Santanu Dam

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is the architect of modern India. When he took over the reigns of India’s destiny, not a pin was manufactured in India. But instead of blaming the past, cursing his predecessors and making excuses, he rolled up his sleeves and built our modern republic. Not only do we owe much of our developmental strides to him - be it through PSUs, the Green Revolution or modern educational institutions - but also the success of India as a democratic, inclusive and progressive country. In a neighbourhood where ethnic conflict and authoritarian rule is commonplace, when many in the West doubted whether we will survive as a democratic and secular republic, it was Nehru ji’s efforts of building a democratic ethos that stood the test of time. Today, as India is in a difficult place with a fascist regime in power in New Delhi, it is Nehru’s path that we must always walk on. He trusted the innate pluralistic instinct of Indian society and showed that a vast, continent-sized country could become an example for the entire world if it looked towards a brighter future. I pay my humble tributes to Pandit Nehru on his birth anniversary.