Customer Reviews

Nehru : The Making of India

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This is not only a great book about Nehru, but gives an excellent explanation of historical events that shaped Nehru's life. The reasons behind the events are explained very well. A must read, if you are interested in Jawharlal Nehru.

A refreshing comprehensive biography by one of the formost scholars in India about one of India's great freedom fighters. If one wants to avoid orientalist lies such as Stanley Wolperts biography, then MJ Akbar's book is for you.

Mr. Akbar's "effort" is a book suffering from its fair share of inaccuracies. Stanley Wolpert's biography of Nehru is far better, providing a more honest and objective portrayal about a man who was from being the indomitable giant Mr. Akbar makes him to be.

this is a book about the architect of a nation Jawaharlal Nehru. He is the one who made free India a country that can now be proud of itself. Akbar's book is one that captures the gist of this great man's life and it is a joy to read. Akbar, one of the premier journalists of India, has shown us exactly how important Nehru and Gandhi's role was in the independence struggle of India and the insights it provides are extraordinary. On the whole a brilliant and thought-provoking book.

I am impelled to write this review after reading the ill-educated notes from others about this book. Especially one that extols Nehru as "the one who got us freedom". Nothing could be more risibly further from the truth.

For those who are not aware of it, M.J. Akbar is the chief editor of one of the fringe news publications in India called The Asian Age (and I label it fringe based on its circulation numbers, not its journalism). I could hoist innumerable examples of thoughtful articles and research that have come from Mr. Akbar, but unfortunately and inexplicably this book is disappointing in its view of the Nehru dynasty. Perhaps a more fitting title for the book would have been "The making of India" because there is little that is engaging or enlightening about Nehru's life and personality.

A very different view of Nehru and his peccadilloes emerges from a couple of other factual books, often not touted as being the most "popular" because they do NOT pander to mass opinions -- "Nehru Dynasty" by K.N. Rao and "Nehru: A Tryst With Destiny" by Stanley Wolpert. It is clear to any close watcher of Indian politics around that era that Nehru's life (as well as the lives of his children/grandchildren) that Nehru was in fact much more of an irresponsible womanizer, a rich-dad's spoilt brat more interested in touring the world, and a politician of absolutely no original thinking. He was an eloquent speaker and a charismatic person by virtue of his fluent English, which unfortunately at the time went a long way in impressing people but his life is rife with political blunders. None of which is mentioned in this book.

There is also a known controversy around the appointment of Nehru as the first prime minister, because a unanimous decision post-independence proposed Sardar Vallabbhai Patel as the first PM of India. But Nehru's attention-deficient and wheedling ways got him the podium instead -- not his caliber. Such information would have best suited a book like this one, but is sadly remiss.

To cut to the chase, if you are interested in Nehru and his errant ways, this is not the book (the other two recommendations are). If you are interested in the events surrounding India's independence -- which was a lot more influenced by the repercussions of WW II on Britain than the efforts of Gandhi or particularly Nehru (who was basically useless) -- then this book will have some interesting tidbits for you.

What a history! The struggle and overthrow of imperialism, religious strife, nation building and civil war are all in here. Plus two of the great leaders of the twentieth century - Gandhi and Nehru. By great leaders I mean humanistic and genuinely good and well meaning for their people.

Both Gandhi and Nehru had different approaches - Nehru was more down to earth and viewed science and technology as assets to be harnessed for his country. Also he came from a rich family - his father was a prosperous lawyer who joined India's "swaraj" (independence movement). Both Nehru's fell under Gandhi spell.

Jinnah is portrayed as devious in his quest for Pakistan. It would seem he only wanted to assume the mantle of Muslim power. He was an inward looking man - not a Gandhi or Nehru who accepted the diversity in India. Both Gandhi and Nehru nurtured democracy in India and both were opposed to the partition that Jinnah wanted.

The author describes Nehru as an open-minded introspective politician who loved his people and country. He did spend many years in jail during the indenpence movement where he did much soul-searching and writing. This was possibly due to the "benevolence" of British prisons - as compared to Stalinist or Nazi jails of the same era. Some of India's democracy was inherited from its' imperialist ruler.

The author has an approach from the inside looking out. The only detriment is that there is a lot of name-dropping in this book - there were many names I was unfamiliar with. Nevertheless the canvas of India is wide, varied and enthralling.

The author paints a very concise history of the Sino-Indian war which culminated in Chinese treachery in 1962. Nehru is portrayed as being somewhat naïve concerning China's designs on India's border.