Panditji and his Impact on me : A Winning Article by Ahmad Faraz on 125th Birth Anniversary of Pandit Nehru

It's a proud moment for us that one of our Barabanki lad got a prize on an article on our great Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of his 125th Birth Anniversary .

Article:

"I was so fond of him that I used to imitate him by wearing my father’s Sherwani & plucking a rose from our garden & pinning it"

‘Panditji’, this was the way my Grandfather used to address him, his stories still echo in my mind. The very first memories which cross my mind when I hear the name “Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru” is the slogans we used to shout in our school on Independence Day/Republic Day. A school which was also a symbol of Panditji. Yes, our school was named Anand Bhawan School. I still remember how our teacher Mishra Ma’am used to yell ‘Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’ and all we little ones used to shout ‘Amar Rahen’. I was very amazed by the respect he commended and got. I always wondered what was in him that inspired Lakhs and Lakhs of people.

I was so fond of him that I even imitated him by wearing my father’s Sherwani and plucking a rose from our garden and pinning it onto the Sherwani. My father used to take note of this and say ‘Ye Zaroor Neta banega’ to which I always responded with a smile. This bond of an awestruck fan and a distant role model went on for sometime until recent past when I started reading and listening to all kind of nasty things about him. People even cursed him for creating Pakistan and losing a war to China.

This was when I decided to come out of the fantasy world and read about him. It was 2010-2011 and I was in final year of my Bachelors of Technology. Being an avid reader, I was immersed in books about him. The addiction of reading was such that I would not attend any classes and even bribed a friend to prepare my Project Report for a Party at ‘Tundays’, Lucknow.

I read a book by B. R. Nanda, M. J. Akbar and a book by the legend himself, ‘The discovery of India’ but the book that really touched the chords of my heart was ‘Glimpses of World History’. One thing that was evident from all these books and his life was that he was full of love. Love for the Country, Love for its people, Love for his daughter and love for even his arch rivals. He was just an epitome of Love.

Another highlight of all these books was that in spite of taking some decisions that at the moment seemed wrong, he was far sighted. His decisions were more right than wrong. The farsightedness of ensuring the concept of socialism and equality is not just commendable but a permanent stamp on the democracy that is known as India. He knew that if India had to prosper, it ought to ensure decentralisation of power and riches. He made sure that India is run by its poor and not select few rich industrialists as can be seen now. I was amazed with his diligence to set up institutions and organizations which were much ahead of their time.

Who would have imagined of an IIT/IIM/ISRO/BARC way back in 1950’s. As expected, he was countered from outside and within his government. But it was his farsightedness that India could build a foundation that a Manmohan Singh or a Rajiv Gandhi could use to build a castle on.

The other thing which amazed me was his foreign policy of non-alignment which made India stand away from the rest. At a time, when India was not considered a Superpower he made all the countries of the world to take note and listen to what India had to say. Be it his quest for providing equality to all Indians or his grit to criticize imperialism and Apartheid on the world stage, he stands tall among all the Leaders who served India.

After reading so much, I consider Panditji as my own and so do all correct thinking Indians. But, one thing is sure, a person who has no love in his heart cannot comprehend the essence of being Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Whatever he did was due to love in his heart. He even got a betrayal in love when Chinese Army attacked India in spite of Panditji treating them as their own.

As Panditji once said I thank the British for keeping me in jail that took away my anger and I could utilise it for the love of my country, I too thank those people who cursed and said nasty things about Panditji because that is what made me read about this icon and in the process filled my life with love. Love for the country, love for the fellow men, love for my parents, my neighbors.

All I wish now is for Mishra Ma’am to shout ‘Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’ and all Indians to fall in a line and reciprocate with ‘Amar Rahen’.

Jai Hind

Winning article of the #JLN125 contest held on twitter marking 125th Birth Anniversary of Pandit Nehru by Ahmad Faraz, a senior Engineer at Larson and Toubro constructions, Jaipur

Source: NSUI-Awaz