Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit, Jairam recalls Nehru’s role in the rise of Austria

The Congress on Tuesday recalled the key role played by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the early 1950s in the emergence of a sovereign and neutral Austria and said people “suffering from Nehruphobia” like Prime Minister Narendra Modi would do well to remember that.

Ahead of Modi’s visit to Austria, Congress General Secretary and Communications Officer Jairam Ramesh had said that the Republic of Austria was fully established only on October 26, 1955, a day that is celebrated as a national holiday. One person who was crucial to making this happen was none other than the man “Modi loves to hate and vilify”.

“Dr. Hans Kochler, a leading Austrian academic, has written about the key role played by Jawaharlal Nehru in the early 1950s in the emergence of a sovereign and neutral Austria after a decade of occupation by the victorious powers of World War II,” Ramesh said.

“One of Nehru’s most ardent admirers worldwide was the legendary Bruno Kreisky, who was Chancellor of Austria from 1970 to 1983,” he said.

“In 1989, Dr. Kreisky remembered Nehru as follows: ‘When the history of this century is written, and that of the men who left their mark on it, one of the greatest and most beautiful chapters will be the story of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It will be part of India’s most modern history… Very early, Nehru became one of my teachers,’ Ramesh said.

The congress leader also shared Kochler’s retrospective for those interested in diplomatic history.

“Those who suffer from Nehruphobia – like our non-biological prime minister and, especially since 2019, our erudite and handsome foreign minister – would also do well to remember this,” Ramesh said in his post on X.

After completing his engagement in Russia on July 9, Modi will head to Austria, the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in over 40 years.

First print: 09 Jul 2024 | 11:05 AM IST