Today is the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India. As a tribute to independent India’s first Prime Minister, his birthday is celebrated as children’s Day. However, in Modi era, country seems to have forgotten him because Nehru and his doctrine is anathema to saffron party.
Born on November 14 (1889), Nehru was known for his love for children and was fondly called ‘Chacha Nehru’. Apart from being as one of the top leaders of India’s independence movement, Nehru played an important role in framing the country’s education policy. He strongly favored scientific knowledge and propagated rationality as the basis of all learning. He once remarked, “Children are like buds in a garden and should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow. Only through right education can a better order of society be built up.”
India started celebrating Children’s Day in 1959. Initially, it was celebrated on November 20 as the United Nations Universal Children’s Day to promote peace, togetherness and awareness among kids.However, after Nehru’s death in 1964, India decided to celebrate his birthday (Nov 14) as Children’s Day. But, day has, literally, lost its sheen since BJP came to power.
Notwithstanding saffron party out rightly rejecting the Nehruvian foreign policy, the word still respect Jawaharlal Nehru's "Panchsheel". He was the Architect of the doctrine of "Peaceful Co-Existence". It was Nehru's "Panchsheel" that China was forced to sign 1954 treaty with India. China still respect this treaty and is willing to work by its principles. Beijing has
reiterated it many times . In September 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping in his meeting with Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in China's Xiamen , expressed his desire to work with India within the five principles of Panchsheel, or the five 'Principles of Peaceful Co-Existence'.
It was on 29 April 1954 that Nehru and China Prime Minister Zhou Enlai signed the treaty to lay the roadmap for stability in the region . Asia was then torn by wars for independence, bloody migrations, and religious rioting. The five principles of "Panchshhel were":
1: Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty; 2: Mutual non-aggression; 3: Mutual non-interference 4: Equality and mutual benefit and 5. Peaceful co-existence
It was unanimously adopted on 11 December 1957 by the United Nations General Assembly. Nehru was instrumental in taking the principles far and wide even though Zhou propounded them.
Though 2019 is different from 1954 when the principles were propounded, the Panchsheel has assumed more importance in view of increasing regional conflicts and mutual disrespect. And as long as "Panchsheel" is there, Nehru will ever remain alive saffron people may like it or not.