AN EPITOME OF SIMPLICITY: THE UNSUNG AND INSPIRING OF TWO-TIME PRIME MINISTER GULJARI LAL NANDA

AN EPITOME OF SIMPLICITY: THE UNSUNG AND INSPIRING OF TWO-TIME PRIME MINISTER GULJARI LAL NANDA

4-JULY-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------------Today, when politics seems to revolve around position, privilege and pomp, the memory of a leader like Gulzarilal Nanda forces us to introspect – a leader who was the Prime Minister of the country twice but lived the last days of his life amid anonymity and struggle. 4 July, his death anniversary, reminds us again of this extraordinary simplicity and ideal.

A 94-year-old man was being tried to be evicted by his landlord for not being able to pay the rent. All he had was a few old utensils, a bucket, a mug and a bed. While he was packing up his belongings, the neighbours intervened and convinced the landlord to give him a few days’ time. The old man quietly, with hunched shoulders, moved his belongings back inside.

Coincidentally, a journalist was passing by. He saw the scene and thought it would make a poignant report. He took photographs and prepared a report — “Cruel landlord evicts old man from house for not paying rent!” But when the photographs were shown to the editor, he was shocked. He asked, “Do you know who this is?” The journalist replied, “No.” Then the truth came out — the old man was Gulzarilal Nanda, former Prime Minister of India.

The next day the newspaper printed the first line. “Former Prime Minister of India Gulzarilal Nanda is living in a pitiable condition!”

Nanda ji was a freedom fighter. He was offered freedom fighter pension by the government, but he refused it saying that he never participated in the freedom movement for any benefit. Finally, when there was no other option, he reluctantly accepted the pension at the request of friends. As soon as this news was published, there was a stir in Delhi. The then Prime Minister sent ministers and officials with a convoy of vehicles to him. The same landlord who had tried to evict him a few days ago was shocked to see this. He realised that the person he was being rude to had held the highest office in the country. The government requested him to take government accommodation and facilities, but Nandaji humbly refused. He said. "What should I do with these comforts at this age?" He lived like a common citizen, with utmost simplicity till the end. In 1997, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna due to the efforts of Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and H.D. Deve Gowda — but by then it was too late.

Is this not a matter of introspection for our nation?

The person who was the Prime Minister twice did not take any privilege, no luxury for himself. And today, when the level of politics is moving away from morality — it has become very important to look at and remember ideals like Nandaji. Gulzarilal Nanda was not just a politician, he was a representative of a generation that saw politics as a means of service – not power. This 4th of July, let us remember him not just as a death anniversary, but as a pledge to keep an ideal alive.