Nehru was no god, we questioned his policies: Haksar daughter

Family members and eminent personalities today recalled the legacy of former diplomat P N Haksar on his birth centenary with activist daughter Nandita narrating how he encouraged her to question Jawaharlal Nehru's policies and ideas.
"We always had a photograph of Nehru in a prominent place in our sitting room so that there he was always there listening to our conversations. But Nehru was not god and my father allowed me to question his policies, ideas and even values," Nandita said.
Describing her father as a "nationalist with a song of socialism in his heart", she took a trip down memory lane to share with people the ideals and ideas that made Haksar's idea of "one secular India".

"All his life he tried to grapple with problems of nationalism. Even a year before he died he wrote in an article: "I am obsessed by words like Bharat, Hindustan, Al-Hind and India." No religion was practiced in our home but only India was sacred," she recalled.
Others also paid tributes and recalled the legacy of Haksar as a personality who wore many colourful hats than just of a diplomat.
"Apart from being a fine diplomat he was also a very good photographer, an excellent cook, a devoted gardener and also a father figure to many," former Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN Salman Haider said.

Former Bureau Chief of BBC at New Delhi Mark Tully, wished there were "more Haksars today in India".

"I met him while he was in office and also post-retirement. And, there was something about him that was so different," Tully told PTI.
BJP veteran and former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh recalled an interesting incident with Haksar.
"I received a call on fine day saying that 'I'm Haksar and I wish to meet you.' At that time, I didn't know him but he had read reports about my travel as a MP to Central Asia and thus wanted to see me. He later came to my residence at Teen Murti Lane and that's how I got to know of this man," Singh said.