Nehru's intellectual endowment was also exceptional. It was not better than that of Rajagopalachari, the sharpest mind in Indian public life for many years; and it did not have the originality of Gandhi, for Gandhi had a power of mind to match his power of spirit.
And, in general, Nehru was probably clever and wide-ranging and lively rather than profound. But few indeed have been heads of government in our time with such a force, or such a range, of mind.
In history he is to be compared in this, as also in his capacity for the written word, and for his sustained physical effort, with Napoleon. Napoleon in office, however, was nearly thirty years younger than Nehru, he ruled for a shorter time, and he suffered little from the lashing of conscience.
Once when I took a scientist to Nehru, a biologist and Nobel Prizeman, the latter made a careless statement about some work. Nehru pounced on it, politely, and demolished it. This was typical. Few errors in reasoning escaped him. I have seen and heard a dozen or more prime ministers at Nehru's table: all but two or three were yokels beside him.
If his knowledge lacked solidity, this was normally because he lacked time, though there are those knowing him who insist that it was his nature to skim the surface. For many years his reading had to be done in odd minutes snatched from public cares.
Image: Nehru with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan at the Viceregal Lodge in Shimla.
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