NEHRU AND INDIA's BUDDHIST HISTORY

By the early 20th century, as the nationalist political agenda came into sharper focus, the nation seeking to throw off the shackles of the British empire was in urgent need of a new history. Jawaharlal Nehru was keenly aware of this and made use of new symbols, new words and new images in order to mark a break from the old, defeated past to a brighter, more respectable future. He frequently called upon the intellectual resources at his disposal, consistently making ‘great set- piece statements of national purpose’ on India's composite culture, and was strident in his critique of sectarian, religio-political strife, or communalism, which he felt threatened this fundamental characteristic of Indian culture. Nehru's history of India was written in support of what he perceived to be India's strengths—features like tolerance, spirituality, heterogeneity, capaciousness, non-violent protest, great learning and a certain asceticism towards higher goals and ideas. In his historical imagination and his vision for the new nation, Buddhism loomed large.

Buddhist history also suited Nehru's political project in another sense. As prime minister, he found that his principles of ‘just rule’, ‘an ideal ruler’, ‘non-violence’ and ‘a normative political order’ were at odds with the reality of his position which necessitated numerous tough decisions and the creation of systems of security and surveillance. Here he drew upon the example of the 3rd-century BCE Buddhist emperor Ashoka to outline his vision of a just, non-violent ruler who gave up war and conquest to embrace just, ethical and peaceful rule, sent emissaries of Buddhism out to other parts of the world and communicated his message of Buddhist ethics and principles to his people using their language and all available means of communication.

Nehru sought symbols that were easily translatable to a wider audience. Buddhism was an important resource here and a deliberate choice. It had by now gained the respect of audiences abroad and domestically as one of India's great contributions to world history. Fifty years of Buddhist activism that pre-dated 1947 had contributed to popular ideas of Buddhist history. It is no coincidence that the official symbols of the new nation had a clear Buddhist and Ashokan lineage. While the dharma chakra (or wheel of dharma) in the flag could be variously interpreted as it was equally central to Hindu iconography, there was no mistaking the lineage of Ashoka's lion capital.