Transcription
A major and historic milestone has recently been crossed in India's political history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has broken the record of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's tenure, which was a remarkable 4398 days. Following this historic milestone, a single discussion is now raging across the entire country and around the world: who is the most successful Prime Minister of India between these two?
In today's special video, without deeming any one leader superior or inferior, we will take a balanced review of both their tenures, the challenges they faced, and their achievements, based on official information. We are aware that there is a section of people with extremely positive and extremely negative opinions about both these leaders. However, we will not view this video from that perspective, but rather focus on some important facts. This is because the tenures of both these leaders, the challenges of their times, and the circumstances of those times were different. Therefore, instead of saying "he did this, he did that," let's talk about what exactly happened in accordance with the times and how both these leaders contributed to India's development. Hello, I am Amol Kinolkar, and you are watching Maharashtra Times Online.
To evaluate the success of any leader, it is extremely important to understand the condition of the country when they took power. In 1947, when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru took charge of the country, India had just become independent. The terrible wounds of partition were still fresh, and we had the immense challenge of bringing together over 500 princely states to form an undivided India. At that time, the literacy rate in the country was only 12%. The country was facing a major crisis of poverty and starvation. In short, Nehru had to build this country from scratch.
In stark contrast, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, India had become an economic power in the world. However, at the domestic level, there was corruption, a kind of lethargy in administration, and slow economic growth, which led to intense public discontent. Millions of Indians did not have their own bank accounts, permanent homes, and lacked basic amenities. In such a situation, the major challenge before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to establish India as a superpower on the global stage and bring transparency to administration.
Now, let's compare the economic policies of both these leaders. Pandit Nehru adopted a mixed economy based on socialist principles for the country's development. He placed great emphasis on the creation of public sector companies and heavy industries. During his tenure, major dams like Bhakra Nangal, steel plants, and world-class educational institutions like IITs and IIMs were laid, which Nehru called the temples of modern India. However, his policies led to the 'License Raj' in the country, which limited the growth of private industries, and the country's economic growth rate remained somewhat slow, a criticism also leveled against him.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted a model that promoted the private sector and was technology-driven for economic development. He introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST), bringing in the 'One Nation, One Tax' system. Under 'Make in India' and infrastructure development, an unprecedented network of highways, railways, and airports has also been created across the country. The most significant revolution has been in the field of digital payments and UPI, which has made India a leader in the world. However, the impact of the demonetization decision of his tenure on the economy, and the current issues of unemployment and inflation facing the country, have not been resolved, and he continues to be criticized on these points.
Considering the social and religious policies of both leaders, Pandit Nehru's approach was based on Western-style secularism and a scientific outlook. To modernize society, he bypassed the traditional opposition of that time and got the Hindu Code Bill passed in Parliament. This law gave Hindu women legal rights in property and divorce for the first time, which was a very big step in terms of social security. However, his secularism policy was repeatedly criticized later as appeasement of minority groups with right-wing ideologies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy has been quite different. His politics and social work have been driven by the principles of cultural nationalism and 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Together with all, Development for all). Bringing India's ancient glorious culture back to the center stage has been his main agenda. During his tenure, historic and bold decisions like the construction of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, and the passing of the law against triple talaq for Muslim women have been taken by the Modi government. Along with this, through schemes like Ujjwala Yojana and Awas Yojana, he has also empowered the poor and women socially. No one can deny this, but according to opponents, this cultural nationalism has increased religious polarization in the country and has encroached upon the freedom of democratic institutions.
Considering foreign policy, Pandit Nehru initiated the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War, without joining any superpower bloc, which gave India a distinct prestige on the international stage. He was considered a messenger of world peace. However, the defeat in the 1962 India-China war and his 'Hindi-Chini Bhai-Bhai' (India-China Brotherhood) policy dealt a major blow to his foreign policy.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted a very aggressive and pragmatic foreign policy of 'India First'. He has also taken tough decisions like surgical strikes regarding national security. Today, under his leadership, India has successfully held the G20 presidency, establishing itself as a strong voice for the Global South, i.e., developing countries, in global politics. Today, whether it is America or Russia, all major countries give importance to India's role.
When we look at the long tenures of both these great leaders, it becomes clear that history cannot declare one superior and the other inferior. Former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the architect of modern India, who sowed the seeds of democracy and managed the country at a time when it was fragmented. He taught India to run as a democracy. On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as the builder of new India, who has given India a new identity on the global stage through technology, infrastructure, and strong self-confidence.
Both these periods are unique in their own right and extremely important for India's development. Both these leaders face extreme criticism. Many have differing opinions about their tenures. However, the journey India is undertaking on the global stage, the importance of both these leaders in it cannot be denied by anyone. What do you think about the tenures of Nehru and Prime Minister Narendra Modi? In your opinion, which period has had a greater impact on the making of India? Please tell us your opinion by commenting. If you liked the video, please like and share it, and don't forget to subscribe to our channel, Maharashtra Times YouTube Channel. Thank you.