Small Blunders of Great Men

When the de-classified CIA archives revealed the details of the blunders committed by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during the time of Chinese aggression in 1962, no one would have expected another bomb shell in the form of Mountbatten’s daughter Pamela’s book, which has clearly established the romance between her mother Edwina and Nehru. A meager section of the public, which has had access to the true history of the nation, is aware of these dirty facts, but otherwise the revelations have demolished the iconic status of Nehru. In this backdrop, a small introspection of the near past of our history would give us regrettable happenings, which have caused immense damages to the character & growth of our nation, as a result of the mistakes committed by our ‘tall’ leaders.

Mahatma’s mistake:

Mahatma Gandhi, who was spearheading the freedom movement, had always had a soft corner for Jawaharlal Nehru knowingly or unknowingly. Probably bowled over by the charm of Nehru, Gandhiji unduly projected him as the prime leader of the nation, sidelining stalwarts like Sardar Patel, Rajaji and many others, who were more dedicated, disciplined & efficient. This blunder by Gandhiji has caused our nation irreparable damages, as evidenced by the series of mistakes committed by Nehru during his tenure as PM. Having developed hatred towards Hindus & Hinduism, he was primarily responsible for the pronouncement of our country as “Secular”, while Jinnah was point blank in declaring Pakistan as a Muslim Nation. Nehru along with Gandhi thwarted the exchange of population on communal lines, during the days of partition, against the popular aspirations of people. Then happened the Kashmir fiasco (retreating of Army, approaching the UN, etc) legitimizing the claim of Pakistan on Kashmir, allegedly yielding to the romantic overtures of Edwina Mountbatten. After that came the shameful defeat at the hands of China. The early demise of Sardar Patel & resignation of Rajaji from the Congress party made him the ‘numero uno’ and before his death he had to witness factional feuds within the Congress party, for not respecting the sentiments of Gandhiji to dismantle the party after the independence.

Kamaraj’s mistake:

After the sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri, another great leader Kamaraj made the blunder of making Indhra Gandhi as the Prime Minister, instead of a senior & more capable Morarji Desai. Finally, he had to reap what he had sown, that is, Indhra showed her true colours and sidelined Kamaraj and almost isolated him. At one point of time, she even went to the extent of asking, “Who is Kamaraj?” Ultimately, Kamaraj had to leave the party in 1969 and he had the sad experience of witnessing the declaration of “Emergency” just a few months before his demise in October 1975.   Baring the victory in the 1971 war against Pakistan, Indhra’s tenure as PM was flooded with many untoward events & decisions. She was responsible for the growth of Khalisthani movement & Sikh Extremism, which finally took her life.

While analyzing the blunders committed by Nehru & Indhra, we can understand that the problems caused by those mistakes are still alive & kicking and we are unable to solve them even after five decades. The mistakes of Gandhiji & Kamaraj in thrusting Nehru & Indhra respectively as prime leaders have placed the Nehru-clan on the head of this great nation and till date the nation is unable to relieve itself from the heavy load, which is made heavier with an alien connection.

Rajaji’s mistake:

Rajaji left the Congress party in 1959, as he was unhappy & dissatisfied with the policies of Nehru and started his own ‘Swatantra’ party. During 1967, he made the blunder of introducing the new concept called “alliance” in the political arena. He made an ‘alliance’ with the DMK in 1967 during the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu by giving recognition to the Dravidian party even though he was totally against their policies, with the sole aim of defeating the Congress. The blunder of Rajaji had caused the state of TN dearly and till date the state could not come out of the clutches of Dravidian culture. He was also insulted & disrespected by the same Dravidian leaders, who showed their true colours after coming to power. The ‘alliance’ concept introduced by Rajaji is taking a heavy toll on the nation even now, as “electoral arithmetic” & “numbers” have made a mockery of our democracy resulting in a pathetic display of ‘governance’.

When ordinary men make big blunders, they will not be seen & felt as big as they are supposed to be and they will be forgotten in the passage of time. But, when great leaders make even small mistakes, that too unintentionally, they unexpectedly result in irreparable damages making the nation to pay a heavy price.

The present day leaders are not great at all, but ‘small’ men with ‘narrow’ minds, and they have out grown our great leaders of the past, in committing greater blunders. The election of Prathiba Patil as the President is one such blunder for which this great nation may suffer in the coming days.

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