JAWAHARLAL NEHRU





Jawaharlal Nehru, also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the foremost leaders of the Indian freedom struggle. He was the favorite disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and later on went on to become the first Prime Minister of India. He was very fond of children and children used to affectionately call him Chacha Nehru.


Jawaharlal Nehru was born on November 14, 1889. His father Motilal Nehru was a famous Allahabad-based barrister His mother's name was Swaroop Rani. He was the only son of Motilal Nehru. However, he had three sisters. The Nehrus were Saraswat Brahmin of the Kashmiri lineage.


Nehru received education in some of the finest schools and universities of the world. He did his schooling from Harrow and completed his Law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. The seven years he spent in England widened his horizons and he acquired a rational and skeptical outlook He sampled the Fabian socialism and Trish nationalism, which added to his own patriotic dedication. 


Nehru returned to India in 1912 and started legal practice He married Kamala Nehru in 1916 Jawaharlal Nehru joined the Home Rule League in 1917. His real initiation into politics came two years later when he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi in 1919. At that time Gandhiji had launched a campaign against the Rowlatt Act. Nehru was instantly attracted to Gandhi's commitment to active but peaceful civil disobedience, Gandhi himself saw promise and India's future in the young Jawaharlal Nehru.


The New family changed the style according to Mahatma Gandhi teachings Jawaharlal and Motilal Nehru abandoned western others and tastes for expensive possessions and pastimes They now wore a Khadi Kurta and a Gandhi cap Jawaharlal Nehru took an active part in the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920 1922) and was arrested for the first during the movement. He was released after few months. 


Nehru was elected President of the Allahabad Municipal Corporation in 1924 and served for two years as the city's chief executive The proved to be a valuable administrative experience which stood him in good stead later on when he became the prime minister of the country He used his tenure to expand public education, health care and sanitation Hergned in 1926 on lack of cooperation from village servant and obstruction Brom Btih authonites. 


From 1926 to 192 he served as the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee In 1928-29 the Congress annual session under President Motilal Nehru was held ng that and Subhash Chandra Bose backed a call for full political independence while Motilal Nehru and others wanted dominion status within the British Empire To resolve the point Gandhi said that the British would be given two years to grant India, a dominion status they did not the Congress would launch a national struggle for full political independence Nehru and Bose reduced the time of opportunity to one year. The British did not respond. 


In December 1929 Congress annual session was held in Lahore and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected as the President of the Congress Party During that sessions, a resolution demanding India's independence was passed and on January 26, 1930, Lahore Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled free India's flag Gandhiji gave a call for the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930.


When the British promulgated the Government of India Act 1935, the Congress Party decided to contest elections Nehru stayed out of the elections but campaigned vigorously nationwide for the party. The Congress formed governments in almost every province and won the largest number of seats in the Central Assembly Nehru was elected to the Congress presidency in 1936, 1937, and 1946 and came to occupy a position in the nationalist movement second only to that of Gandhi. Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested in 1942 during the Quit India Movement Released in 1945, he took a leading part in the negotiations that culminated in the emergence of the dominions of India and Pakistan in August 1947.


In 1947, he became the first Prime Minister of independent India. He effectively coped with the formidable challenges of those times the disorders and mass exodus of minorities across the new border with Pakistan, the integration of 5o0 odd princely states into the Indian Union, the framing of a new Constitution, and the establishment of the political and administrative infrastructure for parliamentary democracy. 


Jawaharlal Nehru played a key role in building modern India. He set up a Planning Commission, encouraged the development of science and technology, and launched three successive five-year plans. His policies led to a sizable growth in agricultural and industrial production Nehru also played a major role in developing independent India's foreign policy. He called for the liquidation of colonialism in Asia and Africa and along with Tito and Nasser, was one of the chief architects of the Non-aligned Movement. He played a constructive, mediatory role in bringing the Korean War to an end and in resolving other international crises, such as those over the Suez Canal and the Congo, offering India's services for conciliation and international policing. He contributed behind the scenes towards the solution of several other explosive issues, such as those of West Berlin Austria, and Laos.


But Nehru could not improve India's relations with Pakistan and China. The Kashmir issue proved a stumbling block in reaching an accord with Pakistan, and the border dispute prevented a resolution with China. The Chinese invasion in 1962, which Nehru failed to anticipate, came as a great blow to him and probably. hastened his death. He died of a heart attack on May 27, 1964.