Jawaharlal Nehru

Lore & Background

The son of Motilal Nehru, a prominent lawyer and Indian nationalist, Jawaharlal Nehru was educated in England—at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and trained in the law at the Inner Temple. He became a barrister, returned to India, enrolled at the Allahabad High Court and gradually became interested in national politics, which eventually became a full-time occupation. He joined the Indian National Congress, rose to become the leader of a progressive faction during the 1920s, and eventually of the Congress, receiving the support of Mahatma Gandhi, who was to designate Nehru as his political heir. As Congress president in 1929, Nehru called for complete independence from the British Raj. Nehru promoted the idea of the secular nation-state in the 1937 provincial elections, allowing the Congress to sweep the elections and form governments in several provinces. In September 1939, the Congress ministries resigned to protest Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's decision to join the war without consulting them. After the All India Congress Committee's Quit India Resolution of 8 August 1942, senior Congress leaders were imprisoned, and for a time, the organisation was suppressed. Nehru, who had reluctantly heeded Gandhi's call for immediate independence, and had desired instead to support the Allied war effort during World War II, came out of a lengthy prison term to a much altered political landscape. Under Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslim League had come to dominate Muslim politics in the interim. In the 1946 provincial elections, Congress won the elections, but the League won all the seats reserved for Muslims, which the British interpreted as a clear mandate for Pakistan in some form. Nehru became the interim prime minister of India in September 1946 and the League joined his government with some hesitancy in October 1946. Upon India's independence on 15 August 1947, Nehru gave a critically acclaimed speech, 'Tryst with Destiny'; he was sworn in as the Dominion of India's prime minister and raised the Indian flag at the Red Fort in Delhi. On 26 January 1950, when India became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, Nehru became the Republic of India's first prime minister. He embarked on an ambitious economic, social, and political reform programme. Nehru promoted a pluralistic multi-party democracy. In foreign affairs, he led the establishment of the Non

Reader's Guide

Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in Allahabad in British India to Swarup Rani née Thussu and Motilal Nehru. He was educated at home by private governesses and tutors, including Ferdinand T. Brooks, who introduced him to theosophy. He attended Harrow School, then Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating with an honours degree in natural science in 1910, and studied law at the Inner Temple, being called to the Bar in 1912. He returned to India in August 1912, enrolled at the Allahabad High Court, but had little interest in legal practice. He married Kamala Kaul in 1916; their only daughter, Indira, was born in 1917. Nehru joined the Indian National Congress and became a leader of a progressive faction during the 1920s. He served as Congress president in 1929, calling for complete independence. He was imprisoned after the Quit India Resolution of 8 August 1942. He became interim prime minister in September 1946 and, after independence, served as prime minister from 15 August 1947 until his death on 27 May 1964.

Did You Know?

• Nehru's birthday, 14 November, is celebrated as Children's Day in India.
• He wrote The Discovery of India (1946) while in prison.
• Nehru led the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War.
• His father Motilal Nehru served as president of the Indian National Congress in 1919 and 1928.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"The present objective is Kashmir . The next declared objective is Patiala , East Punjab and Delhi . “ On to Delhi " is the cry all over West Punjab." — Jawaharlal Nehru "My chief reason for wishing to go to Oxford is [that] Cambridge is becoming too full of Indians." — Jawaharlal Nehru "J. Nehru. Letter, Jawahar to father , London, July 15, 1910. SWJN:1, 76-77 - Quoted in Stanley Wolpert: Nehru: a Tryst with Destiny, page 23." — Jawaharlal Nehru "Every war waged by imperialist powers will be an imperialist war whatever the excuses put forward; therefore we must keep out of it." — Jawaharlal Nehru