Dear misinformed dp you have written a rather long missive full of errors and incongruities.
First, Rajiv was very reluctant to enter politics. That was left to Sanjay. That is why his fresh approach endeared him to the people. Second, he spoke of a new and modern thrust to our problems and a progressive India ie. the modernisation of this country. In fact, he was the first politician( or non-politician) to publicly say that only 15% of development funds actually reach the people at the ground level. Second, he invited Sam Pitroda to set up the technology mission to develop the fiels of technology and communications. Pramod Mahajan was a nonentity then. Third, he was a believer in one society and could be seen socialising and indeed partaking food from one and all, be he a hindu,muslim,OBC,dalit,yadav and the numerous castes. Fourth, many readers in these coloumns have credited Narsimhan Rao alongwith Manmohan Singh for opening up the country. It is well know that Narsimhan Rao claimed several times that he was only following the policies laid down by Rajiv Gandhi. As for the progress you talk of, speak to any economist and he will tell you that the economy really took off from 2004 onwards. In under three years the sensex ( reflector of the economy ) has gone from 3000 odd points to over 14,000 points. Finally, when you speak of Nehru and the others, you must keep in mind the realities, situations and the context existing then and not compare them contemporarily. Nehru in fact laid the foundation of a strong India by setting up industries locally and not importing from abroad as he could have easily done. For him Factories were the Temples of India
