Lal Qiley Se Goonj: ‘Food’ for thought from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi

Documentaries about great leaders or audio speeches of great men are not popular with most people. Or so I thought. Most people in India turn on their television after a long workday to escape to a mindless comedy or drown themselves in reality shows. But I was wrong. Over the past year, I realised I was mistaken in thinking this. There is a strong appreciation for historical accuracy and for serious entertainment without drama in India. Watching a show like ‘Lal Qiley Se Goonj’ on History TV18 mainstream speeches of prime ministers since Independence was particularly gratifying. The popularity of mind-stimulating entertainment among Indians is increasing. Anupam Kher, a public figure with such broad appeal, hosting this programme only confirms that such content is in demand. It is, therefore, not a stretch to say that Indian audiences prefer ‘food for thought’ content today. [caption id=“attachment_11076321” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Image courtesy. Twitter/@BJP4India[/caption] The analysis of the Independence Day speeches on the show prompted me to reflect on current global events. Having read several prime ministers’ Independence Day speeches, my thoughts turned to food. Yes, food. Could the pandemic have caused a food shortage? The coronavirus pandemic brought with it many uncertainties. A poor man’s biggest worry was putting food on the table for his family. Farmers were uncertain how they would produce, store, transport, or sell goods. It was a very real fear that the situation would deteriorate if not handled properly and early on. Frightening predictions by foreign spectators projecting a higher death rate from starvation than from the virus, did not help. These predictions cannot be blamed. India was no stranger to food shortages. There is a history to it. The food shortages plagued India during the Nehru-Indira era. Jawaharlal Nehru throughout the years had highlighted food shortage as the No 1 issue. Even pledging to make India self-sufficient and prosperous by 1951. In keeping with his pledge, during his 1949 Independence Day speech, Nehru proposed a novel idea to ease countrywide food shortages — he advised the people not to throw feasts in order to reduce food waste. Jawaharlal Nehru (1949) “Those who waste food by organising feasts just to show off, they are doing a crime against the country. What could be more useless than someone among you or among us organises a feast and wastes food at a time when some people are going hungry. We have to tighten our belts… If the cooperation of the people is forthcoming, if we walk ahead together, we shall solve not only this problem but many others.” The next Independence Day speech, which Nehru delivered in 1950, resorted to blame games. In order to justify his own inaction in addressing the food shortage, he painted businessmen and shopkeepers as enemies of the nation. Jawaharlal Nehru (1950) “The other problem is that there are a lot of people in this country who are trying to make money from other people’s problems, be it a businessman or shop-owners they are hoarding food grains for their benefit so that they get huge price or maybe in a year or two when they need it they can bring it out.” In fact, food shortages have been attributed to the last war, to Partition, to how the food producing region left the country, and to population growth. He even went as far as to express his helplessness by saying how he was heartbroken whenever he heard distressing news about the situation in India and that it was a ‘worrying situation’. Jawaharlal Nehru (1950) “In the last war, Pakistan was born, the food producing part went away from the country, the population increased, there are a lot of things.” Jawaharlal Nehru (1950) “There are many big questions before the nation today. The question of food is at the top of everyone’s list. We have tried a lot to address this over the last two-three years, discussed it a lot, and sometimes discussed it long and wide. At the moment, you hear that there is a lot of trouble in our province of Madras, Bihar, strange news is coming from there, which is heart-breaking to read. This is a worrying situation” In 1950-51, India faced a severe food crisis. A severe drought followed the earthquake and floods in the North East, decimating crops from southern Madras to Orissa and northward into Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab. On Independence Day 1951, Nehru blamed ‘a fight in Korea’ and ‘some talk in America’ for things spiralling out of control when it came to food scarcity and increasing food prices! Rising prices of essential commodities in India were directly attributed to the Korean war. At the same time, India under Nehru was also seeking American food grain aid to prevent an impending collapse. Jawaharlal Nehru (1950) “The price rise of essential commodities is also a thing, there is a war in Korea and people have increased the prices of essential commodities here, what is the meaning of this.” Jawaharlal Nehru (1951) “Prices have increased and whether it’s the salaried class or any other, they have suffered. The scarcity of food, rationing and other things came in and you faced difficulties. Sometimes, a fight in Korea affects us, raise prices of commodities then it goes out of our control. If there is some talk in America, then that affects the prices of commodities.” Several years later, with the food problem still unresolved, in his 1959 Independence Day speech, Nehru claimed that because India was busy doing ‘great things’, things were not fully under control, but would soon be. Jawaharlal Nehru (1959) “We sometimes forget that we are engaged in doing great things, to make this country great again. You are facing problems even now, that of price rise. This isn’t in our total control yet but we will control it.” While Nehru resorted to blaming, Indira Gandhi turned to public scolding. With her head in the clouds and hidden in her coterie, she delivered sermon after sermon to a country already suffering from food shortages. Hunger and famine again threatened the nation in 1974. Families survived by eating grass, seeds, and roots, and mothers sold their children to buy food. In some cases, mothers carried their deceased children from one crematorium to another. These children had died from malnutrition. Imagine the country’s leadership at the time was instructing people to ‘grow vegetables in pots and canisters’ to solve the food shortage problem. Even preaching masses to ‘modify habits’, ‘change traditional ways’, or even ‘suffer a little’. To add insult to injury, these lectures were delivered to the poor and hungry nation on the eve of India’s Independence Day! Empty words can’t put food on the table Over 80 crore Indians today can testify how the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, implemented since March 2020, has prevented situations of starvation and death. Each month for two years, these 80 crore people received 5 kg wheat/rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free. As India and the world were battling with a deadly pandemic, in speeches after speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly vowed that ‘no one will go hungry’ in India. A pledge was taken again, but this time, it was delivered. And food shortage, was there any? Food stocks in India remained healthy due to the government’s non-restriction of agricultural activities during the pandemic. Under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, an agricultural infrastructure boost fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore was announced. The agricultural sector in India grew steadily throughout the pandemic, with no signs of slowing down. In the following years, Indian farmers enjoyed bumper harvests. During the pandemic, the government procured record levels of wheat and paddy, which not only increased farmer income but also allowed food grains to reach the hungry. Take a moment to consider the current situation. Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the world is engulfed in an international food crisis. Although India has distributed free food grains to over 60 per cent of its population over the past two years, it maintains that it has complete control over its food supply to feed its people and that Indian farmers are ready to feed the world. ‘India is ready to feed the world,’ Prime Minister Modi told US President Joe Biden during their recent virtual meeting. It is important to note that several distressed nations are already receiving food grain aid from India, including Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. What do you think was a more effective strategy to combat food shortages? Using a heavy hand, ordering starving people to ’tighten their belts’ or proactively making sure that ’no one goes hungry’? For those were not just words, but pronouncements from leaders of the country. Especially when spoken from the Red Fort on such a grand occasion, these are words not to be taken lightly. Those words were actually translated into policy. Throughout his tenure as prime minister, PM Modi always inspired us to believe in the power of our collective strength. It is the Indian resolve that allows us to achieve anything, regardless of the circumstances. It is this belief of ‘aatmanirbharta’ that helped India thrive through the pandemic as well as the global crisis, feeding itself and others. Beyond its borders too, India is striving to ensure that no one goes to bed hungry. Reminds me of what PM Modi said in this year’s speech. Narendra Modi (2022) “We all need to think how long we will be dependent on other people of the world. Can we outsource when our country needs food grains? When the country decided that we will meet our food requirements, did the country demonstrate it or not? Once we take a resolution, it is possible. And, therefore, ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ becomes the responsibility of every citizen, every government and every unit of society. ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is not a government agenda or a government programme. This is a mass movement of society, which we have to take forward.” The author is a senior fellow with Bluecraft Digital Foundation. Views are personal. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.