Gandhi And Nehru
‘Bapu’ and ‘Chacha’: Builders of Modern India
During the last two thousand five hundred years and more of India's history, two individual combinations made tremendous impact both on India's civilization and polity. The first duo was that of Kautilya and his trusted disciple Chandragupta Maurya who together laid the foundation of the first great historical empire of ancient India. The other duo was that of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru who were instrumental in laying the base of a modern Indian state and giving shape to ideas in the realm of education, culture and democracy.1
Gandhi founded the Satyagraha Ashram after returning from South Africa and successfully employed the principles of Satyagraha in uniting the peasants of Kheda and Champaran against the government. After this victory Gandhi was bestowed the title of Bapu and Mahatma and his fame spread far and wide. Jawaharlal Nehru was not only the first Prime Minister of India, but in that apacity, was also a major world figure during the mid-twentieth century. Like many national leaders who first lead, or play a major role in leading, their nation to independence, Nehru was widely loved and respected and ended up not only serving as the nation's leader for many years but also shaped much of the nation's political life. Practically every official act of such a leader is a first and often becomes a precedent that his successors follow.2
His great love for roses as well as children is a well-known fact. In fact he often compared the two, saying that children were like the buds in a garden. They should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they were the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. He felt that children are the real strength of a country and the very foundation of society. Most importantly he did not discriminate between the sexes and believed in giving equal opportunities to girls and boys. Quite naturally, he was the 'beloved' of all the children who gave him the endearing name of
During the last two thousand five hundred years and more of India's history, two individual combinations made tremendous impact both on India's civilization and polity. The first duo was that of Kautilya and his trusted disciple Chandragupta Maurya who together laid the foundation of the first great historical empire of ancient India. The other duo was that of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru who were instrumental in laying the base of a modern Indian state and giving shape to ideas in the realm of education, culture and democracy.1
Gandhi founded the Satyagraha Ashram after returning from South Africa and successfully employed the principles of Satyagraha in uniting the peasants of Kheda and Champaran against the government. After this victory Gandhi was bestowed the title of Bapu and Mahatma and his fame spread far and wide. Jawaharlal Nehru was not only the first Prime Minister of India, but in that apacity, was also a major world figure during the mid-twentieth century. Like many national leaders who first lead, or play a major role in leading, their nation to independence, Nehru was widely loved and respected and ended up not only serving as the nation's leader for many years but also shaped much of the nation's political life. Practically every official act of such a leader is a first and often becomes a precedent that his successors follow.2
His great love for roses as well as children is a well-known fact. In fact he often compared the two, saying that children were like the buds in a garden. They should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they were the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. He felt that children are the real strength of a country and the very foundation of society. Most importantly he did not discriminate between the sexes and believed in giving equal opportunities to girls and boys. Quite naturally, he was the 'beloved' of all the children who gave him the endearing name of