Nehru and His Influence on World History
Nehru was a native of India. While incarcerated, he recorded what her daughter Indira needed to know about history in a number of unofficial messages to her. The letters culminated in the book "Glimpses of World History," which he penned in 1934 and covered world history from 6000 BC to the time of the book's publication. This essay will go over his main theories, how they affected other thinkers at the time, and how they were novel.
Nehru's Ideas on the Study of History
The main points made in the work by the Indian-era historian are reviewed. Notably, the ideas were far much novel and thus different from those advanced in other regions of the world then such as Britain among others. In Glimpses of World History, Jawaharlal Nehru argues that “the idea that history is critical in unraveling the reasons why people behave or conduct themselves in the way they do.” As a result, he suggested that the study of history and culture ought to be all pervasive, multidimensional and multi-state affairs. As a result, he opined that the study of history ought to go beyond one state.
Nehru's Views on Religion and Politics
The historian also advanced for growing secularism in India, which is a religion-dominated country. He contended that most of the religions had lost the basis of inspiring unity and development but had instead been avenues for exploitation. The sure way of coming up with a system that would work for India was to promote solidarity in peculiarity. His view on the role of politics in support of a young nation was that politics play little or no role in economic development. This was contrary to the traditional view then. In place of politics, he advocated for a strong scientific temper. According to him, this was the surest way of overcoming bigotry of religion and social inequities in society. He advanced his ideas by opining that science is not limited to the search for truth only, but also on the betterment of humanity. To inspire the scientific temper amongst the citizens, he advocated for the reframing of the mindset and the habit in the incorporation of science into activities.
Nehru's Ideas on Economic Development
The view on the economic development of a young nation is also evident in his works. Nehru advanced the idea of self-reliance and its viability for any sustainable development of a country. He, therefore, advocated for regulation of monopolies as a means of ensuring economic development. In fact, to achieve this, Nehru argues that there ought to commission that is independent of any control by other countries to help in achieving national endeavors.
Nehru's Non-alignment Policy and Anti-Eurocentric Historiography
Nehru advocated for a non-alignment policy for young nations that are aspiring to develop amidst the already existing superpowers. He criticized the popular idea among the westerners of alignment for development. The major idea was influenced by the surrounding environment and his way of life. In Nehru: Man among Men, Mehorotra Roja notes that “social inequities were a major influence on the Nehru's work. Nehru's family was from the lineage of a military that worked at Mongol and was affected by British exploitation and brutal killings during the mutiny.
During his time of life, Nehru was also arrested after joining a human movement. These influenced his work on the need to chart it alone to make it in international power politics. Also, at the time of writing the work, there were existing super economies which micromanaged other economies through the creation of alliances after the Second World War. Consequently, he advocated for treading with caution in such cases to avoid hurting the economy of young countries at the expense of the citizens. The work of Nehru was a departure from the views held by other western countries such as China, Japan, Greece, and Rome that had been established world powers by the time the book was being penned down. As a result, his work is considered by many as the first non-Eurocentric historiography.
Nehru's Vision for Economic Development
Nehru promoted the idea of going it alone. This was contrary to the British sense of building international power politics around regional blocks to succeed. His work is a critique of the existing literature which was majorly British and of western origin. This was based on the fact Nehru has an attitude of going it alone as India. According to him, the private sector ought to be regulated by a government through competent economic policies. Only this way was the control of monopoly sure thus steering economic development for a young nation.
Nehru's Call for Self-reliance and Economic Independence
While the traditional view of the western countries favored formation of regional blocks and alliances to develop, it is the contrary view of Nehru that any state which has faced past exploitation cannot continue forming alliances and blocks as a means to economic success. Instead, he advocated for self-reliance and economic independence as a means to achieving sustainable development.
In Conclusion
It is evident that the ideas propounded by Nehru were novel at the time and very different from the ideas already advanced by the western countries. Visibly, the ideas have stood the test of time. If there is anyone to be attributed to the development and rise of India, then it should be Nehru since his attitude of going it alone has succeeded.
Bibliography
Nehru, Jawaharlal. Glimpses of World History. Penguin Books, 1934.
Roja, Mehrotra. Nehru: Man among Men. Mitlal Publications, 1990.
