Nehruvian institutions: The temples that Jawaharlal Nehru built

Source: The post is based on the article “The temples that Jawaharlal Nehru built” published in The Hindu on 16^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 1 – Modern History: significant events and personalities.

Relevance: About the significance of Nehruvian institutions.

News: As India celebrates 75 years of Independence, it is important to remember the contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru-built institutions in India’s development.

What are Nehruvian institutions?

Nehru’s vision of India was anchored in a set of ideas such as democracy, secularism, inclusive economic growth, free press and non-alignment in international affairs and also in institutions that would lay the foundation for India’s future growth. These institutions touched every kind of economic activity, ranging from agriculture to aviation and space research.

He even described them as “the temples of modern India”. There were around 75 of these institutions including the Bhakra-Nangal dam, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the LIC, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, the National Library of India and the National Institute of Design.

How Nehruvian institutions cover the entire spectrum of India’s development?

Nehru’s inclusive vision ensured that these institutions spanned the entire social spectrum. For instance, a) When the IITs were planned, Nehru also established a network of Kendriya Vidyalayas, b) With large projects in steel and petroleum, Nehru saw the importance of promoting small and cottage industries and set up the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, c) When Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela were taking shape as functional townships, the Prime Minister also felt the need for a well-designed, modern city and thus was born Chandigarh. Chandigarh was perhaps India’s first ‘smart city’ when that term was not yet fashionable.

What are some examples of the success of Nehruvian Institutions?

Indian Oil became the first Indian company to be listed in the Fortune 100, in 2014. Amul emerged as the country’s best known consumer brand and India became the largest milk-producer in the world.

The success of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC): It is a Nehruvian institution established in the early years of independent India. Recently, it launched India’s largest public issue and collected ₹21,000 crore from the market.

The success of IITs and IIMs: The celebrated names of global CEOs and corporate leaders were educated at the iconic Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM).

Further, the Green Revolution transformed India from a basket case to a grain-exporting nation, the telephone revolution changed the telephone from being a symbol of elite lifestyle to mass ownership, and the digital revolution turned India into a global technology hub all played out one after another. Collectively, these shifts have lifted over 300 million Indians above the poverty line. The success of these missions owed a great deal to the Nehruvian model.

How do the Nehruvian institutions become so successful?

The role of the Election Commission of India and the Planning Commission: Both of these ensured the triumph of democracy along with development.

Management of accomplished persons: The notable persons include Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai, P.C. Mahalanobis, Verghese Kurien, S.S. Bhatnagar, S.Bhagavantam and C.D. Deshmukh.

Each of them steered the fortunes of the project under them with high professional standards, laying down benchmarks for the performance of the project and identifying second layers of leadership for the project’s future growth.

Hence, even today, Nehru stands out as a unique personality who combined intellectual stature with mass popularity.