What did Nehru and Indira Gandhi do in Slovakia?
As I was roaming around in the streets of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, I accidentally saw a building which had Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s name on it.
I had no clue India and Slovakia had some kind of relationship in the mid 20th century. I was curious to know what Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi did in Slovakia back then.
The building on which their names were displayed is just a café at present. There is no other symbol of historic importance.
I chanced upon an article which says India and Checkoslovakia (Cheque Republic and Slovakia were one country earlier) had consular relationships after world war 1
This TripAdvisor article states that Indira Gandhi and Nehru met Vladimir Clementis ( foreign minister of Slovakia at that time) in Kerns Restaurant here. It is not clear if the meeting had some significance, did India contribute something or some major decisions made etc.
A Hungarian leader, Lajos Kossuth declared Hungary’s freedom from this spot in 1884. My guess is other dignitaries were an audience to this announcement.
If you are aware of any more relevant details of Nehru and Indira Gandhi's Slovakia visit and connection do drop a comment. I will update the post with credit.
Also read: 8 reasons to include Slovakia in your Europe plan *
I found this article and a photo (https://thehinduimages.com/details-page.php?id=1689914)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.historydiscussion.net/wars/the-munich-pact-between-the-two-world-wars/780
> The worst act of appeasement and shameful betrayal took place when Czechoslovakia’s Western allies handed her over to Germany. Czechoslovakia had emerged as an independent state after the First World War.
> Jawaharlal Nehru was in Europe at the time and went to Czechoslovakia and “watched at close quarters the difficult and intricate game of how to betray your friend”. In an article, entitled ‘On the Brink’, which he wrote a week before the Munich Pact was signed, he said that Nazi aggression could have been stopped “if England and France and Russia had stood together”. But Britain and France preferred Hitler.
Thanks for sharing
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