I could accept that there are leaders in the nation's past that have been given a diminished role in comparison to Nehru and Gandhi (Ambedkar comes to mind) but I can hardly believe that anyone so instrumental to building the nation's foundation could be so easily dismissed like Nehru. Navigating the country through independence, the writing of the Constitution, the largest mass migration in human history, modernization of industry, and the beginnings of the Cold War while having the longest tenure of any PM in Indian history amount to one of the greatest resumes of any modern leader.
For PV Narasimha Rao, I can still buy the argument that he set off on dismantling the Licence Raj. What exactly did Vajpayee achieve that came anywhere close? Deciding to go nuclear?
Nevertheless, I don't see how either of them can be considered to have equalled Nehru. For one he remains the longest serving PM during the most transformative period of modern India. During Nehru's term India went from having to import even cars to building jet fighters.
