Letters for a Nation from Jawaharlal Nehru to His Chief Ministers (1947-1963)

 India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, served 17 years through three national elections. His actions and policies are scrutinized the most. In the wisdom of hindsight, he has been questioned on his decisions and policies time and again in the last 75 years. When you ask such critics what were the Nehru years like, you realize there is no objectivity to opinions. Nehru wrote a letter to the chief ministers about India, his learnings on various topics, and the experiences he gathered by meeting several people in his life every fortnight. He objectively conveys facts, opinions, and observations without mincing any words. I think this acts as a perfect compendium for the Nehruvian India. Once, Ramachandra Guha opined that the greatest critic of Nehru was himself. Nehru has admitted his vulnerabilities, inactions, and lack of understanding of a situation and stated them in his communications. Others took it up in the wisdom of hindsight to criticize his policies. Madhav Khosla has edited the book into six broad sections.

1. The citizen and nation - mostly talk about various separatist forces that acted against the Republic of India, which were to be tamed to bring India into one nation. It includes religion, language, princely states, zamindaris, land reforms, castes, etc., how the people of India put up a concerted effort in overcoming these, and why they will have to continue to engage in these efforts ahead.
2. The Institutions of Democracy - Nehru understood the power of majoritarianism in a democratic nation. He established checks and balances with various institutions. Constitutional checks and balances in law and courts are in great detail in the book.
3. National Planning and Development - Influenced by the industrial success of the Soviet Union, Nehru established the Planning Commission and developed five-year plans for the nation. Several parts of the letters emphasize these aspects. Talks about the growth needed in agriculture and heavy industry for the success of India.
4. War and Peace - India went through several years of struggle with wars with Pakistan, unifying Kashmir with India, and in the later years of China's incursion on Indian soil. While Nehru thought of peace at any cost and rebuilding the nation, avoiding wars, and following the USSR policies, China's incursion and India's unpreparedness for the war left an indelible mark on him. He looks vulnerable and ambivalent on this.
5. India and the World - India's role in non-alignment and commitment to World peace is discussed. How India was asked to align with the USA or USSR during the Cold War era is discussed. However, Nehru states the non-aligned views have ensured they establish a significant world order with several other Asian and African countries.
6. Eulogies - Several Indian statesmen passed away during this period. Nehru has written his condolences and passed on the information to the contemporary Chief Ministers of the states.

Overall a great read if you want to get first-hand information about Nehruvian India in Nehru's eyes.