Who is Bharat Mata? On History, Culture and the Idea of India: Writings by and On Jawaharlal Nehru

by Purushottam Agrawal

Who Is Bharat Mata, Whose Victory You Wish? Asked Jawaharlal Nehrua Leading Light Of The Indian Freedom Movement Who Would Become The Countrys First Prime Ministerat A Public Gathering In 1936. And Then He The Mountains And Rivers, Forests And Fields Were Of Course Dear To Everyone, But What Counted Ultimately Were The People Of Indiaspread Out All Over This Vast Land. Bharat Mata, Mother India, [Is] Essentially These Millions Of People, And Victory To Her [Is] Victory To These People. This Collection Of Writings And Speeches By And On Nehru Shows Us The Mindthe Ideology, Born Of Experience, Observation And Deep Studybehind This Democratic And Inclusive Idea Of India. It Is A Book Of Particular Relevance At A Time When Nationalism And The Slogan Bharat Mata Ki Jai Are Being Used To Construct A Militant And Purely Emotional Idea Of India That Excludes Millions Of Residents And Citizens. Who Is Bharat Mata? Contains Selections From Nehrus Classic Booksan Autobiography, Glimpses Of World History And The Discovery Of India; His Speeches, Essays And Letters From The Pre And Postindependence Years; And Some Of His Most Revealing Interviews. The Concluding Section Of The Book Comprises Reminiscences And Assessments Of Nehru By His Contemporariesamong Them, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Aruna Asaf Ali, Sheikh Abdullah, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Ali Sardar Jafri, Martin Luther King Jr And Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In This Carefully Puttogether Anthologywhich Also Carries An Illuminating Introductionnehru Emerges As A Remarkable Man Of Ideas And Action Who Had An Instinctive Understanding Of Indias Civilizational Spirit, As Also A Clear Commitment To The Scientific Temper; And As A Leader Who, Despite The Compulsions Of Politics, Remained A True Democrat. His Legacy Continues To Be Extremely Relevantfor, In The Words Of The Editor, An Understanding Of Nehrus Political And Intellectual Journey Is A..

Genres: History, India, Essays, Politics

536 pages, Paperback

Published June 10, 2019

About the author

Purushottam Agrawal (Hindi:हिंदी पुरुषोत्तम अग्रवाल, born 25 June, 1955) is an Indian writer and academic.

He was born and brought up in the city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. He has an MA (Political Science, 1977) from Jiwaji University, Gwalior and one in Hindi Literature, 1979 from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was awarded a Ph.D degree by Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1985 on the topic of '‘The Social Meaning of Kabir’s Bhakti’' under the supervision of Namwar Singh.

His academic interests include Bhakti poetry and its social context (especially that of Kabir), indigenous (“vernacular”) modernity, non-violence and cultural & literary criticism.

He has written many books including Kabir: Sakhi aur Sabad (A collection of Kabir’s poetry with an analytical introduction), Shivdan Singh Chauhan (A monograph in “Makers of Indian Literature” series published by Sahitya Akademi, Delhi), Majbooti Ka Naam Mahtma Gandhi (published version of annual Gandhi Lecture, organized by Gandhi Peace Foundation, Delhi), ‘Nij Brahma Vichhar: Dharma, Samaj aur Dharmetar Adhyatma’ (Essays on religion, spirituality and philosophy), Vichaar ka Ananta (a collection of theoretical and cultural essays), Teesra Rukh (A collection of literary and cultural essays), Sanskriti: Varchswa aur Pratiroadh (a collection of cultural and political essays) Hindi Nai chaal mein Dhali ( edited proceedings of the international symposium organized in Patna, India on the evolution of modern Hindi), Akath Kahani Prem Ki : Kabir ki Kavita aur Unka Samay (2009) and Hindi Saray: Astrakhan via Yerevan( 2012). He is also a poet and story writer. His short story Cheng Chui published in Pragatishil Vashudha (2012). His another short story is Chaurahe Par Putala published in Naya Gyanodaya (a Bharteey Gyanpeet Magazine). ""pan Patte ki Goth"" (appeared in ""Pakhi"") is a story about a renowned scientist and academician which is fighting upper-casteist professors and other stakeholder in an Indian university system. ""Pair Ghanti"" is a story about feudal minded polity and casteist bureaucracy. ""Nacohus"" (appeared in ""Pakhi"") is a short story by Agrawal which talks about mindless communal sentimentalism and irrational approach towards art and culture.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purusho...

http://www.purushottamagrawal.com/about/

Reviews

[Preeti Rajput · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has hit during an appropriate time when even Jawahar Lal Nehru is struggling to keep his image immaculate. Blinded by the WhatsApp university syllabus, forces have succeeded in character assassination of our first Prime Minister by spreading apocryphal stories. He is painted as a womanizer, anti-Hindu, and reason for almost every predicament in the country even after so many years of his death. Today we hear about mob lynchings on the pretext of – “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and years ago, Nehru had succinctly described the meaning of Bharat Mata.

Majorly the book can be divided into three sections – First is an introduction by the author. Second, collection of letters, speeches, and articles written by Nehru concerning several topics. Third, is the collection of notes, articles written by other deferential personalities about Nehru.

Introduction by the author is a powerful, fact-based, and meticulously written essay of around 50 pages which gives an insight into Nehru’s achievements. He also prostrates the most impudent lies teeming nowadays by facts. All those who judged Nehru's character by seeing his pictures with women should be ashamed to know that the women in the pictures were his sister and niece.

The second part helps to understand the intellectual and logical thought process of Nehru and why he gave more weightage to technology than religion. His vast knowledge about history, world, politics, religions, and Hinduism will let you see him in a revered light.

The third section shows how much loved and respected he was/is among fellow leaders and politicians across the world. The experience of some renowned journalists with him is worth reading and enjoyable. It also includes views of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, emphasizing why they considered him as the right leader for the nation, who can pave the path for reforming India.

It is a shame that a leader who lead the nation through three major phases- the struggle of freedom, chaos after freedom, and reforming the country has to prove his worth after death.

This book is a must-read for youths and children to see the truth beyond social media and understand the struggle for an independent India. People should not forget that he built India from a point when it was not even a country. We should look back and see how far we have come and how.

[Shireesh Pareek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since almost every person you come across is blaming our first PM Shri Jawaharlal Nehru for every problem we are facing,it becomes all the more important to read and understand the man.
This book is a collection of writings by and on(by prominent people from across the globe) Shri Jawaharlal Nehru.
Reading this book will give an insight into the first PM,his thoughts about India,his knowledge of the ancient past,his knowledge of history,his love for reading and writing,his contribution to freedom struggle (which is being often maligned by the current establishment),his love for the culture and tradition of India,his understanding of world affairs,his policies,vision for India and many other facets of this amazing man who was the true architect of India.
For all those who couldn't read all his works,this book comes a rescue. One can read passages from his many literary creations like An Autobiography, Glimpses of world history,Discovery of India,his many speeches and what not.
For more reluctant people,who out of ignorance or under the influence of current establishment has taken to demeaning and abusing Nehruji, the introduction to this books serves a very great purpose. The introduction will make you get rid of many misconceptions about the man that are being floated very carelessly and with ease in social circuits and media.
Find some time to read the book, even if the man concerned does not encourages you to read the book, the title will definitely do.
It has become a litmus test of nationalism to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. Reading this book will let readers know what 'Bharat Mata' is?
Thank you to the editor and publishers for this volume.

[Shashi Ranjan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely biased and the writer seems like a scholar of Nehru Gandhi family.

[Shashank Bharatiya]

Blessed to have such high level of intellect and intelligence as our first prime minister.

[Devesh Tripathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

सुप्रभात 🙏🙏
‘कौन हैं भारत माता’ पढ़ते पढ़ते

प्रबुद्ध विवेक आधारित तर्कवादी नेहरु नवस्वतंत्र भारत की समृद्ध विरासत और भविष्य की क्षमता से बखूबी परिचित थे।इसीलिए अमेरिका या सोवियत नेतृत्व में अनुगामी राष्ट्र के रूप में नहीं बल्कि स्वतंत्र निर्णयों के साथ साथ तकनीक आधारित औद्योगीकरण के साथ भारत को विश्व रंगमंच पर महत्वपूर्ण और निर्णायक भूमिका में देखने के महत्वाकांक्षी थे।वे तकनीक निर्भर समाज के समक्ष आयी आध्यात्मिक रिक्ति की समस्या से भी परिचित थे।टेक्नालाजी पर निर्भर हमारी सभ्यता जिस तरह आध्यात्मिक रिक्ति का सामना कर रही है उसका समाधान तो खोजना ही होगा(पृष्ठ 85)। उनका उद्देश्य “हर नागरिक सम्पूर्ण समग्र व्यक्तित्व की गुणवत्ता और चरित्र प्राप्त कर सके (पृष्ठ 86)।जीवन के प्रति उनका नज़रिया शुष्क वैज्ञानिकता कतई नहीं थी (पृष्ठ 86)
समस्या के निदान हेतु बहुत आश्चर्यजनक नहीं है कि आज़ादी के बाद साहित्य और कला को आगे बढ़ाने वाली संस्थाओं को उसी तात्परता के साथ स्थापित किया गया जैसे आई आई टी, आई आई एम की स्थापना की गई। साथ ही इन संस्थाओं की स्वायत्तता भी सुनिश्चित किया गया (पृष्ठ 86)।साहित्य अकादमी के अतिरिक्त “ ललित कलाओं,संगीत और नाटक के लिए अलग अलग अकादमियाँ भी स्थापित की गयीं नेशनल स्कूल आफ ड्रामा और फ़िल्म इंस्टीट्यूट भी स्थापित हुए(पृष्ठ 86)। केंद्र की इस पहल के बाद राज्यों ने भी इसी तरह की संस्थाओं का निर्माण किया।नेहरु के विचार में संस्कृति को उनकी स्वायत्तता बरकरार रखते हुए राज्य द्वारा कोई समर्थन कोई फ़िज़ूल विलासिता नहीं थी,बल्कि राज्य के प्राथमिक दायित्वों में एक था आंद्रे मारलो ने इन्हीं सब कारणो से नेहरु को ‘गाँधी की ही तर्ज़ पर राष्ट्र गुरू’ की उपमा दी थी(पृष्ठ 87)

स्पष्ट है सर्वोत्तम शासन के साथ साथ एक जीवन पद्दति के रूप में भी नवनिर्मित होते लोकतंत्र में न केवल राजनीतिक संस्थाओं की स्थापना करके बल्कि संगीत,कला,साहित्य आदि के विभिन्न संस्थानो की स्थापना मनुष्य के सर्वांगीण विकास की सर्वोत्तम परिस्थितियाँ उपलब्ध कराना आध्यात्मिक रिक्ति का समाधान नहीं तो और क्या था ? आदरणीय पुरुषोत्तम अग्रवाल सर की पुस्तक में बहुत विस्तार से तर्कों एवं तथ्यों के साथ इसे प्रस्तुत किया है🙏🙏

[Sarthak Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an anthology of writings and speeches given by and on Nehru and (this whole part is covered in the introduction of this work; I am just re-iterating it here) comes at a time when the BJP was getting elected a second by the citizens of India. The reason why Mr. Purshottam, a Hindi scholar decided to take upon himself to make a compilation was because he himself had a burning question in his mind in the summer of 1964, when Jawahar died and his parents, who were religiously orthodox and members of the Hindu Mahasabha (a regressively fanatic organization knowm for being unforgivingly critical of Nehru’s rural economic policies) were emotional. As people who were besotted with our Vedas, they seemed to have a deep sentimentality for the efforts a man whose nation building efforts they understood not in value but in the spirit under which he operated.
In an old, rarely watched YouTube video (Around 29-30 minutes is the length) in 2018, Purshottam (Discussing the launch of his book on a forum with Ramachandra Guha introducing him and his works) talks about his parents’ reaction as puzzling and how solving it meant reading and understanding Nehru.

This anthology is not a dryly compiled collection of all his writings and speeches as that is done and by the Nehru Memorial Museum, New Delhi (They are responsible for confirming the veracity of all things written by Nehru). What he has done with scholarly rigour and a sense of compassion is taken excerpts from Glimpses of World History, An Autobiography, Discovery of India, Selected Speeches, Abhinandan Granth, Centenary Volume, Letters to a Nation and Bunch of Old Letters.
What the excerpts from this selection of works does is that it provides us is with a window into his mind and parallelly enlightens us on the pre-independent socio-political situation in India.

There are two halves of this work.
The 1st Half – His thoughts, ideas and meticulous observations on nationalism, multiculturalism and socio-political evolution of thought under the British Rule. Also additionally features his fears on the dogmatic thinking rooted in religion and how mixing it with politics can lead to the creation of a Frankenstein’s monster that even the creators themselves would not be able to control.

The 2nd Half – This comprises of all those who met Nehru and either got directly or indirectly influenced by his humane ability to entertain those who held views opposite to own and his nurturing ability to make sure all those meritorious come out ahead. Among the group of people Purshottam selected is in a spectrum itself with deeply inspired Nehruvians on one end and possibly his harsh critics on the other. But none of them have failed to recognize his democratic spirit and as my father says, “Work with such efficiency and passion that even your adversaries respect you”.

In the end, anyone who is thinking that this a biased account is free to look at other works as for the nature or language, Purshottam is a Hindi scholar and all his major works are written in Hindi but because almost all of Nehru’s writings are in English because this the language in which he received his formal education. Interestingly for those who will be unaware, Nehru was a proponent of a multi-lingual education and also developed a Hindustani dialect (A curious fusion of Hindi and Urdu) and he largely addressed crowds in this dialect, although they were interspersed with English when he would be at a loss for words.
Thus, being a Nehruvian is not following him blindly because he has been gone for half a century but to understand his ideas and more importantly his openness to new ideas and change. If one intends to develop their political thinking, one should be able to read and dispassionately analyze any work one comes across. Be that of anyone from any religion, background, race or ideology. Be that may of Savarkar, Golwalkar, OR Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Ramachandra Guha, OR Ambedkar, John Dewey, Antonio Gramsci, OR Karl Marx, Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes OR many more.

[Shishir Bharti · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Who is Bharat Mata? Whose victory (Jai) do you seek?", asked Jawaharlal Nehru while visiting one of the villages of India.
This question had not only puzzled the simple villagers of that time but is still troubling every Indian of the current times.

This book is an important piece of anthology which deals with the man who has now become so controversial and misunderstood that a mere mention of his name evokes response of anger, ridicule and a sense of betrayal. He is seen as the enemy number one. He is responsible for all the problems of the country- both past and current.
This is precisely the reason which led me to pick up this book. I wanted to know more about this man.

The book does a wonderful job of giving an overall picture of him. His writings, his speeches and writings on him by both National and International personalities, both positive and critical are given in the book.
Anyone who wants to know what his views were about communalism, reservation system and caste atrocities, women empowerment, international relations, science and technology, political ideologies, farmer's welfare, Hinduism and the very Idea of India- can simply read this book.
Also, you will get to know what he set out to achieve and what he actually was able to achieve, what his shortcomings were and for what reasons he was criticised at that time.

Also, upon reading it you will realise that it was not as easy as it seemed to transform India into the country that it is today. The Britishers had sucked the wealth and the confidence of India and sowed the seeds of communalism in the masses. Industries were few and education, especially higher education was almost non-existent. Bureaucracy and the Rajas worked not for the masses but for exploiting and maintaining the Raj. And yes, there was this little thing called Partition and Mass Killings taking place when he took charge of the country.

Professor Purushottam Agarwal is a scholar and a former UPSC member. In my opinion he has presented this book at the right time. People should read it themselves and atleast get to know whatever they can about Nehru from this reliable source. This book can also be used as a starting point to know further about him from his other works.

You don't have to agree with him completely but you have to be sympathetic to him and give him a chance to express himself, as the people of India did back in the day. And by doing so I am sure most of you will fall in love with him, as most people did back in the day, they even made him the Prime Minister of this country three times with huge majorities.

[Pranjal Awasthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nehru is by far India's most prolific prime minister when it comes to writing. He has, book after book, showed exemplary flair when it has come to the topic of India, its history, culture, and politics. Not only was Nehru an astute and eclectic thinker, but also one of our most important founding fathers.

Dr Purushottam Agarwal, a profound scholar himself, has collected writings on and by Nehru in this book. This is a germane piece of scholarship, given the extant state of Indian political narratives and the ignorant tirades against, probably the biggest giant to ever have existed in Indian politics. For anyone confused about Nehru, please read his works. Unlike many "great men" in history, we have enough from Nehru and on Nehru (written by contemporaries) to make a thoroughly informed choice as opposed to relying on juvenile factoids. This book is a terrific entry point into the universe of Nehru.

Also special mention to the introduction of the book penned by Dr Agrawal. A brilliant essay on the Nehru and his legacy.