A tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

A tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru, the son of Motilal Nehru. His father was a famous lawyer. Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Born with the proverbial silver spoon, With successful early education at home Jawaharlal was sent to Harrow, the best public school in England Jawaharlal had a western upbringing and studied in the famous Harrow School and Trinity College in England.. He was a brilliant student. Then he read in the Trinity College of the Cambridge University. Jawaharlal was a true patriot. While a student in England, he kept close touch with the political events in India. He had been inspired by the life of Garibaldi, an Italian patriot. He had an ambition to be a patriot. With degree of law he came back to India and joined the bar at the Allahabad High court

In 1916, at the age of 27, Jawaharlal married Kamala Kaul and the following year saw the birth of their only child Indira Priyadarshini. After an initial brush with legal practice, Jawaharlal Nehru joined the Indian National Congress and started his political career under the tutelage of father Motilal Nehru. He met the top Indian leaders like G.K. Gokhale, Dr. Annie Bessant, C.R.Das and M.K.Gandhi. He met M.K.Gandhi at the Congress Session in Lucknow. In 1920 he joined the Non-co-operation Movement started by Gandhiji. He suffered imprisonment for the first time in 1921 for taking part in the Non-co-operation Movement.

The more he suffered the more he loved his country. He was again imprisoned in 1930 and in 1932 for taking part in. the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Jawaharlal Nehru is famous for a number of reasons. He was the first Prime Minister of India, as well as the father of the most famous Prime Minister - Indira Gandhi.  He was a patriot, a freedom fighter as well as a highly regarded statesman

After the successful Champaran and Kheda Satyagrahas, Mahatma Gandhi emerged as the undisputed leader of the masses and Nehru soon became one of his trusted aides. Under Gandhi's influence Nehru shunned his western lifestyle and traveled extensively to garner resistance against the British. Through the 1920s Jawaharlal Nehru earned accolades for his passionate anti-British stance and was elected Congress Party president in the 1929 Lahore session.

Nehru played a prominent role in the 1930 Salt Satyagraha launched by Gandhi and when Congress called for the historic Quit India movement in 1942, he and Subhash Chandra Bose were at the forefront of the mass protests against the government. He was sentenced to imprisonment till 1945. Finally The moment of freedom has arrived and after some internal conflicts in the Congress Party Nehru was chosen as the head of the interim government. He took office as the first Prime Minister of India on August 15, 1947.

Pandit Nehru was a true diplomat. He kept good relations with other countries. He started the Non-Alignment Movement. He was also the founder of Panchashila.He was a strong supporter of industrialisation. He wanted to change the fate of India by setting up more and more factories.

As the Prime Minister of India, he travelled everywhere and India. He was a broad minded person. He never wanted his countrymen to remain in the grip of illiteracy, ignorance and superstition. He wanted the spread of science in India. He believed that India could be able to join the progress of the world only through the improvement of science and technology.

Jawaharlal Nehru was a lover of Indian Culture. He had a high appreciation for the rivers, the mountains, the festivals and the sculpture of India. He was a great writer and a thinker. He wrote such famous books as "Autobiography", "the Discovery of India" and "Glimpses of World History". He was a great speaker and delivered his speech at many places in India and abroad. He advocated India's stand on non-violence, love and universal brotherhood.

As Independent India's prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru launched a series of economic and social initiatives in line with his vision of a socialist Indian nation. Apart from domestic issues, Nehru emphasized on forging alliances with other like-minded countries and was instrumental in founding the Non-Aligned Movement.

The 1962 Chinese invasion of India's northeastern states was a big setback to Nehru's peaceful policies and his government also had to face corruption charges. After a period of illness, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru passed away on May 27, 1964. His death was mourned by the world.

Short story of Early Influences

1       Born on 14th November 1889, to a famous lawyer of high nobility, 2     Motilal Nehru and his wife Swaroop Rani, Jawaharlal had a good  

         start in life.
3      His father wanted to give him the best education possible and so

         sent him to Harrow, a boarding school in England, in 1905.
4       Harrow was famous for educating most of the to be Prime

         ministers of England.
5      Nehru then went on to get his M.A. degree from Cambridge

         University and returned to India as a barrister.
 6     In 1916, he married Kamala Kaul, who supported his patriotism

         and was a devoted wife in all respects.

Fate Had Other Things In Store

A.           Even though he had a brilliant academic record, the legal

B.           profession did not attract him. Instead, he wanted to join the freedom struggle under the influence of Gandhiji.

C.           For a while he was the Chairman of the Allahabad Municipal Committee as a member of the Congress and then he joined the Home C.

D.          Rule League established by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Annie Besant.

E.           During the freedom struggle, he courted arrest many a times, and had been jailed 14 years in all.

F.           He was elected Congress President 5 times, and it was under his influence in Lahore, that the Congress adopted complete freedom as its goal.

G.           In 1947, after India gained its independence, he was automatically elected first Prime Minister.

As India's First Prime Minister
He headed the Indian government for 17 long and brilliant years.
He wanted India to develop into a world - recognized nation.
He supported technological and scientific progress and encouraged art and literature.
He wanted to eliminate discrimination from the face of the world and encouraged peaceful co-existence.
Nehru did not believe in aligning himself with the military political blocks and wanted to end the cold war.
 He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955.

Nehru as a Personality

·        Not only was he a brilliant orator, a charming, warm and noble thinker and philosopher, but also a fantastic writer.

·        He has written a few wonderful books 'Discovery of India', 'Glimpses of World History' and ' Letters from a father to a daughter''.

·         On May 27, 1964, India lost a great influence.

·        In the words of Dr. Radhakrishnan "As a fighter for freedom he was illustrious as a maker of a modern India, his services were unparalleled.

·         His life and works have had a profound influence on our mental make-up, social structure and intellectual development."