Jawaharlal Nehru Biography

Early Life

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India. He was born on 14th November,1889 in Allahabad. He was born to Shrimati Swarup Rani Thussu and Shri Moti Lal Nehru, a prominent lawyer in Allahabad. He received his early education at home, and later, at the age of 15, he went to England to pursue his higher studies in law. He came back to India in 1912 and started his practice as a lawyer.

Nehru’s role in the freedom of India

Jawaharlal Nehru got married to Shrimati Kamla Nehru in the year 1916, and in 1917, he became the father of a baby girl whom he named “Indira”. Later on, this little girl went on to become India’s first woman Prime Minister. Jawaharlal Nehru was deeply perturbed by the kind of harsh treatment Britishers were giving to his fellow Indians and decided to join the freedom movement. His patriotic heart did not permit him to sit comfortably at home. He joined the Non-cooperation Movement of Mahatma Gandhi and also went to jail several times for flouting the rules of the Britishers. He underwent all the pain and suffering happily for the sake of his country.

Achievements of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as a Prime Minister

When India gained freedom in 1947, he became the first Prime Minister of India. As the Prime Minister of India, he took India on the path of progress under his guidance. During his tenure, he brought some changes in domestic, international, economic, agricultural and social policies.

Under his administration, he established several industries, so as to boost our country’s economy and direct it towards development and modernization. He believed that educating the youth of the country was vital for the country’s future growth. Towards this effect, he established numerous institutions of higher learning, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as well as the National Institutes of Technology. He also included free and compulsory primary education for all children in his five-year plan. Despite being an advocate of peace and non-violence, he understood the importance of having a strong defense. He arranged the best modern equipment for the Indian army to safeguard the borders.

Children’s Day

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was extremely fond of children and loved them very much. Children also used to fondly address him as ‘Chacha Nehru’. It is because of his love for the children, his birthday- 14th November is still celebrated as Children’s Day in India. Jawaharlal Nehru always emphasized on the importance of giving love and affection to children, and the main purpose of celebrating his birthday as the Children’s Day is to encourage the welfare of children all over the country.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the most popular national and international figures. He is considered as the maker of modern India because of the remarkable changes that he brought in as the first Prime Minister of India. Serving his country, he left for his heavenly abode on 27th of May in 1964.

6 Interesting facts about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

1. Jawaharlal Nehru was the longest serving Prime Minister of the country from the year 1947 till 1964.
2. Nehru was awarded with the Bharat Ratna award in 1955, India’s highest civilian honor for his outstanding contribution during the freedom struggle and as the first Prime Minister of India.
3. He wrote many books, including ‘The Discovery of India’, ‘Glimpses of World History’, and his autobiography, ‘Towards Freedom’.
4. He was also known as ‘Panditji’.
5. He invented the fashion trend of wearing the “Nehru jacket”
6. He was extremely fond of roses and always used to clip a bud in his jacket.

Famous quotes by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

1. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.
2. Time is not measured by the passing of years, but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.
3. There is perhaps nothing so bad and so dangerous in life as fear.
4. Action itself, so long as I am convinced that it is right action, gives me satisfaction.
5. I like being with children and talking to them and, even more, playing with them. For the moment I forget that I am terribly old and it is very long ago since I was a child.
6. Grown-ups have a strange way of putting themselves in compartments and groups. They build barriers… of religion, caste, colour, party, nation, province, language, customs and of rich and poor. Fortunately, children do not know much about these barriers, which separate. They play and work with each other and it is only when they grow up that they begin to learn about these barriers from their elders.

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Here’s a full transcript of Jawaharlal Nehru Speech – A Tryst With Destiny