Did Jawaharlal Nehru practice anti-Hindu sentiments?

During 1962 general election Nehru went to Kashi (Varanasi) and in a speech he said, ‘a lot of marble is used in temples, just like it is used in bathrooms. People think that the more marble you use, the more beautiful the thing will look. But seeing marble reminds me of bathrooms’.

This speech given by Nehru in Kashi hurt the sentiments of Hindus, many people protested. But instead of apologizing, Nehru again reiterated these thoughts in an election rally in Jaipur during this time. He said in Jaipur, ‘the temples that are built today are absolutely worthless. As I had said in Banaras, perhaps people were offended. Here the beauty of temples is considered to be putting a lot of marble stone in them. Marble is a good stone, but marble stone always reminds me of bathrooms’.

It is possible that Nehru was expressing concern about the architecture of Hindu temples in his election speech and perhaps he was mentioning the bathroom by giving the example of the same. But the same example can be applied to mosques as well, marble is used in mosques as well, but perhaps Nehru did not remember seeing the marble in mosques, or he did not have the courage to make such a comment about mosques. From the beginning, congress developed a tendency to mock Hindus and they consider it secularism. The script of the tape of the speech given in Kashi and Jaipur is kept in the 'Nehru Memorial' i.e. the present 'Prime Minister Museum' (file numbers of ranscript of Kashi and Jaipur speeches are TS No.10117 and TS No.8340).

Nehru once said in his speech at a function that the people of ‘Hindu Arya Samaj’ are refugees in India. On hearing this, Swami Vidyanand Videh ji, who was the chief guest of that function, stood up and slapped Nehru on the stage itself and after snatching the mike said that... ‘The people of Arya Samaj are not refugees, they are our ancestors and the original residents of this country. Your own ancestors are "Arabic", and Arab blood is flowing in your body. You are not the original resident of this great country... you are a refugee...’

He also said that ‘if only Sardar Patel was the Prime Minister of this country, then we would not have to see all this’ (reference Videh Gatha: - P: 637).

There are many other instances when PM Nehru abused Hindu religion and culture. Nehru strongly objected reconstruction of Somnath temple in Gujarat and presence of government officials during its inauguration. Nehru ill-treated Sardar Patel family and Dr. Rajendra Prasad after his retirement. Nehru also criticised south Indian Hindu temple architecture and he said ‘South Indian temples repelled him while Mughal architectures are great’.

Nehru never attended Hindu rituals or religious leader or festivals as a devotee but visited temples few times for official duty only. Perhaps he was influenced by communism which consider ‘religion is opium of the masses’. But he has soft corner for Islam as he initiated Haj subsidy, Waqf Board trusts, iftar parties in government circles etc.

In December 1963, a strand of Prophet Muhammad’s hair was reported missing from Hazratbal shrine of Srinagar, Kashmir. This rumour of theft spread like a wildfire across the sub-continent including Pakistan. It may be possible that somebody tried to create trouble in Kashmir valley. There was protests and demonstration in Kashmir. PM Nehru send his senior minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Intelligence chief BN Mullick to handle the situation. In January 1964 Prophet Muhammad’s hair was found.

When BN Mullick informed PM Nehru about the recovery, Nehru said, ‘You have saved Kashmir for India’. Clearly this time religion is important for PM Nehru because it is not Hinduism.