Nationalism and the slogan of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' are being misused to construct a "militant and purely emotional" idea of India that excludes millions of residents and citizens, former prime minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday, in an apparent attack on the BJP. Addressing a gathering at the launch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru's work and speeches, Singh said that if India is recognised in the comity of nations as a vibrant democracy and, if it is considered as one of the important world powers, it was the first prime minister who should be recognised as its main architect.

Nehru had led this country in its volatile and formative days when it adopted a democratic way of life, accommodating divergent social and political views, Singh said. India's first prime minister, who was very proud of Indian heritage, assimilated it and harmonised them into the needs of a new modern India, he said "With an inimitable style, and a multi-linguist, Nehru laid the foundation of the universities, academies and cultural institutions of Modern India. But for Nehru's leadership, independent India would not have become what it is today," Singh said.