Jawaharlal Nehru

Background

Jawaharlal Nehru is one of the most notable figures in the history of India, and rightfully so. He was born in Allahabad in British India. He was the son of a prominent barrister, an Indian nationalist, and twice-President of the Indian National Congress, Motilal Nehru, and Swarup Rani Thussu, the daughter of the well-known Kashmiri Brahmin family in Lahore, and the second wife of Motilal. Nehru had two siblings. Her older sister, Vijaya Lakshmi, became the first female President of the United Nations General Assembly. His younger sister, Krishna Hutheesing, was an author and wrote several books about Nehru. He grew up in a sheltered, palatial estate and was homeschooled by private tutors and governesses. From an early age, he became interested in theosophy and aware of the religious and cultural heritage of India through Buddhist and Hindu scriptures. However, the Second Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War brought about a new chapter, as his views became more nationalist-oriented.

In 1905, he went on to study at prestigious schools in England — Harrow School, Trinity College, and Cambridge — and furthered his studies with the law at the Inner Temple. After he became a barrister, he returned to India in 1912 and enrolled at the Allahabad High Court, which piqued his interest in national politics. To start his career, he joined the Indian National Congress in support of the Indian civil rights movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. After World War I, Nehru’s political views were considered radical because he believed India could become an independent nation. His first major national involvement came with the non-cooperation movement in 1920, for which he was arrested the following year and released a few months after. His freedom was short-lived as he was arrested again in Nabha in 1923. However, nothing stopped him as he continued to play a leading role in India’s struggle for independence and was elected to the Executive Council of the League against Imperialism in 1927. He drafted the policies of the Congress and a future Indian nation two years later, and in that same year, he became president of the Indian National Congress. The policies were ratified in 1931, at the start of the Home Rule for Indians movement, which lasted until the 1940s. In October 1940, Gandhi and Nehru launched a civil disobedience campaign against British rule, which led to their arrest and four years of imprisonment of Nehru. He was however released slightly after a year, three days before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nehru visited prison walls for the fourth time, along with other members of the congress, including Gandhi, following the Quit India resolution of 1942. Tides shifted in 1946 as all members of Congress were released just before Britain’s transfer of power. In 1947, India gained independence, and Nehru became its Prime Minister and Gandhi’s successor.

He was officially elected five years later and remained Prime Minister for 16 years, having been re-elected two more times. Nehru’s tenure gained massive popularity from the locals and other world leaders, and he is said to be India’s most popular leader to date. In 1964, he died of a heart attack with no successor after suffering a decline in health for two years. His death was felt across India and the world at large, and his cremation was witnessed by over 1.5 million mourners. Lal Bahadur Shastri later succeeded him, and his ashes lay to rest at the Shantivan on the banks of the Yamuna.