'P.V. Narasimha Rao, whose 91st birth anniversary was marked last week, came from a humble home. His intellectual centre was India. Unlike Nehru his knowledge of Sanskrit was profound. His speech on Mahatma Gandhi at UNESCO on May 11, 1995 was a masterpiece. One has only to read his address 'India's Cultural Influence on Western Europe since the Age of Romanticism' given at Alpach, Austria on June 19,1983 to realise that PV was a man of learning, a scholar, a linguist and a thinker of the first order. His roots were deep in the spiritual and religious soil of India. He did not need to Disocver India'.
I am quoting K. Natwar Singh , diplomat and former Foreign Minister. ( The Hindu, July 2, 2012).
PV as he is fondly referred to had his failings as a political leader and head of government but his grand vision for India and its people is what redeems him from his shorcomings and make us look back at the person and his times with nostalgia and fondness. He was the first Prime Minister from outside the Nehru-Gandhi clan and proved to us that India could be ruled ably by a man who did not hail from its premier political dynasty or had to look up to it for political survival. The economic reforms initiated under his leadership have been praised and criticised but the final word of their impact is to be evaluated by future generations. We are too close to the event. But PV displayed boldness to depart from ritualistic adherence to empty ideological systems and dealt a final blow to many vested economic interests. I often wish he lived for a few more years in good health which would have allowed him to actively participate in public affairs.
I am quoting K. Natwar Singh , diplomat and former Foreign Minister. ( The Hindu, July 2, 2012).
PV as he is fondly referred to had his failings as a political leader and head of government but his grand vision for India and its people is what redeems him from his shorcomings and make us look back at the person and his times with nostalgia and fondness. He was the first Prime Minister from outside the Nehru-Gandhi clan and proved to us that India could be ruled ably by a man who did not hail from its premier political dynasty or had to look up to it for political survival. The economic reforms initiated under his leadership have been praised and criticised but the final word of their impact is to be evaluated by future generations. We are too close to the event. But PV displayed boldness to depart from ritualistic adherence to empty ideological systems and dealt a final blow to many vested economic interests. I often wish he lived for a few more years in good health which would have allowed him to actively participate in public affairs.
