The Catastrophic Blunders of Nehru

By Edwin de Shawn

The second book on history where the reader is the judge and decides the historical narrative. You can can see all the evidence and make your own call.

This book is a sweeping historical analysis of Nehru and his actions. The interplay of the other protagonists of the Indian freedom struggle - Gandhi, Jinnah, Ambedkar, Patel, the Congress, the Muslim League and the British Raj is also discussed. It talks about how Gandhi propped up Nehru, the role of nepotism, Nehru's interference with the military, a dangerous infatuation with Socialist Stalinism, an unhinged China policy, a contradictory Pakistan policy, Congress's role in stoking religious tensions and the Nehru-Menon sabotage of relations with the west. All these choices continue to hurt India to the present day.

The roles of Gandhi, Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, VK Krishna Menon as connivers and victims are also described in great detail. It challenges everything you thought we knew about the Indian freedom struggle. The truth is stranger than the wildest narrative you can think about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edwin de Shawn
• Release date: Nov 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005530518

Edwin de Shawn

Edwin de Shawn is a trained researcher in history. He is among the few researchers of history with the right statistical training from the best of universities. His research perspectives span across multiple disciplines and gives a cross functional perspective.His writings are being read by a worldwide audience. Unlike other writers, he doesn’t profess to talk down to readers or tell them how to think. Rather he is among the rare historians who will show you proof and ask you to judge for yourself.

Book preview

Dedication

To Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, a true lion among mortals.

The only leader with the courage to speak truth to power and stand his ground, fearless of consequences.

Disclaimer

The writeup may have words or language considered profane, vulgar or offensive by some readers. Because much of the material is open sourced, there may be errors, bias or duplication and readers are encouraged to give feedback to fix the problems. While care has been taken to source material from universities, well known politicians, well known authors, published books and eminent websites; some of the references may link to writers who are not subject matter experts and may lack academic or professional credentials.

The author and publisher take no responsibility and assumes no liability, whether it be indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive or multiple damages, tangible or intangible losses for any content in the book or external websites, which may be offensive, illegal, misleading or inappropriate. The author and publisher make no claim to the accuracy of the claims and would encourage the reader to decide for themselves by checking and verifying the links provided in the text and footnotes.

This book has been published with efforts to make the material error-free, but it is not perfect. The endnotes and bibliography will be revised in subsequent versions. The author and publisher do not assume and disclaim any liability to any party or person for any mistake or omission in this publication, advice rendered on the basis of this work and any loss, damage or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

Preface

The problem with reading history is that it is often a deeply polarizing subject, with deep political and historical repercussions. Right from the books which teach kids to think and create a worldview, to the prevailing truths which govern our day to day life, both media and the government have a vested interest in propagating specific points of view which suits their interests. Few people even bother to know about the interests and agenda motivating historians, writers, professors and others who act as middle men when it comes to delivering truth from the moment of creation to the final end user. While it is true that some interests could be genuine and without bias, one should not foreclose the possibility that the middle men are also human and can be as venal and biased as any other.

The only way to differentiate fact from fiction is to present the facts with sources exactly as it is, without corrupting it with one’s own interpretation. Sadly, very few of the history books quote references, and it is expected that the reader just assume that the author has done his or her due diligence. Good intent from the writer is taken for granted and writers get a free pass every time. This nefarious agenda controlled by mandarins and interpreters, also assumes that the readers do not have the intellectual capacity to digest and process information. For example, Nehru’s books like the Discovery of India is just a rant over 568 pages without any footnote or source or even a scarce reference. And this work by an untrained historian is worshipped as gospel truth by historians and researchers, which speaks to their corruption. This contemptuous outlook towards facts and references is an artifact of the past and will not withstand the scrutiny of an internet generation, where everybody is a Sherlock Holmes and a modern sleuth. Hence historians need to be wary of pushing false narratives.

What I have endeavored to do is present historical opinions as it is from the original sources, exactly as it is, without any of my own corruption. I have provided clickable links to each assertion made, readable endnotes and links to all statements in my books. Do your own homework, click the endnote to read through the links and check the veracity of information yourself. The reader is free to make their own conclusions about what the sources mean. There are hundreds of books and writings I have referenced for my books. If like me, you read all of them, I would be surprised if you don’t come to the same conclusion. I don’t think that history has ever been presented this way earlier, where you are the judge.

I see a certain thread emerge from all the data which has been collected (700 odd sources in three books, with clickable links), but it is perfectly possible that somebody else may see a different picture and form a different story. I think that should be how history is read, everybody should form their own conclusions with enlightened and independent points of view. Unlike other custodians of knowledge, I am open to the interpretation that I can be completely wrong.

People from the Indian subcontinent have a simplistic view of the freedom struggle and have cast Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru in the roles of a God, villain and hero respectively. Part of the problem with this approach is that this is a viewpoint which has been created from ground up by investing a lot of time and resources by innumerable vested interests over many decades. To understand why anyone would indulge in such an effort, it is necessary to ask who has benefitted from it. Akin to a murder mystery, more often than not, the person who stands to benefit the most is typically the murderer, however implausible it may seem in the beginning. Clues lies in asking he right questions. Why do Indians and Pakistanis have differing versions of their origin stories and ending up damning each other? Have citizens ever looked at the world in the other’s shoes? Has someone or some family got the chance to rule the Indian subcontinent for close to six decades by propping up a certain family name? Has someone tried to bank on a legacy to continue a dynasty rather than rule on the basis of progress and achievement?

When an extraordinarily learned person like Ambedkar embraced Gandhi’s assassination by saying "My own view is that

Reviews for The Catastrophic Blunders of Nehru

[Masala Tea Addict · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good book. Better written than the book on Gandhi. Well researched. But it’s heavily biased towards the negatives as the title obviously says.