Nehrus aversion to decisive leadership or decisive actions has been attributed by many to his lack of understanding of national issues, lack of experience or even reluctance to be decisive. That is solely due their utter lack of understanding of Nehru himself !! The last Mughal was a man of pathological intentions being outrightly anti-Hindu and anti-Bharata, never wished the nation to attain her full potential or become ‘Sone Ki Chidia’ as Bharata was till 16/17th century. He ensured through his sinister governance that nation just survived, existed so as to be able to continue as Prime Minister for himself and his dynasty waiting in their wings to take over after him. How can a leader holding position of Prime Minister of the country be indecisive if he is really committed to the nation ? He quite skilfully hid it behind the miasma of ‘confusion’, ‘indecisiveness’ and superficial forays into metaphysics as mentioned by one Brig. BN Sharma, “Consistency in thought and hard-headedness in decisions were not Nehru’s strong points. Superficiality of thought and confused thinking led him wondering into the realm of philosophy and metaphysics.” His Cabinet Minister Rafi Kidwai remarked on Nehru, “You know, I never go to Nehru to seek advice or guidance. I take a decision and just present it to him as a fait accompli. Those who go to him for advice rarely get a lead—and that only serves to delay matters…Nehru does not understand economics, and is led by the nose by ‘professors’ and ‘experts’ who pander to his whims and fancies…The country needs a man like Patel.”
The last Mughal Nehru loved and relished sycophancy, allowed admirers and supine lickers to hang around him always. He always abhorred and shunned those who had a ‘nasty’ habit of showing him the proverbial mirror. He regarded himself as the know-all wisest man around hence brooked no dissidence at all. In words of Rajaji, “The single brain-activity of the people who meet in Congress is to find out what is in Jawaharlal’s mind and to anticipate it. The slightest attempt at dissent meets with stern disapproval and is nipped in the bud.” It was this sycophancy that led to appointment of not only incompetent Generals in Army but also Defence Minister Krshna Menon who awarded us an ignominious debacle in 1962. As a matter of fact, sycophancy that we observe today is the legacy of self-proclaimed ‘great visionary’ that Nehru happened to be. ‘All The Prime Ministers Men’ viz. BM Kaul, Krshna Menon, Shaikh Abdullah, TT Krshnamachari etc. let down the country most ignominiously. He expected everything to go perfectly well before and after Partition-1947, so did he declare so ‘confidently’ in a press conference held at Lahore. Whether it was his utter naivete or plain stupidity, can be debated ceaselessly. Founder Director of BSF KF Rustomji had an interesting comment reserved for the last Mughal, “The one test which Nehru applied to men whom he took into the inner circle was loyalty to him. It did not matter if a man had no mind of his own. He must, however, have enough intelligence to avoid irritation. He must put all his faith in Nehru, believe in Nehru, admire and adore Nehru, and say worshipful things now and again which could be brushed aside with gratified indifference. Like Aurangzeb, he encouraged a peculiar form of flattery. In every forum, someone or the other close to him, spoke in a flattering tone.”
Narcissistic and haughty politicians like Nehru who crave for adulation uninterruptedly necessarily do not have the aptitude of team-building, team work, delegation of authority and responsibility among team members. It is actually a complex cycle of persons devoid of self-esteem and competence suffering from quite complicated Insecurity-Inferiority Complex, do not, can not trust anyone else hence do not believe in any element of human resource development. Nehru deeply suffered from this malaise that manifested in his every action and statement. No major decision could be adopted by anyone except Nehru. If anyone banked upon his own IQ to decide on any issue, he was absolutely certain to be told by Nehru, he was wrong ! One can imagine how deep was the rot of confusion galore and policy paralysis during 17 years long malevolent tenure of the last Mughal Nehru. He permanently held External Affairs Ministry and on every international issue, nation had to encounter utter humiliation. He held Deptt. Of Atomic Energy and never allowed Dr. HJ Bhabha to develop nuclear power, did not protect him and allowed him to be killed in an aircrash. He held portfolio of scientific research characterised by frequent suicides by brilliant scientists as well as their exodus to greener pastures in the USA, arrogantly justified with the edict by many, ‘brain in the drain was better than brain-drain’.
On Feb. 3, 1954 Jawaharlal Nehru visited Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj where almost entire security apparatus was diverted to protect his worthless life. It led to a stampede and more than 1000 pilgrims were crushed to death. Relief operation and counting of dead started only after Nehru left. Nobody knows why he went there at all when he had no intention to dip-bathe at all. His Government was so much perforated all over that any overseas body like Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation had a gala time in penetrating through every hole, glean classified information and entice Babus holding sensitive positions. Spinelessness of the last Mughal is best described in the proverbial comparison with Sardar Patel that floated around in the then cocktail circuit of the national capital, “If the dead body of the Sardar were stuffed and placed on a chair, he could still rule.” Nehru had probably convinced himself to be a grand banyan tree that never allowed any other growth under its gigantic green canopy.
Sycophancy and servitude debase a man so much so that sycophants hit the level of relishing servitude. David Lloyd George, the British PM during 1916-22, had advised Winston Churchill, “It is important for a Prime Minister to be surrounded by people who could stand up to him and say, not once but thrice, ‘No.” But Nehru shunned stalwarts like Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Rajaji etc. only to embrace petty sycophants like Krshna Menon much to the detriment of nation.
Discussion about this post