I Was Paying Respect: Javadekar Clarifies Comment on Nehru, Patel

Javadekar at the public rally was saluting the ones who gave their lives in helping India gain independence.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. (Photo: Reuters)

Correction: The earlier version of the article had a literal translation of spoken Hindi into written English which resulted in the misreporting of the intent of the minister’s statement.

Human Resource Department (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar took to Twitter to say that his words which were reported as suggesting that Nehru and Bose were “hanged” were taken out of context. Javadekar also asserted that the audience at the rally understood what he meant.

The minister said he was amused at the news.

Javadekar’s Words Lost in Translation

Javedekars’ speech — where he was reported to have committed the faux pas — mentioned that he saluted the ones who gave their lives in helping India gain independence from the British in 1947.

In the speech, Javadekar appeared to have put Nehru and Patel in the same bracket as Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, who had gone to the gallows to ensure India’s independence.

The fight for independence that lasted 90 years culminated when we threw the British out. We salute all those freedom fighters. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Pandit (Jawahar Lal Nehru), Bhagat Singh and Rajguru who were hanged.

Prakash Javadekar, Human Resource Development Minister

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