Comparing Mahatma Gandhi and Jawahar Lal Nehru

 Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal nehru were two peaks of the India's freedom struggle .Nehru was variously influenced by Gandhiji however , there were some differences between Gandhi and Nehru.

1. Gandhi was oriental in his outlook ,He derived inspiration from cultural heritage of this land ,The life of Buddha ,Mahavir and other saints had tremendous impact upon him.
2. Nehru ,on the other hand was westernized in his outlook .His ideas were pragmatic .The western education had instilled into his nerves a radical outlook and he wanted to exhibit it as per the demand of the situation.
3. Gandhi envisaged a spiritualised democracy .Neither property nor position in the society but manual work should be the basis of village republic .it will be a state devoid of corruption and hypocrisy .
4. Nehru was the champian of parliament democracy .He had belief in the parliament ,judiciary ,press ,public opinion etc .Universal adult suffrage ,to him,should be the basis of democracy .
5. Cottage industry with emphasis on hand spinning ,hand weaving ,khadi ,trusteeship etc .were the ideas of Gandhi to create a self -sufficient economy.
6. Nehru on the other hand ,followed democratic socialism and put emphasis on cooperative movement ,massive industrialization ,scientific and technological advancement etc.which formed the principles of Nehru for the economic advancement of the country .
7. Gandhi viewed India should not poke her nose in the foreign affairs which is detrimental for the growth of the countrty .
8. Nehru on the other hand ,became a promoter of world peace with his ideas of panchsheel ,non -alignment ,faith on U.N.O he tried to develop frienship with the neighbouring countries and the other countries of the world for the upliftment of India.
9. Gandhi's ideas were basically spiritual and he was uncompromising with his principle of truth ,non-violence and purity.
10. Nehru never attached due importance to spiritualism .his ideas were rational ,pragmatic and global .he was ready to compromise with the situation when circumstances demanded.
11. Gandhiji was quite traditional in his approach .he never needed doctors ,police ,and machines and wanted to pursue traditional methods to realize the ends.
12. Nehru never believed such things.he had faith on doctors ,police ,press ,machines and he wanted to promote welfare of the society through them
13. With all his benign smile ,hard work ,traditional approach,Gandhi was regarded as the 'father of the nation'.

With all his pragmatic outlook ,dream to modernize India ,massive industrialization etc .nehru became the architect of the modern India.

By: Ankush Sharma