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Nehru and the Spirit of India
Jawaharlal Nehru was Plato's philosopher king, who 'discovered' an India that remains an undiscovered possibility. Nehru and the Spirit of India is a critical and nuanced perusal of his intellectual and political legacy.
From the 'politics of friendship' between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, Nehru's defense of secularism in the Constituent Assembly Debates, to what propelled Nehru to curb free speech in the First Amendment, Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee draws from political history to illuminate fierce debates in India Kashmir, the CAA, and hate speech. Be it contemporary events like the miracle of Ganesha drinking milk and the use of Vedic astrology in Chandrayaan-2, or the agonising suicide of a doctor, the author examines the fractured nature of Indian modernity, which Nehru had suggestively called a 'garb'. Bhattacharjee bolsters Nehru's view that India is enriched by the encounter of cultures and that we must not discard the past, but engage with it.
As a second-generation refugee, Bhattacharjee argues for a 'minoritarian' approach to national politics. Breaking ideological and disciplinary protocols, he compels us to learn from the insights of poets and thinkers. Lucidly written, this provocative book offers an original perspective on Nehru and Indian history.
From the 'politics of friendship' between Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah, Nehru's defense of secularism in the Constituent Assembly Debates, to what propelled Nehru to curb free speech in the First Amendment, Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee draws from political history to illuminate fierce debates in India Kashmir, the CAA, and hate speech. Be it contemporary events like the miracle of Ganesha drinking milk and the use of Vedic astrology in Chandrayaan-2, or the agonising suicide of a doctor, the author examines the fractured nature of Indian modernity, which Nehru had suggestively called a 'garb'. Bhattacharjee bolsters Nehru's view that India is enriched by the encounter of cultures and that we must not discard the past, but engage with it.
As a second-generation refugee, Bhattacharjee argues for a 'minoritarian' approach to national politics. Breaking ideological and disciplinary protocols, he compels us to learn from the insights of poets and thinkers. Lucidly written, this provocative book offers an original perspective on Nehru and Indian history.
248 pages, Hardcover
Published November 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 22, 2022
I interviewed the author of this book and the interview came out in Scroll this month. Here is the link :
https://scroll.in/article/1036812/his...
https://scroll.in/article/1036812/his...
September 10, 2022
I read The Discovery of India in 2018. With every chapter I finished, I could sense a deep desire to travel across the country to know and understand what India is. Following that, I have gifted the same book to many who like to travel and explore India. My understanding of the book was that, written between 1943 and 1946, with perfectly knowing the arrival of independence from the British, Nehru tried to theoretically forge a nation-state for the people, trying to amalgamate varying cultures, ethnicities, languages, lifestyles, religions, and ideologies within a framework that would still identify with its core identity without necessarily losing its ‘Indianness.’ It was in his Discovery of India, that he tried to invoke a sense of belonging to the 40 million by merging their past with their present to build our collective future. In short, it was through his Discovery, that Nehru first gave an anthropological construct of an Indian or India.
This was further reflected in his magical words that summarized his entire Discovery,
“She was like some ancient palimpsest on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie had been inscribed, and yet no succeeding layer had completely hidden or erased what had been written previously. All of these coexisted in our conscious or subconscious selves, though we may not have been aware of them, and they had gone to build up the complex and mysterious personality of India.”
Dissecting the intricate details from the Discovery of India, the author dives deep into Nehru’s mind, which Nehru himself described as 'a mixture of East and the West.’ Nehru, though approached India as a friendly westerner, full of detest for the past and with a desire to give her the ‘garb of modernity', was by no means a product of colonial rationalism. Rather, he synthesized his philosophy derived from the Enlightenment and his cultural affinity, which he believed would give India a place in the progressing world towed by Western modernity. This was well reflected in three aspects of Nehruvian thoughts:
1. His ability to define secularism in the Indian context by including the protection of minorities, ensuring social justice, and affirmative action. Nehru defined secularism as ‘an ethical attitude towards others who are different by ethnicity, race, religion, and gender.’
2. His commitment to scientific temper, without having to publicly/politically take up an atheistic or a rationalistic movement in a country deeply influenced by religious thoughts.
3. His historical sensibility while promulgating his open-door approach towards the question of citizenship after the partition.
In retrospect, the above three would mean trivial in today’s world. But what made Nehru an original thinker was his ability to synthesize a synergy between the multitude of philosophies intercepting them with present (rational) and past (roots). During his time, the colonial historians resorted to a magisterial approach while nationalist historians, despite their anti-colonial consciousness, suffered a modernist ambivalence. Nehru, on the other hand, believed that the new world was demanding modernity and yet, modernity alone would not fill the void of millions who have been colonized. The Discovery of India, if read keenly, was this reflection of his integrated personality.
In summary, a scholarly work from the author who did his MPhil and Ph.D. on the topic of Nehruvian philosophy, this book tries to explore the less explored side of Nehru, as a philosopher and highlights the Nehruvian thought process that essentially shaped the modern Indian identity.
This was further reflected in his magical words that summarized his entire Discovery,
“She was like some ancient palimpsest on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie had been inscribed, and yet no succeeding layer had completely hidden or erased what had been written previously. All of these coexisted in our conscious or subconscious selves, though we may not have been aware of them, and they had gone to build up the complex and mysterious personality of India.”
Dissecting the intricate details from the Discovery of India, the author dives deep into Nehru’s mind, which Nehru himself described as 'a mixture of East and the West.’ Nehru, though approached India as a friendly westerner, full of detest for the past and with a desire to give her the ‘garb of modernity', was by no means a product of colonial rationalism. Rather, he synthesized his philosophy derived from the Enlightenment and his cultural affinity, which he believed would give India a place in the progressing world towed by Western modernity. This was well reflected in three aspects of Nehruvian thoughts:
1. His ability to define secularism in the Indian context by including the protection of minorities, ensuring social justice, and affirmative action. Nehru defined secularism as ‘an ethical attitude towards others who are different by ethnicity, race, religion, and gender.’
2. His commitment to scientific temper, without having to publicly/politically take up an atheistic or a rationalistic movement in a country deeply influenced by religious thoughts.
3. His historical sensibility while promulgating his open-door approach towards the question of citizenship after the partition.
In retrospect, the above three would mean trivial in today’s world. But what made Nehru an original thinker was his ability to synthesize a synergy between the multitude of philosophies intercepting them with present (rational) and past (roots). During his time, the colonial historians resorted to a magisterial approach while nationalist historians, despite their anti-colonial consciousness, suffered a modernist ambivalence. Nehru, on the other hand, believed that the new world was demanding modernity and yet, modernity alone would not fill the void of millions who have been colonized. The Discovery of India, if read keenly, was this reflection of his integrated personality.
In summary, a scholarly work from the author who did his MPhil and Ph.D. on the topic of Nehruvian philosophy, this book tries to explore the less explored side of Nehru, as a philosopher and highlights the Nehruvian thought process that essentially shaped the modern Indian identity.
November 25, 2022
A book which I was not going to review.
The blurb of Nehru and the spirit of India by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee says it's a critical and nuanced perusal of Jawaharlal Nehru's intellectual and political legacy. I wish it were that and not vilification of a faith and an entire community.
The author says he has taken several political incidents during the time of Nehru which have or have not shaped the problems we face today, or how Nehru foresaw it back then viz. the kashmir issue, role of secularism in our society, the communal flare on our head, CAA ammendment & how it is discriminatory in nature and many more. Author in a very motivated manner has talked about some incident of claims of Lord Ganesh drinking milk and how it was used to garner votes in the blurb itself. He apparently wanted to highlight how religion as an emotive tool is used to flare up the elections. I knew his intentions then.
I never intend to be personal or derogatory, no matter how much I dislike the book, but I have to do this- Manash suffers from a colonial hangover and superiority complex and is someone who is ashamed of himself in general. Discarding or accepting the past are one thing but celebrating a jayanti for barbaric outsiders like that or Aurangzeb or Akbar is not acceptable. We can not erase our past but if the Muslims are proud of being illegitimate heirs of the likes of Babar, then being intolerant is the only option.
The author sings in the tune of Pandit Nehru that Kashmir is a part of India but only at good-will of Kashmiri people. If plebiscite has some logic in it, there should have been a plebiscite before partition too. And also before having the murderous Muslims stay in India even after majority of them voted for a seperate Muslim nation. If I had to neglect all of this, what explanation can one probably give for their absolute hatred for one's faith and festivals & rituals. Manash goes on to say Cow worshipping started ONLY in the 1920s to create an anti-minority (which he refers to Muslims) environment. So they even in an undivided India are a minority. Even after Malabar and Noakhali and Punjab and Patna massacres they are a minority. Even after taking one fourth of our land by force they remain to be a minority. Because they're just a bit less in numbers than us? By that logic Whites were a minority in the apartheid system and Britishers were the victims even after ruling over us for hundreds of years. The author does not stop there and goes on to say that the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi was started in Maharashtra in the same period to counter and compete Muharram of the Muslims. Even when a Hindu breathes Manash Firaq feels that it is to compete carbon emissions done by the Muslims.
I do not want to expand further on how venomous Manash was with his pen in the next pages and irrespective of what the facts are because let me put this- Facts do not matter. Facts do not matter to me if it's about my mere existence. Facts do not matter if it's about my right to worship idols. Facts to not matter to me when someone says British rule was better for them because they can see an illusion of a imaginary and discriminatory caste system. Facts do not matter if I am asked to give myself completely to modernity without asking questions. India was not discovered in 1947 and this Pandit is no Vasco Da Gama. Yes we as the majority community did a favour on the murderous cult to let them be here post 1947, for which they should show gratitude. Yes chants of their 'only god' are poisonous in nature- Any sane headed creature would fear reciting or listening to them in a public place.
I'll leave it here ignoring all the other venom spouted by the author. One star for the quality of hardcover and paper used.
The blurb of Nehru and the spirit of India by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee says it's a critical and nuanced perusal of Jawaharlal Nehru's intellectual and political legacy. I wish it were that and not vilification of a faith and an entire community.
The author says he has taken several political incidents during the time of Nehru which have or have not shaped the problems we face today, or how Nehru foresaw it back then viz. the kashmir issue, role of secularism in our society, the communal flare on our head, CAA ammendment & how it is discriminatory in nature and many more. Author in a very motivated manner has talked about some incident of claims of Lord Ganesh drinking milk and how it was used to garner votes in the blurb itself. He apparently wanted to highlight how religion as an emotive tool is used to flare up the elections. I knew his intentions then.
I never intend to be personal or derogatory, no matter how much I dislike the book, but I have to do this- Manash suffers from a colonial hangover and superiority complex and is someone who is ashamed of himself in general. Discarding or accepting the past are one thing but celebrating a jayanti for barbaric outsiders like that or Aurangzeb or Akbar is not acceptable. We can not erase our past but if the Muslims are proud of being illegitimate heirs of the likes of Babar, then being intolerant is the only option.
The author sings in the tune of Pandit Nehru that Kashmir is a part of India but only at good-will of Kashmiri people. If plebiscite has some logic in it, there should have been a plebiscite before partition too. And also before having the murderous Muslims stay in India even after majority of them voted for a seperate Muslim nation. If I had to neglect all of this, what explanation can one probably give for their absolute hatred for one's faith and festivals & rituals. Manash goes on to say Cow worshipping started ONLY in the 1920s to create an anti-minority (which he refers to Muslims) environment. So they even in an undivided India are a minority. Even after Malabar and Noakhali and Punjab and Patna massacres they are a minority. Even after taking one fourth of our land by force they remain to be a minority. Because they're just a bit less in numbers than us? By that logic Whites were a minority in the apartheid system and Britishers were the victims even after ruling over us for hundreds of years. The author does not stop there and goes on to say that the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi was started in Maharashtra in the same period to counter and compete Muharram of the Muslims. Even when a Hindu breathes Manash Firaq feels that it is to compete carbon emissions done by the Muslims.
I do not want to expand further on how venomous Manash was with his pen in the next pages and irrespective of what the facts are because let me put this- Facts do not matter. Facts do not matter to me if it's about my mere existence. Facts do not matter if it's about my right to worship idols. Facts to not matter to me when someone says British rule was better for them because they can see an illusion of a imaginary and discriminatory caste system. Facts do not matter if I am asked to give myself completely to modernity without asking questions. India was not discovered in 1947 and this Pandit is no Vasco Da Gama. Yes we as the majority community did a favour on the murderous cult to let them be here post 1947, for which they should show gratitude. Yes chants of their 'only god' are poisonous in nature- Any sane headed creature would fear reciting or listening to them in a public place.
I'll leave it here ignoring all the other venom spouted by the author. One star for the quality of hardcover and paper used.
November 12, 2022
𝙉𝙚𝙝𝙧𝙪 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙊𝙛 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖 by 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙦 𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙟𝙚𝙚
📘Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first prime minister after independence for 16 years. We all know him since he is engraved in our textbooks regardless of the political aspects he was an anti-colonial nationalist and a social democrat.
" It was this spirit of India that I was after, not through idle curiosity, though I was curious enough, but because I felt that it might give me some key to the understanding of my country and people, some guidance to thought and action. "
📘The book provides a unique and unadulterated pov towards Nehru to the readers. The book starts with an introduction providing a differentiated overview over distinguished perspectives of certain people while portraying Nehru.
📘 Through which it carries onto his beliefs and idea on certain aspects that goes as Colonialism, Citizens, Culture and History. A variety of references have been used which also includes "An Autobiography" and "Glimpses of World History" by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
📘The author has done a great job in portraying the ideas and perspectives in context of the relative situations and events. Not only that, there is a duality in his work which makes the book more interesting and separates it from other books on Indian History.
📌I like the unique and comprehensive writing style with the unadulterated approach. I had my fair share of trouble understanding certain terminology, though after reading this I'd be enthusiastically looking forward to reading other works from the author.
📌 Although as a novice in such sub genre, I found it as beginner friendly, lucid and enthralling read. It's over 200 pages which makes it a pretty short read. So if you find yourself agreed with the above then this might be a perfect fit for you.
📘Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first prime minister after independence for 16 years. We all know him since he is engraved in our textbooks regardless of the political aspects he was an anti-colonial nationalist and a social democrat.
" It was this spirit of India that I was after, not through idle curiosity, though I was curious enough, but because I felt that it might give me some key to the understanding of my country and people, some guidance to thought and action. "
📘The book provides a unique and unadulterated pov towards Nehru to the readers. The book starts with an introduction providing a differentiated overview over distinguished perspectives of certain people while portraying Nehru.
📘 Through which it carries onto his beliefs and idea on certain aspects that goes as Colonialism, Citizens, Culture and History. A variety of references have been used which also includes "An Autobiography" and "Glimpses of World History" by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
📘The author has done a great job in portraying the ideas and perspectives in context of the relative situations and events. Not only that, there is a duality in his work which makes the book more interesting and separates it from other books on Indian History.
📌I like the unique and comprehensive writing style with the unadulterated approach. I had my fair share of trouble understanding certain terminology, though after reading this I'd be enthusiastically looking forward to reading other works from the author.
📌 Although as a novice in such sub genre, I found it as beginner friendly, lucid and enthralling read. It's over 200 pages which makes it a pretty short read. So if you find yourself agreed with the above then this might be a perfect fit for you.
November 23, 2022
We all have grown up reading about India's history and famous political leaders of India. One of them is Jawahar Lal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India.
Recently, I received a copy of 'Nehru and The Spirit of India' written by 'Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee' from @penguinindia.
I like the way author has kicked off the book by telling about how he grew up listening about two different perspective about Nehru in his childhood.
One from his father and the other one from his teachers.
Nehru and The Spirit of India is a critical and nuanced persual of his intellectual and political legacy. The author has talked about the Nehru's vision and ideas over the decisions that he made in the history of India. He has portrayed the political thoughts and the analytical affinity of Nehru.
This book will indeed give a detailed knowledge of all the major decisions, parliament debates and the special events in the history of Indian Politics related to Nehru.
The language is lucid and easy to understand. I recommend this book to the one who loves to read about politics.
September 20, 2025
Besides an excellent blurb on the cover jacket that is spot on with what's in the book, the title by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee is an insightful read for both students of social sciences and general readers who are interested in tracing back some of the pertinent discussions that mark the political campaigns and propaganda today.
The idea of India has always been a contested one and defeats attempts to be settled by a verdict of a historical past that the right wing seeks to create a historical legacy from or that of a democracy purposefully planted by the colonial rulers.
It is an ongoing dialogue that was defined by the sub-continent's anti-colonial struggle and the redefining of minoritarianism and, in the process, majoritarianism.
The idea of India has always been a contested one and defeats attempts to be settled by a verdict of a historical past that the right wing seeks to create a historical legacy from or that of a democracy purposefully planted by the colonial rulers.
It is an ongoing dialogue that was defined by the sub-continent's anti-colonial struggle and the redefining of minoritarianism and, in the process, majoritarianism.
August 5, 2022
A book which enlightens on the thought process of nehru
I liked the way the author presents his arguments. Nehru did not lay stress on the rational thinking of the modern world nor did he deny the importance of our cultural history. Nehru strongly believed in the amalgamation of modern thought with past cultural beliefs taking what is good and rejecting what is bad for the society.
I liked the way the author presents his arguments. Nehru did not lay stress on the rational thinking of the modern world nor did he deny the importance of our cultural history. Nehru strongly believed in the amalgamation of modern thought with past cultural beliefs taking what is good and rejecting what is bad for the society.
July 21, 2025
July 2025:
Very interesting analysis of Nehru's thought and legacy.
October 2023:
Good overview of Nehru's political thought.
Very interesting analysis of Nehru's thought and legacy.
October 2023:
Good overview of Nehru's political thought.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews