Today is Children’s Day – the birth anniversary of independent India’s first prime minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. Just over 50 years after his death we seem to be forgetting our first prime minister. The buzz around this day has drastically diminished over the last couple of years. Why? Just because those ruling the corridors of power do not agree with his ideologies?

Whether we like it or not, Pandit Nehru will remain our first prime minister. No amount of effort can undo that. He is an indelible part of our history and legacy. More than 200 years since his death, every American – be it Republican or Democrat – revers his first president, George W. Washington. Why can’t we Indians – fascinated with everything western – emulate them in this regard?

I am not trying to make a case for the greatness of Pandit Nehru. History has recorded it and I am not equipped to comment on it.

My point is this…

Can we undo our past? Should we even try to?

What is done is done. It is etched in time till eternity. What is the point of discussing whether it was right or wrong just for the sake of it. Past should be discussed to learn lessons from it, not to prove that it is responsible for all current misfortunes.

What we can change is our future, and that is what we should strive to do. Rather than raking up old things and spoiling our present as well as future due to that. As GB Shaw said,

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility of our future.