Kasauli: Author and historian Rajmohan Gandhi broke down while talking about the country’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru at Khushwant Singh Litfest in Kasauli noting that there were “false stories about good man, great man, brilliant man” and “the Himalayas would protest and the earth would protest too”.
“You can criticize the policies of Nehru, but don’t stoop low by spreading filthy lies about a nobleman,” said Gandhi while responding to questions posed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra about Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, the partition and contemporary India during a session ‘the reflections of a 75-year legacy’ held on Friday.
“Many white Americans believe that Barack Obama was not born in America… crores of Indians started believing that Motilal Nehru was a Muslim. This lie has been spread for years and years. Even if Nehru was a Muslim, which is not the case, that is not a crime. You can’t kill, punish, or accuse a person because your ancestor was this or that,” he said.
Rajmohan Gandhi said Nehru was in prison for 14 years during the freedom struggle.
“Fourteen years in prison is a very long time, then his wife dies shortly after he is released. And then all these false stories about good man, great man, brilliant man. Nehru loved the Himalayas. The Himalayas would protest and the earth would protest too You can criticize his policies but what right do you have to spread utter falsehood? I feel deeply about this,” he said.
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi, his grandfather, Rajmohan Gandhi, said: “Nothing will happen to Gandhi now, the fact that Gandhi is safe comes from my knowledge that he is no longer living. Gandhi is safe”.
“I remember the words of Sarojini Naidu that do not allow us to rest. The amazing thing about Gandhi and many people in India is we blame him for not solving the problems of his life, we also blame him for not solving the problems of our time. This is injustice. After all, he was a human being, some problems were left for us to resolve,” he said.
“The focus has to be not on Gandhi’s mistakes. Let’s assume that Gandhi made 1,000 mistakes, and 10,000 (mistakes) Gandhi, Nehru and Patel (made), let us assume they made millions of mistakes but what about their ideals?” he asked.
“They wanted to create an India for everyone from every background….Many terrible incidents are happening, and the saddest part is staying silent. over it. Silence is a wonderful virtue but not when you are an influential person,” he added.
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