Positivity

Why should we pan the reputation of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru by blaming him for partition of the country along with Jinnah, talking about his affairs (especially with Lady Edwina Mountbatten) and his Muslim lineage? Why can’t we talk about his leadership, charisma, erudition, principles of Panchshila, his contribution to the nation building in the form of large dams, steel plants and other industrial plants?

Why Indira’s reputation is maligned for emergency related excesses and operation blue star? Why is she not eulogised for her deft handling of situation in East Pakistan that led to creation of Bangladesh and India’s great strides in space technology during her reign? If her population control measures during emergency were executed well and politicians cutting across ideologies had supported the move, India’s 2011 census might have been different and burden on India’s agriculture and natural resources might have been lesser!

Why we remember Rajiv only for anti Sikh riots post Indira’s assassination? He was the first person to bring an element of entrepreneurship in governance. He was disciplined, clean and well mannered. His work in the field of science and telecom was pioneering!

Was PV Narasimha Rao only a puppet PM? We remember him for the tragic event of Barbari Masjid demolition that happened during his reign, but not for the tremendous work done by his then FM Dr Manmohan Singh in salvaging India’s finances from the brink of bankruptcy!

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not only a great orator, but one of the finest administrators, the Country ever saw! However, it’s a fashion to mock him from his much ridiculed “India Shining” campaign rather to praise him for his tremendous work on India’s infrastructure development!

Dr. Manmohan Singh was no silent spectator, but an extremely erudite scholar who brought sanity to Indian polity by completing two terms ! Why is such a scholarly person remembered only for his lackadaisical speeches and not for his remarkable honesty and straightforwardness?

And will the stigma of Gujarat riots overshadow all the good work being done by Modi in the form of India’s international standing, economic reforms, IBC, Swachch Bharat, Mann ki Baat etc? Will the entire country gang up against him by throwing all their respective ideologies to wind by opposing Modi’s re-election?

Great AB Vajpayee, who had the rightist lineage but was a moderate to the core, had ideological differences but no enemies. He was loved and respected by people cutting across political, social and religious preferences. This was because he was reasonable , balanced and rational. While not afraid of calling a spade a spade, he was generous with compliments for good deeds done – whether the same were done by a friend or an enemy. Can we have more Vajpayees in today’s political milieu to give it a semblance of orderliness?