PRE-INDEPENDENCE DYNASTY PROMOTION
Jawaharlal Nehru’s dynastic tendencies, inherited from his father Motilal, were apparent in the 1930s itself, much before he became the prime minister.
After the 1937 elections when the ministry was being formed in UP, Govind Ballabh Pant (who became the Chief Minister) and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai proposed to Nehru inclusion of Mrs Vijayalakshmi Pandit [Nehru’s sister] in the ministry, which Nehru readily agreed. Why did they do so? Not because they considered Vijayalakshmi competent! But, by doing so, they hoped to receive Nehru’s favour, and hoped to save themselves from unnecessary interference and outbursts of Nehru!
On Vijayalakshmi Pandit, there is an episode of the time Nehru was head of the Interim Government in 1946, as written by Stanley Wolpert in his book, ‘Nehru: A Tryst with Destiny’:
“Liaquat Ali Khan and Nehru almost came to blows in the interim government’s cabinet, when Nehru named his sister Nan [Vijayalakshmi Pandit] as India’s first ambassador to Moscow. Liaquat was livid at such autocratic blatant nepotism, but his protests fell on deaf ears. Nehru yelled louder and threatened to resign immediately if Dickie [Mountbatten] supported Liaquat in the matter.”
