news details |
|
|
| Relevance of Nehru in modern India | | | Omkar Dattatray | 12/5/2019 10:39:04 PM |
| | Someone has rightly said that if sardar patel is the iron man of India, then Nehru is the non-ferrous metal ever rust-less and rest-less .This great man of the masses is relevant today than ever before and there are no two opinions about Nehru's relevance in the 21st century India .We have celebrated Nehru's birth anniversary on 14th of November and the best way of remembering this day is to follow his way of thinking and living. Therefore it is proper to pay homage to this great son of India by following and honoring his quest for science and technology. The Nehruvian thought and philosophy is more relevant today than before and we should make sincere efforts to live up to the ideals and practical principles of the first prime minister of the free India Jawahar Lal Nehru. Nehruvian philosophy and thought as well as his conviction in secularism and his emphasis on scientific temper and bent of mind is fresh and relevant today and we should make India of his dreams. Nehru's faith in socialism and socialistic pattern of society is praise worthy and we should follow it with suitable modifications .It is Nehru who has said that factories and industries are the temples of modern India and he gave much importance to industrialization and science and technology and regarded these as the means of India's economic and social development. He was the torch bearer of non-alignment and he maintained equal distance with all super powers. Nehru was a great thinker and educationist and gave much importance to the field of education. Nehru wanted imparting of modern scientific education to the children .He gave much stress on scientific research, innovation and experimentation. Nehruvian philosophy and thought does not look odd or irrelevant even today in spite of the narrow machinations of the right wing parties and the government. .There is a difference between Nehruvian philosophy and his modernity viz a viz the market driven present day technology and militant cultural nationalism which is flourishing in present day India thanks to the efforts of the saffron brigade .Nehru was greatly influenced by the remarkable changes that modern west experienced because of techno -scientific revolution and the philosophies of socio-political liberation .Nehru's modernity is not altogether separate to Indian roots and its civilization in any way .His is the blind of civilizational edifice and modernity. And that science with its reason and empirical study will help us to understand the past civilization and its core values and balance the need to change the past .Thus he evolved his philosophy of modernity. He gave much emphasis on scientific temper and rationality as a way of thinking, seeing, acting and associating with the society. Nehru gave good bye to fatalism and superstition and instead wanted the society to experiment with a scientific bent of mind. He genuinely felt that superstition and fatalism are the enemies of the society and science with its empirical study and reason will help us to come to terms with modern times. He believed in material prosperity through massive industrialization and scientific development. Yes in Nehru's celebration of science ,there is a spirit of wonder, an urge to sharpen critical consciousness and faculty of reason. In the present times science has been replaced by market driven technology which is aimed at the promotion of technology for profit oriented corporate houses. In fact science seems to have been eclipsed by the market. It is for the historians and political pundits to evaluate Nehru's achievements and failures. However it is clear that Nehruvian world view has been damaged by the present regime and this is very unfortunate. Besides the argumentative character of science has been replaced by a high degree of toxic social conservatism based on faith and identity. The present day regime is involved in destroying everything Nehruvian and are belittling his contribution to India's fund of knowledge, science and political theory. Moreover Nehruvian socialism, his cosmopolitan outlook and a reasonable degree of restraint regarding the manipulative use of religion in public life is in danger. Therefore we can say that Nehru's philosophy and his political theory are in danger because of the right wing nationalism and saffronisation. The collapse of socialism and rise of triumphant neoliberal capitalism and rise of right wing nationalism as also the new revival of racist/casteist/religious doctrines is a danger to Nehruvian thought and philosophy. But in spite of all this, Nehruvian thought and philosophy is relevant today with some modifications here and there. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
