He epitomised India's gigantic effort to become modern, self-reliant and remain together. The ethos of the National Movement was stronger than what some of their leaders gave it credit for. It was an all-out, four square thrust to bring India into the modern world of knowledge, sciences and the arts. The former thought we were being manipulated by the communists and Stalin believed that this was just a thinly disguised US plot. Nehru showed his critics that those who ran the government were not people of straw, as often accused.

Source: Times of India August 14, 2017 18:22 UTC