Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the First Prime Minister of Independent India was one of the greatest statesmen of the world. He was also one of the chief architects of modern India. History of modern India cannot be written without reference to him.
Nehru meets no introduction to the Indians of our time, especially to students. Every educated India knows his life and achievements. He was the only son of Motilal Nehru, a prosperous lawyer of Allahabad and also a freedom fighter.
Jawaharlal Nehru received his early education at home from English governesses. Later on he sailed to England in the company of his parents and got himself admitted to the prestigious and famous public school at harrow. After completion of his school education he entered the University of Cambridge and finally qualified for the bar. He stayed for a period of seven years in England and on return to India he joined the bar of the Allahabad High Court.
Soon, Nehru came under the magnetic influence of Mahatma Gandhi and became one of his foremost discirles. He abandoned his practice and became a full-time freedom fighter. He was elected the president of the Indian National Congress several times and had to spend in jail a total period of thirteen years for his active involvement in the country’s freedom struggle. India won her independence on August 15, 1947 and Jawaharlal became her First Prime Minister. He held the high office uninterruptedly fill his death on May 27, 1964.
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Nehru reposed full Faith in the ideals of democracy, secularism and socialism. His ambition was to build a modern India, on the basis of these ideals, free from disease, poverty and ignorance. He was a champion of the policy of nonalignment in foreign affairs and his achievement in this sphere won him international reputation as a statesman.
Apart from being a politician and statesman, Nehru was a great writer and thinker. His works, such as Letters from a father to his daughter (1930), Glimpses of World History (1934), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), bear ample evidence of his originality of thought and command of the English language. His prose style with his choice of the right word, apt phrases, and elegance has earned him a permanent place among the best known writers in the language.
Nehru was a captivating public speaker and a gifted parliamentarian. His speeches, both in public and in parliament, are marked by clarify of thought and simplicity of style. He was greatly loved and admired by the people of India.