Denying Nehru his due.
Ashutosh Varshney, in the above article (IE,14/2), while pleading for for Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to Indian democracy, seems to deny the contribution of others like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Babu, K.M.Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B.N.Rau and many others. If one person who deserves credit for democracy in India, it was Mahatma Gandhi, who awakened Indian masses to their right for freedom and self-rule with his agitations in Bardoli,Pancharan,Dandi March,and ‘Quit India’. He made movement for freedom, a mass movement from a debate in a ‘elite’ and ‘exclusive’ club. From the mass movement to mass franchise ( adult franchise) is a logical step.
Varshney also states that the ancient democratic traditions are problematic as they are unlike the present democratic system or norms. Can anybody deny the democratic temper inherent in our tradition which we can see all over our history - banishment of Sita just for an allegation, however repugnant to us now, Vedas proclaiming that Truth is one but wise it in different names, world is a family, human beings are the flame of the Divine, Man is a part of the Nature, not its master - which are part of the Indian ethos. The Indian tradition accepts, not just tolerates, different ways of worship, as Swami Vivekananda pointed long ago. These are the bedrock of pluralism and democracy. That is the reason why Indian democracy survived while it is in tatters in most of the countries liberated after the Second World War. Of course, Elite in India can see great things only in the West, thanks to Macaulay.
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nehru-modi-gandhi-ambedkar-constitution-electoral-democracy-denying-his-due-5062844/
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Ashutosh Varshney, in the above article (IE,14/2), while pleading for for Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to Indian democracy, seems to deny the contribution of others like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Rajendra Babu, K.M.Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, B.N.Rau and many others. If one person who deserves credit for democracy in India, it was Mahatma Gandhi, who awakened Indian masses to their right for freedom and self-rule with his agitations in Bardoli,Pancharan,Dandi March,and ‘Quit India’. He made movement for freedom, a mass movement from a debate in a ‘elite’ and ‘exclusive’ club. From the mass movement to mass franchise ( adult franchise) is a logical step.
Varshney also states that the ancient democratic traditions are problematic as they are unlike the present democratic system or norms. Can anybody deny the democratic temper inherent in our tradition which we can see all over our history - banishment of Sita just for an allegation, however repugnant to us now, Vedas proclaiming that Truth is one but wise it in different names, world is a family, human beings are the flame of the Divine, Man is a part of the Nature, not its master - which are part of the Indian ethos. The Indian tradition accepts, not just tolerates, different ways of worship, as Swami Vivekananda pointed long ago. These are the bedrock of pluralism and democracy. That is the reason why Indian democracy survived while it is in tatters in most of the countries liberated after the Second World War. Of course, Elite in India can see great things only in the West, thanks to Macaulay.
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nehru-modi-gandhi-ambedkar-constitution-electoral-democracy-denying-his-due-5062844/
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