Pranab Mukherjee about Nehru in The Presidential Years
Late Former President Pranab Mukherjee was not only a seasoned politician but also a great economist. Before assuming the post of President, Pranab Mukherjee served in various capacities under Prime Ministers like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh. Pranab Mukherjee in his lifetime has written many books but his autobiography The Presidential Years has some sensational disclosures.
In the Chapter ‘My Prime Ministers: Different Styles, Different Temperaments’, late President Mukherjee wrote that Nehru dealt with Nepal very diplomatically. In it, he wrote that the then Prime Minister Nehru rejected the proposal of Nepal to make them included in the Province of India.
He has written that “Interestingly, Nepal’s king, Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, had suggested to Nehru that Nepal be made a province of India. But Nehru rejected the offer on the grounds that Nepal was an independent nation and must remain so.”
He further said that Had Indira Gandhi was in the place of Nehru, she would have seized the opportunity like she did with Sikkim.