On 5th September, ‘Teacher’s Day’, a survey of the popularity of world leaders was released by the American data intelligence company called ‘The Morning Consult’, in which Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was declared the world’s number one leader with 70% popularity. US Prime Minister Joe Biden came in fifth with only 5% of the vote. Apart from this survey, it is evident that Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi is currently one of the most popular and influential leaders in the world. Even today, the kind of hatred and animosity spread towards him by a section of the media has instinctively poured oil on the stomach of the pseudosecular gang and so they have started praising Nehru. If we compare these two leaders instinctively as ordinary citizens, today…Narendra Modi has left Nehru behind.
Shri Nehru, who considered himself accidentally born Hindu, got the full benefit of being Gandhiji’s favourite and became the first Prime Minister of independent India and remained the PM for 15 consecutive years till his death. Due to his early policies, India had a worldwide reputation of neutral. Born into a wealthy family with a silver spoon, a teacher used to come home for private tuition to teach Naheru and at the age of fifteen sent to London for higher education. After returning, due to English education, even after many years of association with Gandhiji, he remained a colonial thinking leader.
Mr. Nehru’s global contribution was to establish a NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) with Nasir of Egypt, Tito of Yugoslavia, and Sukarno of Indonesia. For which the principles of Panchsheel were declared, which were to put India and Nehru himself in a very humiliating situation in future. Apparently, Nehru did not join the US but indirectly shoke hands with the Soviet Union. Under the guise of socialism, a special kind of government control and license regime was created in India. Contrary to Gandhiji’s principles of ‘Hind Swaraj’, India would be better off only through big industries, he gave extra importance to industrialization and did not give enough priority to agriculture.
When China occupied Tibet in 1950, he did not react, so India lost a special buffer state. China annexed 40,000 sq km of Indian territory but Nehru could not recognize the imperialist tendencies of the Chinese dragon amidst the slogan of ‘Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai’ and India retaliated in the form of the 1962 invasion. Thousands of Indian soldiers were martyred and thousands square kilometers of land were seized by China. The NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) and the Panchsheel doctrines flew, Nehru reached out to the West for military help, not a single country joined to oppose China, and the so-called ‘NAM’ remained for name sake. Nehru tarnished India’s image around the world.
In Nehru’s time, the “Indus Water Treaty” was also signed, in which Pakistan had the upper hand and allowed India to lose a large portion of the water of the sacred Indus and Ravi rivers. Similarly, even after the independence, the Portuguese base in Goa was vacated almost 14 years later, in 1961, until Nehru made no special plan to evacuate Goa, while local people and organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) tried to get it. It was only later that it was evacuated. Similarly, a strategically important ‘Coco island’, 15 km away from Nicobar, was given to Myanmar by Nehru in an agreement years ago. Today, with the help of Myanmar, China has set up its own defence base on the Coco Island to monitor all the activities of India’s security forces.
In the early years after the formation of the UN, India was offered permanent membership of the Security Council by the US but Nehruji insisted that China had the first right to permanent membership and China should get it and waived the permanent membership that India could get. Nehru continued to strive in the name of principles, for his own name and fame, but today he does not seem to have taken far-sighted steps to make India strong and powerful. Yes, he saw the Congress as his fiefdom and saw the Congress disintegrated in 14 states during his lifetime, yet in his lifetime he made his daughter Indira the Congress president to carry on his political legacy.
On the other hand, after Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he started his foreign policy by adopting the policy of “Friendship with all but Nation is always First”. Tried to improve the relations with all the neighbouring countries. Modiji even went to a deadly hostile country like Pakistan to wish Nawaz Sharif a happy birthday, tried to improve relations but failed and took many drastic measures. Then, he also took harsh measures like surgical strike & air strike and Pakistan had to hand over the Wing Commander Abhinandan within just three days. India has built very good relations with all its neighbours like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, all of them were also provided proper assistance.
He also resolutely resolved the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, which was Nehruji’s blunder, and removed Article 370 in one fell swoop. What every person in India considered a very complex question, even a complex question that many countries of the world could not speak openly about Kashmir, was solved without bloodshed, without coming under global pressure.
Giving a new direction to the world since Modiji became the Prime Minister, he put forward an innovative idea for maximum use of solar energy. Today, the International Solar Alliance has been formed and 124 countries have become its members. India has a very leading role to play in the future in the field of solar energy, which is also due to Modiji’s dream vision.
Modi also sought friendship in the first term with an economic and strategic superpower like China. But when China tried to occupy Indian land at Galwan near Bhutan, it resisted and introduced the power of the new India to China. He later responded strongly to the manner in which China set up military outposts on the Indian border at Pangong Lake in Ladakh forcing China to retreat. Thus, Modiji emerged as a decisive leader at the global level. He also developed a very good friendship with Israel. His friendly relations with Japan, Vietnam and many other countries are brightening the image of India today. In the Gulf countries today, India’s friendship with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is also very good and they have minimised their aid given to Pakistan.
In the global pandemic Covid-19, he made many countries of the world realize India’s friendly treatment. Initially, during the Second Wave, 120 countries were provided with essential drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol, of which more than 40 were provided free of charge. Until now, India has always been dependent on other countries for technology or scientific research. But this time due to successful policy making with the help of Indian scientists, we succeeded in making the Covid-19 vaccine.
In addition, it is mass-produced in India so that we do not have to rely on foreign companies. The Modi government has made commendable efforts. Today, a total of 80 crore doses have been given in the country, with less than half the population taking the first dose of the vaccine. India has shown the highest capacity of 2.5 crores doses in a single day. We are vaccinating a small continent like Australia in a day. At the same time, under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’, we have given 663 lakh crores doses of vaccines to more than 95 countries. India, which has always relied on imports, is today providing vaccines to many countries in the world to fight a pandemic like corona.
Modiji received a warm welcome from the governments of the countries he visited and wherever he had the opportunity to speak in the parliament or apex body of that country, he presented India’s thoughts of peace and human welfare to the world. He addressed the American Congress for 48 minutes. He received a standing ovation nine times and was greeted with a round of applause more than thirty three times. Similar receptions and speeches were made in other countries. Everywhere, Indian thought and the spirit of India’s friendship were accepted.
Modiji has done a satisfactory job of bringing back most of the Indians and people of Indian descent safely from the recent incident in Afghanistan.
At the just-concluded Tokyo Olympics, India won seven medals showing the best performance ever. India also won 12 medals in the Paralympics. All the players of India and the foreign coaches associated with it attributed this success to Modiji and his policies and India’s head proudly rose once again within the world.
While realizing Gandhiji’s vision of Gram Swaraj, with the policy of Nation first, creating a self-reliant, empowering India, the present ‘Narendra’ will rise the India once again, with the spirit of world welfare based on Indian thought. It seems certain that today, ‘Namo’ has established himself as an able tall global leader than Nehru.
Dr. Kiransinh Rajput Assistant Professor, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. 19/9/2021
