Jawaharlal Nehru: The Architect of Modern India

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a leading figure in the Indian Independence struggle. He was the first Prime Minister of Independent India. He had initiated socio-economic policies of the idealistic socialist kind. He was a prolific writer and authored books such as 'The Discovery of India' and 'Glimpses of the World History'.

Jawaharlal Nehru was the father of Indira Gandhi, the first woman Prime Minister of India. He established a parliamentary government and is known for his nonaligned or neutralist policies in foreign affairs. He participated in India's Independence movement and was a principle leader in the 1930s and 40s.

Jawaharlal Nehru: Quick Facts

Born on: 14 November, 1889

Place of Birth: Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Father's Name: Motilal Nehru

Mother's Name: Swarup Rani Nehru

Spouse: Kamala Nehru

Children: Indira Gandhi

Education: Harrow School, London; Trinity College, Cambridge; Inns of Court School of Law, London

Occupation: Barrister, Writer, and Politician

Political party: Indian National Congress

Political Ideology: Nationalism, Socialism, Democracy

Award: Bharat Ratna

Publications/Works: The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History, Jawaharlal Nehru's Autobiography, Letters from a Father to his Daughter, etc.

Died: 27 May 1964

Place of Death: New Delhi

Cause of Death: Heart attack

Memorial: Shantivan, New Delhi

Early life of Jawaharlal Nehru

Birth and family:

Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allabahad on November 14, 1889. He was born into a family of Kashmiri Pandits, who had migrated to Delhi early in the 18^th century.

His father was Motilal Nehru, a renowned lawyer, and leader of the Indian independence movement. His mother was Swarup Rani Thussu who was also part of a well-known Kashmiri Pandit family.

Jawaharlal Nehru has two sisters and a brother. His sister Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, later became the first female president of the United Nations General Assembly. His youngest sister, Krishna Hutheesing, became a noted writer and authored several books on her brother.

Education:

Nehru was educated at home by a series of English governesses and tutors until the age of 16.

In 1905 he went to Harrow, a leading English school, where he stayed for two years.

He then attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he spent three years earning an honors degree in natural science. On leaving Cambridge he qualified as a barrister after two years at the Inner Temple, London.

As a student, he had been interested in the struggle of all nations that suffered under foreign rule. He took a keen interest in the Sinn Fein Movement in Ireland.

Jawaharlal Nehru: Political Journey

- He attended the Bankipore Congress as a delegate in 1912.

- In 1919, he became the Secretary of the Home Rule League, Allahabad.

- In 1916, the first time he met with Mahatma Gandhi, and was immensely inspired by him.

- In 1920, he organised the first Kisan March in the Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

- Due to the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), he was imprisoned twice.

- In September 1923, he became the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

- In 1926, he toured Italy, Switzerland, England, Belgium, Germany, and Russia.

- As an official delegate of the Indian National Congress, he had attended the Congress of oppressed Nationalities in Brussels in Belgium.

- In 1927, he attended the tenth-anniversary celebrations of the October Socialist Revolution in Moscow.

- During the Simon Commission in 1928, he was lathi-charged in Lucknow.

- He attended the All-Party Congress on 29 August 1928 and was one of the signatories to the Nehru Report on Indian Constitutional Reform that was named after his father Shri Motilal Nehru.

- In 1928, he founded the 'Independence for India League' and became its General Secretary.

- He was elected the President of the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress in 1929. In this session only, the complete goal for the independence of the country was adopted.

- During 1930-35, he was imprisoned several times, due to the connection with Salt Satyagraha and other movements launched by the Congress.

- On 14 February 1935, he had completed his 'Autobiography' in Almora Jail.

- After releasing from jail, he went to Switzerland to see his ailing wife.

- He was again arrested for offering an individual Satyagraha on 31 October, 1940 to protest against India's forced participation in the war.

- In December 1941, he was released from jail.

- At the 'All India Congress Committee' session in Bombay on 7 August, 1942, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the 'Quit India' resolution.

- He was arrested with other leaders on 8 August, 1942 and taken to Ahmednagar Fort. This was the longest and his last detention.

- He was released from Jail in January 1945 and organised a legal defence for officers and men of the INA charged with treason.

- In July, 1946, for the fourth time, he was elected as the President of the Congress and again for three more terms from 1951 to 1954.

In this way, he became the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was the first Prime Minister to hoist the national flag and make his iconic speech "Tryst with Destiny" from the ramparts of the Lal Quilla (Red Fort).

Jawaharlal Nehru’s presidency of INC sessions

1929: Nehru was elected President of the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress, where complete independence for the country was adopted as the goal. At midnight on New Year’s Eve 1929, Nehru hoisted the tricolour of India upon the banks of the Ravi in Lahore.

He drafted a resolution, Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy in 1929-31 which had the core aims of the Congress and the future of the nation.

The resolution was ratified by the Congress party in the Karachi Session, 1931, chaired by Saradar Vallabhai Patel.

He was imprisoned several times during 1930-35 in connection with the Salt Satyagraha and other movements launched by Congress. He completed his Autobiography in Almora Jail on February 14, 1935.

1936-38: Nehru traveled to Europe again due to his wife’s illness. But this trip also sparked his interest in socialism and Marxism.

He was elected President of the Lucknow Session in 1936 again. The Congress party decided to contest the provincial elections of 1937 despite disagreement from Nehru and Gandhi Ji.

Nehru wanted to elevate Maulana Azad, who was also socialist, as the voice of Indian Muslims, but Gandhiji’s support of Jinnah and the Muslim league undermined this view of Nehru.

1939: World War II broke out and Viceroy Linlithgow declared India into war without consulting the Indian representatives.

The Congress under Nehru informed the government that it would cooperate with the British but on certain conditions, but the Viceroy rejected the conditions.

On 23 October 1939, Congress called upon the Congress ministries in the various provinces to resign in protest.  Before this crucial announcement, Nehru urged Jinnah and the Muslim League to join the protest, but Jinnah declined.

Major works of Jawaharlal Nehru after becoming the Prime Minister of India

- He imparted modern values and thought.

- He insisted on the secular and liberalist approach.

- He focused on the basic unity of India.

- He advocated democratic socialism and encouraged India's industrialisation by implementing the first five-year plans in 1951.

- Promoted scientific and technological advancements by establishing higher learning.

• Also, instituted various social reforms like free public education, free meals for Indian children, legal rights for women including the ability to inherit property, divorce their husbands, laws to prohibit discrimination based on caste, etc.

Civil disobedience, Lahore resolution, and August offer

1940: Jinnah and the Muslim League also passed the Pakistan resolution in 1940, demanding a separate Muslim nation called Pakistan.

Linlithgow made the August offer to Nehru offering domino status to India in return for support in World War II. The Indian leaders rejected the offer calling it incomplete and vague.

Nehru was arrested for offering individual Satyagraha to protest against India’s forced participation in the war. He was released along with the other leaders in December 1941.

The Japanese attack, Cripps Mission, and Quit India movement

In 1942, Japan attacked India through Burma, and the British threatened by the attack decided to hold talks with Indian Leaders.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill dispatched Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British War Cabinet who was politically close to Nehru and also knew Jinnah, with proposals for a settlement of the constitutional problem. Cripps’s mission failed, however, for Indian leaders under Gandhi and Nehru would accept nothing less than independence.

1942: Nehru moved the historic ‘Quit India’ resolution at the All India Congress Committee session in Bombay.

On August 8, 1942, he was arrested along with other leaders and taken to Ahmednagar Fort. This was the longest and last of his detentions.

1945: He was released in January, after which he organized legal defense for the officers and men of the Indian National Army (INA) charged with treason.

1946: He was elected President of the Congress for the fourth time on July 6, 1946, and again for three more terms from 1951 to 1954.

Cabinet mission and the interim government

A final attempt was made by the viceroy Wavell to bring the Congress Party and the Muslim League together, which failed. The Labour government that had meanwhile displaced Churchill’s wartime administration sent a Cabinet Mission to India and later replaced Lord Wavell with Lord Mountbatten.

1946: The Cabinet Mission was sent to India to propose a plan for the transfer of power. This led to elections to provincial assemblies, and members elected members of the constituent assembly. An interim government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister. The Muslim league joined the government later with Liaquat Ali Khan as Finance minister.

On August 15, 1947, India and Pakistan were partitioned as two separate independent countries.

Jawaharlal Nehru: The first Prime Minister of India

Jawaharlal Nehru took office as Prime Minister of independent India on 15^th August and his inaugural address was called ‘Tryst with Destiny’.

1947: Nehru declares that no princely state would exist in independent India and that they need to join the constituent assembly. He made Vallabhbai Patel and V.P. Menon in charge of integrating the states, in which they were successful.

1950: The new Constitution of India came into force on 26^th January 1950 making India a sovereign democratic republic.

1952: The first elections under the new constitution of India were held. Congress Party under Nehru’s leadership won the elections and formed the first elected government of the Republic of India.

1952-57: Second Nehru Ministry at the Centre

Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganization Commission in 1953 to organize states on a linguistic basis. This commission was headed by Justice Fazal Ali.

He advocated democratic socialism and encouraged India’s industrialization by implementing the first five-year plans. He attempted to push the development by undertaking both agrarian reforms and industrialization together.

1958-62: Third Nehru Ministry at the Centre

The Congress party won the 1957 and later 1962 elections as well. Nehru served as Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms, for 17 years.

He annexed Goa into India from the Portuguese occupation in 1961 after years of failed negotiations. He was lauded and criticized for the use of force internally and externally.

The Sino-Indian War of 1962 was a troubled time under his last term as Prime Minister.

International relations under Nehru

His most important contribution to geopolitics is considered the Non-alignment moment (NAM). India and a few other countries decided to not align with any superpower during the Cold War era post World War II.

However, Nehru’s popularity saw a decline when India was the only nonaligned country to vote with the Soviet Union on the invasion of Hungary in the United Nations. At last, the Sino-Indian War of 1962 forced Nehru to divert fully from the NAM to procure help from the Western forces.

In 1954, Nehru signed the Five Principles of Coexistence with China known as Panchsheel in India. India recognized Chinese sovereignty over Tibet with this. Relations with China under Nehru’s leadership saw many ups and downs throughout.

Literary works by Nehru

He authored many books in his lifetime, to name a few-

• The Discovery of India
• Glimpses of the world
• An Autobiography
• Letters from a father to his daughter

All through his 17 years in the prime minister’s office, he held up democratic socialism, emphasizing that India needed to achieve both democracy and socialism. The four pillars of his domestic policies were democracy, socialism, unity, and secularism. He successfully integrated these pillars into the building of modern India.