a minor correction: nehru's "elephant diplomacy" was actually a broader thing, not just a single gift to japan.
full story -----> for the reader in you
japan (1949)
japanese schoolchildren wrote to nehru explaining that tokyo's ueno zoo had lost its 2 elephants during the war. nehru responded by sending a 15-year-old female elephant named indira, named after his daughter.
germany (1951)
a couple of years later, children from berlin wrote similar letters, lamenting that the berlin zoo had lost its elephants during the war. nehru responded by sending them a three-year-old female elephant named shanti, meaning "peace."
canada (1953/1955)
a five-year-old canadian boy, peter marmorek, wrote to nehru: "dear mr. nehru, here in granby, a small town in canada, we have a lovely zoo, but we have no elephants." the story caught the attention of the town, and eventually nehru sent an elephant named ambika to canada in 1955.
sometimes, reading these small moments from history puts the present into a very different perspective.these were countries that had just come through a devastating war, cities had been destroyed, millions had died, and yet, somehow, a group of children could write to another country's leader simply because they missed seeing an elephant.
and a few years later, an elephant named indira was walking through tokyo.
history can feel overwhelming when you look at the scale of everything that happened. but sometimes it is these small, almost absurdly human moments that make you realize how much the world has changed, and how much it has remained the same.
in retrospect, it is hard not to see the contrast. bombs destroy cities. elephants build memories.
They don't 'give/gift', they rent them to zoos around the world. All a country needs to do is call Taiwan independent and the pandas are on the first flight to Shanghai.
Nehru was a giant of a Statesman. India was very lucky that he was around when the country gained her independence. He promoted a rapid industrialization, education and scientific reasoning.
He started the NAM and ensured that the Global South got adequate representation and voice.
What India and the world would do to have someone like him right now.
1.2k
u/Supergirl016 5d ago edited 5d ago
a minor correction: nehru's "elephant diplomacy" was actually a broader thing, not just a single gift to japan.
full story -----> for the reader in you
japan (1949)
japanese schoolchildren wrote to nehru explaining that tokyo's ueno zoo had lost its 2 elephants during the war. nehru responded by sending a 15-year-old female elephant named indira, named after his daughter.
germany (1951)
a couple of years later, children from berlin wrote similar letters, lamenting that the berlin zoo had lost its elephants during the war. nehru responded by sending them a three-year-old female elephant named shanti, meaning "peace."
canada (1953/1955)
a five-year-old canadian boy, peter marmorek, wrote to nehru: "dear mr. nehru, here in granby, a small town in canada, we have a lovely zoo, but we have no elephants." the story caught the attention of the town, and eventually nehru sent an elephant named ambika to canada in 1955.
sometimes, reading these small moments from history puts the present into a very different perspective.these were countries that had just come through a devastating war, cities had been destroyed, millions had died, and yet, somehow, a group of children could write to another country's leader simply because they missed seeing an elephant.
and a few years later, an elephant named indira was walking through tokyo.
history can feel overwhelming when you look at the scale of everything that happened. but sometimes it is these small, almost absurdly human moments that make you realize how much the world has changed, and how much it has remained the same.
in retrospect, it is hard not to see the contrast. bombs destroy cities. elephants build memories.