For over a decade, the RSS-BJP ecosystem has waged a relentless campaign to discredit Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first and longest-serving Prime Minister. Their objective is clear: erase his monumental role in shaping modern India and replace historical truth with a Hindutva-compliant narrative. But facts speak louder than propaganda.
This post dismantles the anti-Nehru myth-making project and reaffirms the legacy of a visionary whose intellect, democratic commitment, and secular ideals laid the foundation of India as a modern republic.
🧨 The Propaganda Strategy: Nehru as the ‘Villain’
The RSS-BJP narrative frames Nehru as:
- Responsible for Kashmir conflict
- Anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim
- A Westernized elitist disconnected from Indian culture
- The architect of failed socialism
- Someone who denied Sardar Patel his due
🔍 But none of these accusations withstand scrutiny. Here’s why:
🏗️ 1. Builder of Modern India
Nehru’s vision and execution built core institutions of independent India:
- Democratic Foundations: Despite Partition and chaos, Nehru held free elections, protected opposition rights, and strengthened Parliament.
- Planning and Infrastructure: Set up the Planning Commission, IITs, AIIMS, ISRO’s precursor INCOSPAR, and Bhakra Nangal Dam. He called these “temples of modern India.”
- Non-Alignment Policy: In Cold War era, he kept India sovereign and neutral, refusing to turn India into a pawn of superpowers.
- Secular India: Firmly rejected theocratic nationalism, and upheld Article 25 guaranteeing religious freedom for all—including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains.
🗣️ 2. The Kashmir Truth – Not What They Tell You
- Accusation: “Nehru internationalised Kashmir by taking it to the UN.”
- Fact: The tribal invasion of Kashmir in 1947 by Pakistan-backed forces necessitated intervention. Maharaja Hari Singh’s accession letter to India made Kashmir legally Indian territory. Taking it to the UN was under Lord Mountbatten’s advice.
- Ignored Fact: Sardar Patel himself supported Nehru’s decisions on Kashmir initially.
⚖️ 3. The Patel-Nehru False Binary
- The RSS-BJP falsely claims Sardar Patel was sidelined by Nehru.
- Fact: Patel and Nehru shared mutual respect despite ideological differences. Patel called Nehru “the only one who could lead India” after Gandhi’s death.
- BJP erects Patel’s statue while ignoring his staunch secularism and ban on RSS after Gandhi’s assassination.
🚫 4. RSS’s Hatred for Nehru: Historical Context
- Nehru banned the RSS after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination by Nathuram Godse, a former RSS member.
- He refused to allow communalism to infect governance.
- He envisioned a scientific, rational, and secular society—values that remain RSS’s ideological enemy.
💉 5. Socialism Misrepresented
- BJP ridicules Nehruvian socialism as failure.
- Truth: Nehru’s mixed economy was essential post-independence to:
- Prevent monopolies,
- Industrialize a colonized nation,
- Balance public and private growth.
- Private sector flourished under Nehru-era controls (Tatas, Birlas, Kirloskars).
🧠 6. Was He “Too Western”? No. He Was Deeply Indian.
- Nehru wore Western suits and Gandhi caps.
- Quoted Voltaire and the Upanishads.
- Spoke of “Scientific temper” but celebrated India’s ancient culture.
- Wrote Discovery of India in jail, a deep exploration of India’s philosophical and cultural roots.
🧹 7. Why Discredit Nehru? The BJP’s Need for an Empty Pedestal
The RSS-BJP ecosystem needs to erase Nehru to rewrite India’s history with Hindutva as its foundation. By demonising Nehru:
- They shift attention from current governance failures.
- Promote false heroes and mythologise history.
- Undermine secularism, which Nehru fiercely protected.
📌 Conclusion: Time to Reclaim Nehru from Propaganda
Nehru was no saint—but he was a statesman, democrat, and builder. His flaws were of judgment, not character.
The RSS-BJP’s attempt to paint him as a villain is not just dishonest—it’s dangerous. It distorts India’s foundation and undermines every institution he helped create.
Let us resist revisionism with truth.
Let us remember Nehru not as the RSS tells us—but as history records him.
