruvians came to mirror their elitists European cousins and became infected with various forms of 'noblesse oblige' disguised as egalitarianism.
By contrast the Gandhian wing still wedded to their native tongues subscribed to Indian tradition. This as the sociologist Louis Dumont has emphasized in his Homo Hierarchicus**** was based on hierarchy, in which given the Hindu belief in reincarnation, promoting equality of outcomes (as opposed to opportunity) in this life, would reverse the just desserts which earned in a past life. The Hindu majority has thus always been an aspiring and not an egalitarian society.
Now that the Gandhian wing has accepted that tradition can coexist with the modernisation on which India's future depends, it is much more in tune with the aspiring classes which comprise the majority of the Indian electorate.
This offers hope for the future. It is difficult to tell if the Bhartiya Janata Party, or some other combination of regional parties of the Gandhian wing, will be able to resurrect Vajpayee's reform legacy, roll back the entitlement economy,and finally put an end to the Nehru dynasty's dysfunctional hold on the Indian polity.
But, this remains the best hope for putting economic growth back on at 9-10 per cent a year that India is capable of achieving – and badly needs.
Deepak Lal is the James S Coleman Professor Emeritus, UCLA
Notes
*The Political Economy of Poverty Equity and Growth, D Lal and Hla Myint, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996
**"The View of America from India", K. Almqvist&A. Linklater (ed): On the Idea of America, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Stockholm, 2010.
***MIT Press, Cambridge Mass, 1998.
****Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1970.
Hello 2013: blame Nehru dynasty for India's growth collapse
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India's recent economic growth collapse is reminiscent of many similar declines seen in other countries*.
Whilst the proximate causes were severe macro-economic imbalances, the deeper causes were numerous micro-economic distortions and unsustainable politically-motivated fiscal expenditures. Bad policy has been the basic reason for these collapses.
But, the Indian growth collapse poses the puzzle: why have the economic reformers who initiated the economic liberalisation of 1991, and who have been in charge since 2004, allowed such bad policies to undermine their legacy?
The answer lies in the baleful effects of the political sway of the Nehru dynasty over most of India's independent history, and its basic misunderstanding of Indian society.
The political family founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, and now led by his grandson's widow, Sonia Gandhi, sees India as a social democratic country requiring welfare handouts to redress poverty.
It is important to note that the two bursts of economic liberalisation in 1991 and 2000-4 occurred under two non-dynasty prime ministers: Narasimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Admittedly, Rao headed a government led by the Nehruvian Congress party and had to defend the reforms of Manmohan Singh, his finance minister, as a continuation rather than repudiation of Nehruvian policies.
Vajpayee, heading Bharatiya Janata Party administration, had no such inhibitions, and under his watch, major economic reforms were undertaken which put the Indian economy on a growth path of 8 per cent a year.
But the Congress Party returned to office in 2004 at the head of a disparate coalition. With the dynastic matriarch Sonia Gandhi holding power, and the reforming 1991 finance minister Manmohan Singh as prime minister, the government embarked on a massive enlargement of welfare spending. The economic reformers in the government were thwarted by the coterie of NGO activists formed into the National Advisory Council of the Congress Party president (Sonia Gandhi). The economy's growth rate has – predictably – slipped.
With the lower economic growth rate diminishing the tax revenues on which the enlarged spending on welfare had been predicated, a fiscal crisis was brewing until the government finally acted last year.
The prospect of losing the means to finance the welfare state that they wanted to create, forced Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul to come out in support of the reformers in the government for the minimal reforms they had spent the past three years thwarting.
The basic problem is that the dynasty and its acolytes have never come out openly to develop a public consensus for the classical liberal economy that is needed to replace the defunct Nehruvian socialist model.
So the reformers within the party have had to reform by stealth. When the Congress-backed former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee became India's president and announced that "trickle-down" from rapid growth cannot redress Indian poverty, it showed a shocking failure to recognise the outcomes of the recent period of rapid growth in reducing poverty at a speed that the failed Nehruvian model never delivered.
The expansion of unsustainable welfare entitlements lies in the failure of the Nehruvians to distinguish between two kinds of populism. The first, embraced by the Congress is redistributive with an extension of state largesse. It views the majority of its citizens as being dependent children who need the state to provide for them.
The other is to empower the people who are fully capable, autonomous beings held back by various impediments created by dirigisme, and the state's failure to provide the basic public goods of law and order and the merit goods of health and education.
In regional elections last year, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress crown prince, campaigned on the first form of populist programme. His opponents – Nitish Kumar in Bihar, Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, and NarendraModi in Gujarat – based their campaigns on the second form of populism – and trounced him.
This in turn reflects a distinction in the beliefs of two wings of what I have termed Macaulay's children**, who were the inheritors of Thomas Babington Macaulay, the Victorian reformer, who sought to create an English-speaking middle class in India.
The Nehruvian wing embraced English as its first language; followers of the Gandhian wing saw English as an instrumental second language but retained India's native tongues as their primary languages.
As the primary language of a group determines the world view of the speakers, (see my Unintended Consequences***), the Nehruvians came to mirror their elitists European cousins and became infected with various forms of 'noblesse oblige' disguised as egalitarianism.
By contrast the Gandhian wing still wedded to their native tongues subscribed to Indian tradition. This as the sociologist Louis Dumont has emphasized in his Homo Hierarchicus**** was based on hierarchy, in which given the Hindu belief in reincarnation, promoting equality of outcomes (as opposed to opportunity) in this life, would reverse the just desserts which earned in a past life. The Hindu majority has thus always been an aspiring and not an egalitarian society.
Now that the Gandhian wing has accepted that tradition can coexist with the modernisation on which India's future depends, it is much more in tune with the aspiring classes which comprise the majority of the Indian electorate.
This offers hope for the future. It is difficult to tell if the Bhartiya Janata Party, or some other combination of regional parties of the Gandhian wing, will be able to resurrect Vajpayee's reform legacy, roll back the entitlement economy,and finally put an end to the Nehru dynasty's dysfunctional hold on the Indian polity.
But, this remains the best hope for putting economic growth back on at 9-10 per cent a year that India is capable of achieving – and badly needs.
Deepak Lal is the James S Coleman Professor Emeritus, UCLA
Notes
*The Political Economy of Poverty Equity and Growth, D Lal and Hla Myint, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996
**"The View of America from India", K. Almqvist&A. Linklater (ed): On the Idea of America, Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation, Stockholm, 2010.
***MIT Press, Cambridge Mass, 1998.
****Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1970.
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MMS, the 3rd 'wisest' Finance Minister of world, similar to Super Hit SlumDog Millionaire
Sir I would like to share my personal experience during the economic performance of India during 90s till 2003. I was doing my Masters from University of Technology Sydney and as usual, we were always willing to defend our country. one day in the common lounge of UTS, few Asians straight said, "what economic reform India had that hardly around 5% growth it had since 1991? look on China, its well over 10%+ since early 80s, when economic reforms took place in China. China does copy technologies and then they outperformed its Western rivals too, but Indians couldn't copy even Chinese economic reforms....."
.....
(I also did a mistake while saying that Chinese companies copy techs while India companies do by themselves, and this was the response)
and have a look on the data's as below, during the time of Indira Gandhi+Rajiv Gandhi of 80s, India had around 5.59% growth rate for the 10 years of 1981 to 1990. and after the "economic reforms" in 1991, the growth rate of India was hardly 5.352% for the 12 years of 1991 to 2002, while we remember that Mr M.Singh was also referred as the 3rd 'wisest' finance minister of the world in early 90s
=> India GDP - real growth rate - Economy
thats why I always doubt all these Western Rewards like Oscars/ Nobel etc, he was a 'super hit' Finance Minister in the same way as how SlumDog Millionaire got so many Oscars
and I do remember the time of late 2004 when I told to at least 20+ Asian friends that Indian growth rate was well above 8.2% this year, the first ever 8.0%+ growth rate of India, I ever read in the Indian newspapers, since I started reading news in my life :thumb:
Sir I would like to share my personal experience during the economic performance of India during 90s till 2003. I was doing my Masters from University of Technology Sydney and as usual, we were always willing to defend our country. one day in the common lounge of UTS, few Asians straight said, "what economic reform India had that hardly around 5% growth it had since 1991? look on China, its well over 10%+ since early 80s, when economic reforms took place in China. China does copy technologies and then they outperformed its Western rivals too, but Indians couldn't copy even Chinese economic reforms....."
.....(I also did a mistake while saying that Chinese companies copy techs while India companies do by themselves, and this was the response
)and have a look on the data's as below, during the time of Indira Gandhi+Rajiv Gandhi of 80s, India had around 5.59% growth rate for the 10 years of 1981 to 1990. and after the "economic reforms" in 1991, the growth rate of India was hardly 5.352% for the 12 years of 1991 to 2002, while we remember that Mr M.Singh was also referred as the 3rd 'wisest' finance minister of the world in early 90s
=> India GDP - real growth rate - Economy
thats why I always doubt all these Western Rewards like Oscars/ Nobel etc, he was a 'super hit' Finance Minister in the same way as how SlumDog Millionaire got so many Oscars
and I do remember the time of late 2004 when I told to at least 20+ Asian friends that Indian growth rate was well above 8.2% this year, the first ever 8.0%+ growth rate of India, I ever read in the Indian newspapers, since I started reading news in my life :thumb:
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Further to the above talks, we have the latest news regarding Growth Rate of India since 1951, since when India as a nation got an economic shape. it is estimated that Growth Rate of India since 1951 to 2012 is around 5.85%. while Growth Rate of India under Finance Ministry of this b@stard, under guidelines of his Italian Waitress, was hardly around 5.352% for the 12 years of 1991 to 2002......MMS, the 3rd 'wisest' Finance Minister of world, similar to Super Hit SlumDog Millionaire
Sir I would like to share my personal experience during the economic performance of India during 90s till 2003. I was doing my Masters from University of Technology Sydney and as usual, we were always willing to defend our country. one day in the common lounge of UTS, few Asians straight said, "what economic reform India had that hardly around 5% growth it had since 1991? look on China, its well over 10%+ since early 80s, when economic reforms took place in China. China does copy technologies and then they outperformed its Western rivals too, but Indians couldn't copy even Chinese economic reforms....."
(I also did a mistake while saying that Chinese companies copy techs while India companies do by themselves, and this was the response
and have a look on the data's as below, during the time of Indira Gandhi+Rajiv Gandhi of 80s, India had around 5.59% growth rate for the 10 years of 1981 to 1990. and after the "economic reforms" in 1991, the growth rate of India was hardly 5.352% for the 12 years of 1991 to 2002, while we remember that Mr M.Singh was also referred as the 3rd 'wisest' finance minister of the world in early 90s
=> India GDP - real growth rate - Economy
thats why I always doubt all these Western Rewards like Oscars/ Nobel etc, he was a 'super hit' Finance Minister in the same way as how SlumDog Millionaire got so many Oscars
and I do remember the time of late 2004 when I told to at least 20+ Asian friends that Indian growth rate was well above 8.2% this year, the first ever 8.0%+ growth rate of India, I ever read in the Indian newspapers, since I started reading news in my life :thumb:
and this estimate clearly states that Mr Nehru, together with Mr LB Shastry/ Ms I.Gandhi/ Mr R.Gandhi, did pretty good work during their Time.
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JBH22
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I believe that our leftist scum who are still here can get food for thought who believe that Hinduism is the root of all evil in India.
Synopsis;
Karl Max classified India as a barbaric state many of our politicians have been influenced by him.
Max Weber classified India/China as two nation that cannot come up because HINDUISM/BUDDHISM believe in Karma.
Now many of our elite have been influenced by both thinkers, surprisingly we defined ourselves through outsiders prism.
The video gaves a good insight on the origins of the "Hindu Growth Rate"
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