Krishna Menon – Nehru’s Close Confidante: Krishna Menon. He was often characterized as deceitful, opportunistic, and morally questionable. He was described as entirely unprincipled, negatively affecting India’s international affairs. Krishna Menon was also portrayed as utterly unscrupulous, driven by pernicious ambition, and exhibiting a toxic patriarchal demeanor. He was labeled as someone who didn’t value truth greatly. An article in a famous daily referred to him as a communist sympathizer, a druggie, and having licentious relationships. Despite this, he resided in Nehru’s residence during his time in India and was a close associate and trusted friend of Nehru. Even more shocking was his appointment as the Defense Minister of India, despite his wrongdoings and eccentric character.

This historical background gains significance as it establishes a pattern for the Nehru-Gandhi family to capitalize on lucrative agreements, favoring personal gains over the nation’s interests. It solidifies Congress’ inclination to exonerate every single misdeed committed by individuals who venerate the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Nehru and the Emergence of Scams: At the onset of the 1948 India-Pakistan conflict, the Indian Army faced an urgent need for jeeps to transport troops to Jammu and Kashmir. Krishna Menon, who was serving as the Indian High Commissioner to the UK and shared a close bond with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, took it upon himself to order 2,000 refurbished jeeps from a company called M/s Anti-Mistantes. These refurbished jeeps came with a price tag of 300 pounds per vehicle. Remarkably, what adds to the astonishment is the revelation that both Canada and the United States could have supplied brand new jeeps at the very same price, rather than the refurbished ones. Menon’s actions were clearly beyond his official capacity as a high commissioner, as they involved making agreements. He went to great lengths to convince relevant Indian government officials to endorse the arrangements he had orchestrated. Due to his close association with Nehru, the concerned officials had no choice but to comply. As an entirely trusted confidante of Nehru, Menon not only initiated this order but also established dubious conditions for the payment and delivery of these jeeps.

The trusted Nehru friend insisted that a mere 10 percent of the jeeps scheduled for delivery undergo inspection. Consequently, after examining just this limited portion of the refurbished jeeps, a substantial 85 percent of the entire payment―in today’s value amounting to 1,50,00,000 pounds or approximately ₹156,00,000 (one hundred and fifty-six crore rupees)―was to be disbursed to the company.

Despite the well-established dubious reputation of Anti-Mistantes, a deal was inexplicably entered into with them. Predictably, the company dispatched a mere 155 out of the 2000 jeeps ordered, none of which were in operational or usable state. The Indian military rejected these jeeps, but shockingly, Anti-Mistantes disappeared into oblivion leaving a trail of losses for India at a very critical juncture.

As the demand for jeeps continued, Menon proceeded to forge yet another contract, this time with a different company called SCK Agencies, to secure 1007 jeeps. This agreement was signed for a higher price tag of 458 pounds per vehicle as against the earlier 300 pounds per vehicle.

Anti-Mistantes was a company based in the United Kingdom. SCK Agencies was a company based in the United Kingdom. Krishna Menon was the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Piecing this puzzle together doesn’t require expertise in rocket science. Isn’t this the typical modus operandi in every scam? Forget the Prime Minister, but even a school kid could have connected the dots. Here, the stark insensitivity and clear favoritism of Nehru come glaringly into view. Both Foreign Secretary NR Pillai and Nehru’s Secretary MO Mathai had explicitly brought to Nehru’s attention Menon’s distinct involvement with SCK agencies. Their comprehensive reports laid bare Menon’s exclusive rapport with Bob Cleminson, the Chief Associate of SCK Agencies. Astonishingly, despite being armed with this knowledge, Nehru, driven by Krishna Menon’s veneration for him, shamelessly turned a blind eye. This is a testament to Nehru’s reprehensible moral negligence and paints a stark picture of his ethical bankruptcy driven by the cult-like adulation he enjoyed. It is widely speculated that the proceeds from this transaction found their way into Krishna Menon’s India League and his publishing venture, Meridian Books—a company responsible for publishing Nehru’s own work, “The Discovery of India.” This serves as a glaring indictment of Nehru’s leadership, revealing a shocking breach of integrity and an alarming willingness to overlook blatant improprieties of those who idolized him.

It’s also important to note that the possibilities offered by Canada and the United States still remained viable alternatives. If Nehru or his trusted friend genuinely intended to bolster the capabilities of the Indian military, they could have pursued a different course of action. But they did not. Expecting anything different from Nehru would expose our own foolishness, as he was the one who famously expressed that India didn’t require a defense plan and even advocated for the dismantling of the Army.

Coming back to the fraudulent deal. Initially, in accordance with the requirements of the Indian military, the contract stipulated the delivery of 68 jeeps each month by SCK Agencies. However, Krishna Menon made alterations to this contract as well. He modified the delivery terms to demand the supply of only 12 jeeps monthly for the span of six months, followed by a subsequent increase to 120 jeeps per month. Unsurprisingly, Krishna Menon’s second choice also failed to meet their commitments. Over the course of two years, they managed to deliver just 49 jeeps, thus failing to fulfill their contractual obligations.

Another aspect of the agreement stipulated that SCK Agencies would provide compensation to the Indian government to offset the losses stemming from the initial deal with Anti-Mistantes. However, in addition to the failure to acquire the jeeps through both contracts endorsed by Nehru, the Indian government did not receive any form of compensation for the losses endured as a consequence of the deal.