Jawaharlal Nehru (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964), also called Pandit Nehru, was the leader of the Congress during and after India’s struggle for independence from the British Empire. He became the first Prime Minister of India at independence on August 15, 1947, holding the office until his death.
The son of prominent Congress leader Motilal Nehru, Jawaher returned from education in England at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge to practice law before following his father into politics.
Nehru was married to Kamala Kaul in 1916. At the time of his wedding on 8 February 1916, Jawaharlal was twenty-six, a British educated Barrister. The bride, was choosen by his parents. Kamala came from a well-known business family of Kashmiris in Delhi. In the second year of the marriage, Kamala gave birth to their only child, Indira Priyadarshini on 19 November, 1917.
Politically, Nehru gradually emerged as a true follower of Mahama Gandhi entering the first rank in Indian nationalist politics as president of Congress for the first time in 1929. Nehru spent most of these years in prison writing books and letters; he lost his father and wife while incarcerated. Kamala Nehru was suffering from tuberculosis and breathed her last on 28 February 1936 in Switzerland.
Imprisoned for 32 months after the Quit India movement of 1942, Nehru formed the country’s first Indian government in July 1946 in the face of mounting opposition from the All-India Muslim League, whose campaign for a separate state led to the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
Nehru becomes the first prime minister of independent India and introduces a mix of socialist planning and free enterprise measures to repair and build the country’s ravaged economy. He also takes the external affairs portfolio, serving as foreign minister throughout his tenure as prime minister.
In 1950 India becomes a republic with Nehru as its prime minister. He is deeply involved in the development and implementation of the country’s five-year plans that over the course of the 1950s and 1960s see India become one of the most industrialised nations in the world.
Industrial complexes are established around the country, while innovations are en-couraged by an expansion of scientific research. In the decade between 1951 and 1961, the national income of India rises 42%.
Nehru also pursues reforms to improve the social condition of women and the poor. Women are given the right to divorce their husbands and inherit property, and the dowry system is made illegal. Absentee landlords are stripped of their land, which is then transferred to tenant farmers who can document their right to occupancy.
In foreign affairs, Nehru advocates policies of nationalism, anti-colonialism, inter-nationalism, and non- alignment. He founds the nonaligned movement
with Yugoslavia’s Tito and Egypt’s Nasser and becomes one of the key spokesmen of the nonaligned nations of Asia and Africa.
Nehru served as the prime minister of India for 18 years consecutively. He died on 27 May 1964. India’s defeat in the war with China, affected him greatly both physically and mentally—he felt betrayed by the Chinese, whom he had trusted implicitly and supported in many fora. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1955 for his distinguished services towards nation.
