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Jawaharlal Nehru

127 quotes

“But to understand the great drama of the Russian Revolution and the inner forces that shaped and brought the great change about, a study of cold theory is of little use. The October Revolution was undoubtedly one of the great events of world history, the greatest since the first French Revolution, and its story is more absorbing, from the human and the dramatic point of view, than any We or phantasy.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As President of the Akademi, I may tell you quite frankly I would not like the Prime Minister to interfere with my work.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On becoming the first President of Sahitya Akademi : quoted in "Saving Sahitya Akademi", The Hindu, 25 March 2016
Also quoted by: Jawaharlal Nehru (attributed)
“Where freedom is menaced or justice threatened or where aggression takes place, we cannot be and shall not be neutral.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I confess that I do not like the idea of your associating yourself with a spectacular opening of the Somnath Temple. This is not merely visiting a temple, which can certainly be done by you or anyone else but rather participating in a significant function which unfortunately has a number of implications..”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 1951. [https://www.indiatoday.in/assembly-elections-2017/story/pm-narendra-modi-vs-rahul-gandhi-over-somnath-why-nehru-opposed-rajendra-prasads-temple-visit-1097262-2017-11-30 Rajnikant Puranik,
“I mentioned to the President sometime ago that I did not fancy his visiting the Somnath temple on this occasion. He said he had promised to do so and it was difficult for him to get out of his promise. There is nothing more to be done about it. But I have made it clear both to the President and to Mr. Munshi that I do not at all like these activities. …”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nehru’s note to Secretary-General and Foreign Secretary, MEA: Rajendra Babu had to go as he had promised. 17 April 1951. Selected Works Of Jawaharlal Nehru (2nd series 16 part 1 page 605) [https://deshgujarat.com/2019/0…
“I am greatly worried about the Somnath affair. As I feared, it is assuming a certain political importance. Indeed references have been made to it internationally also. In criticism of our policy in regard to it, we are asked how a secular Government such as ours can associate itself with such a ceremony which is, in addition, revivalist in character. Questions are being put to me in Parliament and I am replying to them saying that Government has nothing to do with it and those persons who are connected in any way are functioning entirely in their personal capacity.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Delhi April 22, 1951 Letter to Rajendra Babu, Selected Works Of Jawaharlal Nehru (2nd series 16 part 1) [https://deshgujarat.com/2019/05/11/somnath-series-jawaharlal-nehrus-opposition-to-president-rajendra-prasads-decis…
“It was quite impossible for us to give any assistance and therefore it was not proper for us to raise any hopes in this direction... When occasion arises we can certainly put in a good word on the diplomatic plane to China. For the rest, the only policy we can adopt is to remain quiet observers.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in 1951. SWJN, XVI.II.647. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Policies_ Origins, Premises, Lessons-Harper Collins (2013) ch 5.
“So far as I am concerned and the government I lead is concerned, I want to make it perfectly clear that communal forces will not be given the slightest quarter to sow seeds of dissensions among the people.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 3 Oct. 1951 , quoted in N.L. Gupta (ed.), Nehru on communalism, New Delhi: Sampradayikta Virodhi Committee, 1975, pp. 229-30. Also quoted in Christophe Jaffrelot, The Hindu nationalist movement in India (1996), p. 80.
“I may tell you something that I have not told you before, and that is this. All the maps used in China at present are very old maps and in fact, we were told by the Chinese Government not to pay the slightest attention to these maps. They are their old maps and they have no time to print them anew; they are simply carrying on with them because they are too busy with other things.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in November 1951. SWJN, XVII.507.
“Nobody need get upset over the recent developments in Tibet... I would like to repeat that one of the foremost interests of India is cultivation of friendly relations with her neighbours, especially China and Tibet.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1952 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: April 1952, visit to Kalimpong, a place that has a large concentration of Tibetan refugees.
“We do not wish to interfere in internal affairs of Tibet.. and we can certainly be no parties to any secret or other activities against the Chinese. That would be both practically and morally wrong. It is for Tibetans and Chinese to settle their problems... We have to judge these matters [the request for Rs. two lakh] from larger world point of view which probably our Tibetan friends have no means of appreciating...”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1952 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: September 1952, cable to the Indian Mission in Lhasa after Tibetan groups have asked for assistance
“We cannot support feudal elements in Tibet, .... indeed we cannot interfere in Tibet....Having come to that conclusion, we should abide by it and not pine for a different policy, which anyhow is totally outside our reach.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1953. SWJN, XXIV.596–98, also Editor’s note, p. 597.SWJN: Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Policies_ Orig…
“आराम हराम है”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 26 July 1954, concluding address at the Ajmer session of the All Indian Congress Committee (AICC), cited in Select Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, p. 237 as:
“I myself have not held any press conference for some time and have refused to see press correspondents,.. although they have come especially from abroad for this purpose and gone back.... The best way to deal with the Press, if you do not want to answer a question, is to be humorous.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1954. In discussion with Chou En-Lai. SWJN, XXVI.366–96, 398–406. SWJN: Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China …
“They [the Chinese] have taken care... not to interfere with the domestic set-up much and have not interfered at all with their social conditions, although these are feudal... We get news often from Kalimpong about these Chinese military preparations in Tibet... It must be remembered that Kalimpong is a nest of all kinds of spies and the information these people gather is utterly unreliable. It usually comes from émigrés who leave Tibet.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1954. Jawaharlal Nehru, Letters to Chief Ministers, 1947–1964, Volume 3, 1952–54, G. Parthasarathi, General Editor, Government of India, Delhi, 1987, pp. 580ff.and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Polici…
“As regards the Dalai Lama, we do not want any incident to take place about Dalai Lama in Kalimpong or while he is in India. We will do as Your Excellency and Dalai Lama decide. What kind of incident does Your Excellency fear might happen? If you can give some specific idea about the trouble, we can prevent it.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nehru to Chou En-Lai, in 1956. SWJN, XXXV.522.ff SWJN: Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, Second Series, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Policies_ Origins…
“Wars are fought to gain a certain objective. War itself is not the objective; victory is not the objective; you fight to remove the obstruction that comes in the way of your objective. If you let victory become the end in itself then you've gone astray and forgotten what you were originally fighting about.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by James Cameron, in Picture Post (28 October 1950)
“If in the modern world wars have unfortunately to be fought (and they do, it seems) then they must be stopped at the first possible moment, otherwise they corrupt us, they create new problems and make our future even more uncertain. That is more than morality; it's sense.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by James Cameron in Picture Post (28 October 1950)
“In a peaceful settlement we can give Tibet diplomatic support... but we cannot give any help in the event of an invasion. Nor can any other country... It is for the Tibetans to make their choice between war and a peaceful settlement but in doing so they should clearly understand the consequences of their choice.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: To the Tibetan delegation, on 8 September 1950. SWJN, XV.I.434–36. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Policies_ Origins, Premises, Lessons-Harper Collins (2013)
“India has neither the resources nor the inclination to send armed assistance to Tibet... We feel India has been ill-repaid for her diplomatic friendliness toward Peking. ... Sending an army is a poor way to maintain autonomy and come to a settlement...”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oct 1950. interview to I.F. Stone. SWJN, XV.II.335–36. and in Arun Shourie - Self-Deception _ India's China Policies_ Origins, Premises, Lessons-Harper Collins (2013)
“I want to go rapidly towards my objective. But fundamentally even the results of action do not worry me so much. Action itself, so long as I am convinced that it is right action, gives me satisfaction. In my general outlook on life I am a socialist and it is a socialist order that I should like to see established in India and the world.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement of 1951, in Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru Vol. 5 (1987), p. 321
“If we open the door [to the Bengali Hindu refugees], we all will sink.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1946 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In 1950. Nehru to B. C. Roy. Quoted in Roy A. C. (198AD). Genocide of hindus & buddhists in east pakistan (bangladesh). : quoted in Kamra A. J. (2000). The prolonged partition and its pogroms : testimonies on violence a…
“What real Hinduism may be is a matter for each individual Hindu to decide. We can only take it as it is practised. In practice, the Hindu is certainly not tolerant and is more narrow-minded than almost any person in any other country except the Jew. It does not help much to talk of Hindu philosophy, which is magnificent. The fate of India is largely tied up with the Hindu outlook. If the present Hindu outlook does not change radically, I am quite sure that India is doomed. The Muslim outlook may be and, I think, is often worse. But it does not make very much difference to the future of India.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1953 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to , 17 November 1953. Quoted in Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography by , Vol. 2, p. 206.
“We have done no better thing than this [agreeing that Tibet belongs to China] since we became independent.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1954 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nehru to the Indian Parliament (1954). Quoted from Upadhya, S. (2015). Nepal and the geo-strategic rivalry between China and India. London : Routledge, 2015.
“Every little thing counts in a crisis and we want our weight felt and our voice heard in quarters which are for the avoidance of world conflict.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jawaharlal Nehru's Speeches 1949 - 1953 (1954), p. 144
“Theoretical approaches have their place and are, I suppose, essential but a theory must be tempered with reality.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1949 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jawaharlal Nehru's Speeches 1949 - 1953 (1954), p. 235
“You know that I have had strong leanings towards Communism and have many friends among Communists.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have passed one of two laws recently and we are considering one… in regard to Hindu marriage and divorce..these are personal faith ingrained in custom, habit and religion..now we do not dare to touch the Muslims because they are a minority and we do not want the Hindu majority to do it. These are personal laws and so will remain for the Muslims until they want to change them…we do not wish to create the impression that we are forcing any particular thing in regard to Muslims”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1956. in RNP Singh, (-Nehru, A Troubled Legacy, Page 52) also p 468
“Mr. Humayun Kabir [then cultural affairs minister] referred to the great temples of the South and the Taj Mahal. Well, they are beautiful. Some of the temples of the South, however, repel me in spite of their beauty. I just can’t stand them. Why? I do not know. I cannot explain that, but they are oppressive, they suppress my spirit. They do not allow me to rise, they keep me down. The dark corridors—I like the sun and air and not dark corridors.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1959 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 1959 speech at the seminar on architecture organized by New Delhi’s Lalit Kala Academy.
“My intention was to trace, as far as I could, my own mental development and not write a survey of recent Indian history.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Preface, 1936.
“Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ultimately what we really are matters more than what other people think of us. One has to face the modern world with its good as well as its bad and it is better on the whole, I think, that we give even licence than suppress the normal flow of opinion. That is the democratic method. But having laid that down, still I would beg to say that there is a limit to the licence that one can allow, more so in times of great peril to the State.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Parliamentary Debates [Parliament of India] Pt.2 V.12-13 (1951); also quoted in Glorious Thoughts of Nehru (1964), p. 146
“[When asked in 1963 that "now that there is Communist government in Kerala, what would happen if communists came to power at the Centre?"] - Communists, communists! Why are you all so obsessed with communism and communists? What is that the communists can do what we cannot do and have not done?... Why do you imagine the communists will ever be voted to power at the Centre? The danger to India, mark you, is not Communism. It is Hindu right-wing communalism.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We talk about a secular state in India. It is perhaps not very easy even to find a good word in Hindi for "secular". Some people think it means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct. What it means is that it is state which honours all faiths equally and gives them equal opportunities; that, as a state, it does not allow itself to be attached to one faith or religion, which then becomes the state religion.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Statement of 1961, as quoted in Modern Myths, Locked Minds (1997) by , p. 245.
“We have laid down in our constitution that India is a secular state. That does not mean irreligion. it means equal respect for all faiths and equal opportunities for those who profess any faith.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1961 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Appeal, 5 July 1961, in Jawaharlal Nehru: An Anthology, pp. 332-3.
“The most effective pose is one in which there seems to be the least of posing, and Jawahar had learned well to act without the paint and powder of an actor ... What is behind that mask of his? ... what will to power? ... He has the power in him to do great good for India or great injury ... Men like Jawaharlal, with all their capacity for great and good work, are unsafe in a democracy. He calls himself a democrat and a socialist, and no doubt he does so in all earnestness, but every psychologist knows that the mind is ultimately slave to the heart ... Jawahar has all the makings of a dictator in him — vast popularity, a strong will, ability, hardness, an intolerance for others and a certain contempt for the weak and inefficient ... In this revolutionary epoch, Caesarism is always at the door. Is it not possible that Jawahar might fancy himself as a Caesar? ... He must be checked. We want no Caesars.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) first seen 1936 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Article in Modern Review (1936) by a pseudonymous author signing himself "Chanakya", later revealed to have been Nehru himself; as quoted in TIME magazine : "Clear-Eyed Sister" (3 January 1955) & "The Uncertain Bellweth…
“Japan had come to terms with Russia because of her difficulties, but this did not mean approval of communism. Communism meant the end of emperor-worship, and feudalism and the exploitation of the masses by the ruling class, and indeed almost everything that the existing order stood for... But communism is the outcome of widespread misery due to social conditions, and unless these conditions are improved, mere repression can be no remedy. There is a terrible misery in Japan at present. The peasantry, as in China and India, are crushed under a tremendous burden of debt. Taxation, especially because of heavy military expenditure and war needs, is very heavy. Reports come of starving peasants trying to live on grass and roots, and of selling even their children. The middle classes are also in a bad way owing to unemployment and suicides have increased.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Marx did not preach class conflict. He showed that in fact it existed, and had always existed in some form or other. His object in writing Capital was 'to lay bare the economic law of motion of modern society', and thus uncovering these fierce conflicts between different classes in society. These conflicts are not always obvious as class struggles, because the dominant class always tries to hide its own class character. But when the existing order is threatened, then it throws away all pretence and its real character appears, and there is open warfare between the classes. Forms of democracy and ordinary laws and procedures all disappear when this happens. Instead of these class struggles being due to misunderstanding or the villainy of agitators, as some people say, they are inherent in society, and they actually increase with better understanding of the conflict of interests.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There was no doubt or vagueness in Lenin's mind. His were the penetrating eyes which detected the moods of the masses; the clear head which could apply and adapt well-thought-out principles to changing situations; the inflexible will which held on to the course he had mapped out, regardless of immediate consequences... It is not many years since he died, and already Lenin has become a mighty tradition, not only in his native Russia, but in the world at large. As time passes he grows greater; he has become one of the chosen company of the world's immortals. Petrograd has become Leningrad, and almost every house in Russia has a Lenin corner or a Lenin picture. But he lives, not in monuments or pictures, but in the mighty work he did, and in the hearts of hundreds of millions of workers today who find inspiration in his example and the hope of a better day.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What are the outstanding events, then, of these past fourteen years? First in importance, I think, and most striking of all, has been the rise and consolidation of the Soviet Union, the U.S.S.R. or the Union of Socialist and Soviet Republics, as it is called. I have told you already something of the enormous difficulties which Soviet Russia had to face in its fight for existence. That it won in spite of them is one of the wonders of this century. The Soviet system spread all over the Asiatic parts of the former Tsarist Empire, in Siberia right up to the Pacific and in Central Asia to within hail of the Indian frontier. Separate Soviet republics were formed, but they federated together into one Union, and this is now the U.S.S.R. This Union covers an enormous area in Europe and Asia, which is about one-sixth of the total land area of the world. The area is very big, but bigness by itself does not mean much, and Russia, and much more so Siberia and Central Asia, were very backward. The second wonder that the Soviets performed was to transform great parts of this area out of all recognition by prodigious schemes of planning. There is no instance in recorded history of such rapid advance of a people. Even the most backward areas in Central Asia have gone ahead with a rush which we in India might well envy.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have referred to democracy as 'formal' in the preceding paragraph. The communists say that it was not real democracy: it was only a democratic shell to hide the fact that one class ruled over the others. According to them democracy covered the dictatorship of the capitalist class. It was plutocracy, government by the wealthy. The much-paraded vote given to the masses gave them only the choice of saying once, in four. or five years, whether a certain person, X, might rule over them and exploit them or another person, Y, should do so. In either event the masses were to be exploited by the ruling class. Real democracy can only come when this class rule and exploitation end and only one class exists. To bring about this socialist State, however, a period of the dictatorship of the proletariat is necessary so as to keep down all capitalist and bourgeois elements in the population and prevent them from intriguing against the workers' State. In Russia this dictatorship is exercised by the Soviets in which all the workers and peasants and other 'active' elements are represented. Thus it becomes a dictatorship of the 90per cent over the remaining 10 or 5 per cent. That is the theory. In practice the Communist Party controls the Soviets and the ruling clique of communists controls the party. And the dictatorship is as strict, so far as censorship and freedom of thought or action are concerned, as any other. But as it is based on goodwill of the workers it must carry the workers with it. And, finally, there is no exploitation of the workers or any other class for the benefit of another. There is no exploiting class left. If there is any exploitation, it is done by the State for the benefit of all.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This Soviet solution of the minorities problem has interest for us, as we have to face a difficult minority problem ourselves. The Soviets' difficulties appear to have been far greater than ours, for they had 182 different nationalities to deal with. Their solution of the problem has been very successful. They went to the extreme length of recognizing each separate nationality and encouraging it to carry on its work and education in its own language. This was not merely to please the separatist tendencies of different minorities, but because it was felt that real education and cultural progress could take effect for the masses only if the native tongues were used. And the results achieved already have been remarkable.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This Five Year Plan had been drawn up after the most careful thought and investigation. The whole country had been surveyed by scientists and engineers, and numerous experts had discussed the problem of fitting in one part of the programme into another. For, the real difficulty came in this fitting in... But Russia had one great advantage over the capitalist countries. Under capitalism all these activities are left to individual initiative and chance, and owing to competition there is waste of effort. There is no co-ordination between different producers or different sets of workers, except the chance co-ordination which arises in the buyers and sellers coming to the same market... The Soviet Government had the advantage of controlling all the different industries and activities in the whole Union, and so it could draw up and try to work a single co-ordinated plan in which every activity found its proper place. There would be no waste in this, except such waste as might come from errors of calculation or working, and even such errors could be rectified far sooner with a unified control than otherwise.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For Russia, therefore, this building of heavy industries at a tremendous pace meant a very great sacrifice. All this construction, all this machinery that came from outside, had to be paid for, and paid for in gold and cash. How was this to be done? The people of the Soviet Union tightened their belts and starved and deprived themselves of even necessary articles so that payment could be made abroad. They sent their food-stuffs abroad, and with the price obtained for them paid for the machinery. They sent everything they could find a market for: wheat, rye, barley, corn, vegetables, fruits, eggs, butter, meat, fowls, honey, fish, caviare, sugar, oils, confectionery, etc. Sending these food articles outside meant that they themselves did without them. The Russian people had no butter, or very little of it, because it went abroad to pay for machinery. And so with many other goods...”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the privation, especially of the upper and middle-class peasantry, was very great, and often it seemed that the whole ambitious scheme would collapse, and perhaps carry the Soviet Government with it. It required immense courage to hold on. Many prominent Bolsheviks thought that the strain and suffering caused by the agricultural programme were too great and there should be a relaxation. But not so Stalin. Grin-fly and silently he held on. He was no talker, he hardly spoke in public. He seemed to be the iron image of an inevitable fate going ahead to the predestined goal. And something of his courage and determination spread among the members of the Communist Party and other workers in Russia.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But, as I have told you, this Five Year Plan brought much suffering, and difficulties and dislocation. And people paid a terrible price willingly and accepted the sacrifices and sufferings for a few years in the hope of a better time afterwards; some paid the price unwillingly and only because of the compulsion of the Soviet Government. Among those who suffered most were the kulaks or richer peasants. With their great wealth and special influence, they did not fit into the new scheme of things. They were capitalistic elements which prevented the collective farms from developing on socialist lines. Often they opposed this collectivization, sometimes they entered the collectives to weaken them from inside or to make undue personal profit out of them. The Soviet Government came down heavily on them. The Government was also very hard on many middle-class people whom it suspected of espionage and sabotage on behalf of its enemies. Because of this, large numbers of engineers were punished and sent to gaol.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Work remains, and must remain, though in the future it is likely to be pleasanter and lighter than in the trying early years of planning. Indeed, the maxim of the Soviet Union is: 'He that will not work, neither shall he eat.' But the Bolsheviks have added a new motive for work: the motive to work for social betterment. In the past, idealists and stray individuals have been moved to activity by this incentive, but there is no previous instance of society as a whole accepting and reacting to this motive. The very basis of capitalism was competition and individual profit, always at the expense of others. This profit motive is giving place to the social motive in the Soviet Union and, as an American writer says, workers in Russia are learning that, 'from the acceptance of mutual dependence comes independence from want or fear'. This elimination of the terrible fear of poverty and insecurity, which bears down upon the masses everywhere, is a great achievement. It is said that this relief has almost put an end to mental diseases in the Soviet Union.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The conflict between capitalism and democracy is inherent and continuous; it is often hidden by misleading propaganda and by the outward forms of democracy, such as parliaments, and the sops that the owning classes throw to the other classes to keep them more or less contented. A time comes when there are no more sops left to be thrown, and then the conflict between the two groups comes to a head, for now the struggle is for the real thing, economic power in the State. When that stage comes, all the supporters of capitalism, who had so far played with different parties, band themselves together to face the danger to their vested interests. Liberals and such-like groups disappear, and the forms of democracy are put aside. This stage bas now arrived in Europe and America, and fascism, which is dominant in some form or other in mast countries, represents that stage. Labour is everywhere on the defensive, not strong enough to face this new and powerful consolidation of the forces of capitalism. And yet, strangely enough, the capitalist system itself totters and cannot adjust itself to the new world. It seems certain that even if it succeeds in surviving, it will be but another stage in the long conflict. For modern industry and modern life itself, under any form of capitalism, are battlefields where armies are continually clashing against each other.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Great progress was made and the standards of life went up, and are continually going up. Culturally and educationally, and in many other ways, the advance all over the Soviet Union has been remarkable. Anxious to continue this advance and to consolidate its socialist economy, Russia consistently followed a peace policy in international affairs. In the League of Nations it stood for substantial disarmament, collective security, and corporate action against aggression. It tried to accommodate itself to the capitalist Great Powers and, in consequence, Communist Parties sought to build up 'popular fronts' or 'joint fronts' with other progressive parties.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In spite of this general progress and development, the Soviet Union passed throught a severe internal crisis during this period... It is difficult for me to express a definite opinion about these trials or the events that led up to them, as the facts are complicated and not clear. But it is undoubted that the trials disturbed large numbers of people, including many friends of Russia, and added to the prejudice against the Soviet Union. Close observers are of opinion that there was a big conspiracy against the Stalinist regime and that the trials were bonafide. It also seems to be established that there was no mass support behind the conspiracy, and that the reaction of the people was definitely against the opponents of Stalin. Nevertheless, the extent of the repression, which may have hit many innocent persons also, was a sign of ill-health, and injured the Soviet's position internationally.”
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source