Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Government
Jawahar Lal Nehru

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity." (Jawahar Lal Nehru)

Jawahar Lal Nehru, considered to be the architect of modern India, was the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was a member of the Congress Party that led the freedom movement against the British Empire. He was also the chief framer of domestic and international policies between 1947 and 1964. Nehru came to be respected as a world statesman for his policies of peace, secularism and non- interference in any country's internal affairs. Popularly known as Chachaji, Jawaharlal Nehru was a passionate advocate of education for India's children and youth, believing it essential for India's future progress.

Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh His father Motilal Nehru was a famous Lawyer and a great Patriot. After completing his graduation from Cambridge University in 1910, Nehru went to London and stayed there for 2 years to pursue law. In 1912, Nehru returned to India and enrolled in Allahabad court. Later in 1920's, he plunge into national politics and became an early leader of Indian Independence Movement. Nehru was elected as the President of Indian National Congress for five terms. It was under the President ship of Nehru that Congress adopted the famous resolution of complete independence at its Lahore session in 1929. He had been jailed for a long time, during this period Muhammad Ali Jinnah, his former colleague in Congress dominated Muslim politics in India. Negotiations between Nehru and Jinnah on political power sharing failed and that resulted in the partition of Independent India in 1947.

When the country gained freedom in 1947, Nehru became its first Prime Minister and remained for 17 long years. In 1951, Jawaharlal Nehru launched the country's "First Five-Year Plan" emphasizing on the increase in the agricultural output. Under Nehru, India made Technical and Industrial advances. He has been admired as a leader of the freedom movement, as the founding father of institutional democracy in India and as the architect of India's policy in all its manifestations. In 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru suffered a stroke and a heart attack. On 27 May 1964, Nehru passed away. He was survived by his only daughter Indira Gandhi who after two years succeeded him as the Prime Minister of India.

Nehru was a man of letters. His most famous books are his 'Autobiography', 'Glimpses of world History' and 'Discovery of India'. Nehru loved Children a great-deal. Every year his birthday is celebrated as 'Children's day'.

(Updated on 4/6/2014)