Jawaharlal Nehru Free Essays

Jawaharlal Nehru (Hindi/Kashmiri: , pronounced [d a r? la? l ? ne ru? ]; 14 November 1889–27 May 1964[4]) was an Indian statesman who was the first (and to date the longest-serving) prime minister of India, from 1947 until 1964. One of the leading figures in the Indian independence movement, Nehru was elected by the Congress Party to assume office as independent India’s first Prime Minister, and re-elected when the Congress Party won India’s first general election in 1952.As one of the founders of the Non-aligned Movement, he was also an important figure in the international politics of the post-war era. We will write a custom essay sample on Jawaharlal Nehru or any similar topic only for you Order Now He is frequently referred to as Pandit Nehru (â€Å"pandit† being a Sanskrit and Hindi honorific meaning â€Å"scholar† or â€Å"teacher†) and, specifically in India, as Panditji (with â€Å"-ji† being a honorific suffix). The son of a wealthy Indian barrister and politician, Motilal Nehru, Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress Party when still fairly young. Rising to become Congress President, under the mentorship of Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru was a charismatic and radical leader, advocating complete independence from the British Empire. In the long struggle for Indian independence, in which he was a key player, Nehru was eventually recognized as Gandhi’s political heir. Throughout his life, Nehru was also an advocate for Fabian socialism and the public sector as the means by which long-standing challenges of economic development could be addressed by poorer nations. Jawaharlal Nehru was born to Motilal Nehru (1861–1931) and Swaroop Rani (1863–1954) in a Kashmiri Pandit family.The Nehru family – Motilal Nehru is seated in the center, and standing (L to R) are Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Krishna Hutheesing, Indira Gandhi, and Ranjit Pandit; Seated: Swaroop Rani, Motilal Nehru and Kamala Nehru (circa 1927). Nehru was educated in India and Britain. In England, he attended the independent boy’s scho ol, Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. Jawaharlal Nehru at Harrow, where he was also known as Joe Nehru. During his time in Britain, Nehru was also known as Joe Nehru. [5][6][7][8][9][10] On 8 February, 1916, Nehru married seventeen year old Kamala Kaul. In the irst year of the marriage, Kamala gave birth to their only child, Indira Priyadarshini. [edit] Life and career Nehru raised the flag of independent India in New Delhi on 15 August 1947, the day India gained Independence.Nehru’s appreciation of the virtues of parliamentary democracy, secularism and liberalism, coupled with his concerns for the poor and underprivileged, are recognised to have guided him in formulating socialist policies that influence India to this day. They also reflect the socialist origins of his worldview. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, and grandson, Rajiv Gandhi, also served as Prime Ministers of India. edit] Successor to Gandhi On 15 January 1941 Gandhi said, â€Å"Some say Pandit Nehru and I were estranged. It will require much more than difference of opinion to estrange us. We had differences from the time we became co-workers and yet I have said for some years and say so now that not Rajaji but Jawaharlal will be my successor. â€Å"[11] [edit] India’s first Prime Minister Teen Murti Bhavan, Nehru’s residence as Prime Minister, now a museum in his memory. Nehru and his colleagues had been released as the British Cabinet Mission arrived to propose plans for transfer of power.Once elected, Nehru headed an interim government, which was impaired by outbreaks of communal violence and political disorder, and the opposition of the Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who were demanding a separate Muslim state of Pakistan. After failed bids to form coalitions, Nehru reluctantly supported the partition of India, according to a plan released by the British on 3 June 1947. He took office as the Prime Minister of India on 15 August, and delivered his inaugural address titled â€Å"A Tryst With Destiny† â€Å"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes hen we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. 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. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. â€Å"[12] However, this period was marked with intense communal violence.This violence swept across the Punjab regio n, Delhi, Bengal and other parts of India. Nehru conducted joint tours[citation needed] with Pakistani leaders to encourage peace and calm angry and disillusioned refugees. Nehru would work with Maulana Azad and other Muslim leaders to safeguard and encourage Muslims to remain in India. The violence of the time deeply affected Nehru, who called for a ceasefire[citation needed] and UN intervention to stop the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Fearing communal reprisals, Nehru also hesitated in supporting the annexation of Hyderabad State.In the years following independence, Nehru frequently turned to his daughter Indira to look after him and manage his personal affairs. Under his leadership, the Congress won an overwhelming majority in the elections of 1952. Indira moved into Nehru’s official residence to attend to him and became his constant companion in his travels across India and the world. Indira would virtually become Nehru’s chief of staff. Nehru’s study in Teen Murti Bhavan. [edit] Economic policies Nehru presided over the introduction of a modified, Indian version of state planning and control over the economy.Creating the Planning commission of India, Nehru drew up the first Five-Year Plan in 1951, which charted the government’s investments in industries and agriculture. Increasing business and income taxes, Nehru envisaged a mixed economy in which the government would manage strategic industries such as mining, electricity and heavy industries, serving public interest and a check to private enterprise. Nehru pursued land redistribution and launched programmes to build irrigation canals, dams and spread the use of fertilizers to increase agricultural roduction. He also pioneered a series of community development programs aimed at spreading diverse cottage industries and increasing efficiency into rural India. While encouraging the construction of large dams (which Nehru called the â€Å"new temples of India†), irrigation works and the generation of hydroelectricity, Nehru also launched India’s programme to harness nuclear energy. For most of Nehru’s term as prime minister, India would continue to face serious food shortages despite progress and increases in agricultural production.Nehru’s industrial policies, summarised in the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956, encouraged the growth of diverse manufacturing and heavy industries,[13] yet state planning, controls and regulations began to impair productivity, quality and profitability. Although the Indian economy enjoyed a steady rate of growth, called Hindu rate of growth at 2. 5% per annum, chronic unemployment amidst widespread poverty continued to plague the population. [edit] Education and social reform Jawaharlal Nehru was a passionate advocate of education for India’s children and youth, believin g it essential for India’s future progress.His government oversaw the establishment of many institutions of higher learning, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management. Nehru also outlined a commitment in his five-year plans to guarantee free and compulsory primary education to all of India’s children. For this purpose, Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village enrollment programmes and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru also launched initiatives such as the provision of free milk and meals to children in order to fight malnutrition.Adult education centres, vocational and technical schools were also organised for adults, especially in the rural areas. Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to Hindu law to criminalize caste discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women[14][15][16] [17] A system of reservations in government services and educational institutions was created to eradicate the social inequalities and disadvantages faced by peoples of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Nehru also championed secularism and religious harmony, increasing the representation of minoriti es in government. edit] National security and foreign policy See also: Role of India in Non-Aligned Movement Nehru led newly independent India from 1947 to 1964, during its first years of freedom from British rule. Both the United States and the Soviet Union competed to make India an ally throughout the Cold War. On the international scene, Nehru was a champion of pacifism and a strong supporter of the United Nations. He pioneered the policy of non-alignment and co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement of nations professing neutrality between the rival blocs of nations led by the U. S. and the U. S.S. R. Recognising the People’s Republic of China soon after its founding (while most of the Western bloc continued relations with the Republic of China), Nehru argued for its inclusion in the United Nations and refused to brand the Chinese as the aggressors in their conflict with Korea. [18] He sought to establish warm and friendly relations with China in 1950, and hoped to act as an intermediary to bridge the gulf and tensions between the communist states and the Western bloc. Meanwhile, Nehru had promised in 1948 to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir under the auspices of the U.N. but, as Pakistan failed to pull back troops in accordance with the UN resolution and as Nehru grew increasingly wary of the U. N. , he declined to hold a plebiscite in 1953. He ordered the arrest of the Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdullah, whom he had previously supported but now suspected of harbouring separatist ambitions; Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad replaced him. His policy of pacifism and appeasement with respect to China also came unraveled when border disputes led to the Sino-Indian war in 1962.Jawaharlal Nehru (right) talks to Pakistan prime minister Muhammad Ali Bogra (left) during his 1953 visit to Karachi. Nehru was hailed by many for working to defuse global tensions and the threat of nuclear weapons. [19] He commissioned the first study of the human effects of nuclear explosions, and campaigned ceaselessly for the abolition of what he called â€Å"these frightful engines of destruction. † He also had pragmatic reasons for promoting de-nuclearisation, fearing that a nuclear arms race would lead to over-militarisation that would be unaffordable for developing countries such as his own. 20] In 1956 he had criticised the joint invasion of the Suez Canal by the British, French and Israelis. Suspicion and distrust cooled relations between India and the U. S. , which suspected Nehru of tacitly supporting the Soviet Union. Accepting the arbitration of the UK and World Bank, Nehru signed the Indus Water Treaty in 1960 with Pakistani ruler Ayub Khan to resolve long-standing disputes about sharing the resources of the major rivers of the Punjab region. [edit] Final years Nehru with Ashoke Kumar Sen, S.Radhakrishnan and Bidhan Chandra RoyNehru had led the Congress to a major victory in the 1957 elections, but his government was facing rising problems and criticism. Disillusioned by intra-party corruption and bickering, Nehru contemplated resigning but continued to serve. The election of his daughter Indira as Congress President in 1959 aroused criticism for alleged nepotism[citation needed], although actually Nehru had disapproved of her election, partly because he considered it smacked of â€Å"dynastism†; he said, indeed it was â€Å"wholly undemocratic and an undesirable thing†, and refused her a position in his cabinet. 21] Indira herself was at loggerheads with her father over policy; most notably, she used his oft-stated personal deference to the Congress Working Committee to push through the dismissal of the Communist Party of India government in the state of Kerala, over his own objections. [21] Nehru began to be frequently embarrassed by her ruthlessness and disregard for parliamentary tradition, and was â€Å"hurt† by what he saw as an assertiveness with no purpose other than to stake out an identity independent of her father. [4]Although the Pancha Sila (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) was the basis of the 1954 Sino-Indian border treaty, in later years, Nehru’s foreign policy suffered through increasing Chinese assertiveness over border disputes and Nehru’s decision to grant political asylum to the 14th Dalai Lama. After years of failed negotiations, Nehru authorized the Indian Army to invade Goa in 1961, and then he annexed it to India. It increased his popularity, but he was criticized the use of military force. In the 1962 elections, Nehru led the Congress to victory yet with a diminished majority.Opposition parties ranging from the right-wing Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party, socialists and the Communist Party of India performed well. Public viewing of Nehru’s body, which lies in state, in 1964; the gun carriage used for his state funeral was later used for the state funeral of Mother TeresaSince 1959, and this accelerated in 1961, Nehru adopted the â€Å"Forward Policy† of setting up military outposts in disputed areas of the Sino-Indian border, including in 43 outposts in territory not previously controlled by India. 22] China attacked some of these outposts, and thus the Sino-Indian War began, which India technically lost, but China gained no territory as it withdrew to pre-war lines. The war exposed the weaknesses of India’s military, and Nehru was widely criticised for his government’s insufficient attention to defence. In response, Nehru sacked th e defence minister Krishna Menon and sought U. S. military aid, but Nehru’s health began declining steadily, and he spent months recuperating in Kashmir through 1963.Some historians attribute this dramatic decline to his surprise and chagrin over the Sino-Indian War, which he perceived as a betrayal of trust. [23] Upon his return from Kashmir in May 1964, Nehru suffered a stroke and later a heart attack. He died in the early hours of 27 May 1964. Nehru was cremated in accordance with Hindu rites at the Shantivana on the banks of the Yamuna River, witnessed by hundreds of thousands of mourners who had flocked into the streets of Delhi and the cremation grounds. [edit] Legacy Nehru’s statue in Aldwych, London.As India’s first Prime minister and external affairs minister, Jawaharlal Nehru played a major role in shaping modern India’s government and political culture along with sound foreign policy. He is praised for creating a system providing universal primary education, reaching children in the farthest corners of rural India. Nehru’s education policy is also credited for the development of world-class educational institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,[24] Indian Institutes of Technology,[25] and the Indian Institutes of Management. Nehru was a great man†¦ Nehru gave to Indians an image of themselves that I don’t think others might have succeeded in doing. † – Sir Isaiah Berlin[26] In addition, Nehru’s stance as an unfailing nationalist led him to also implement policies which stressed commonality among Indians while still appreciating regional diversities. This proved particularly important as post-Independence differences surfaced since British withdrawal from the subcontinent prompted regional leaders to no longer relate to one another as allies against a common adversary.While differences of culture and, especially, language threatened the unity of the new nation, Nehru established programs such as the National Book Trust and the National Literary Academy which promoted the translation of regional literatures between languages and also organized the transfer of materials between regions. In pursuit of a single, unified India, Nehru warned, â€Å"Integrate or perish. â€Å"[27] [edit] Commemoration Nehru hands out sweets to children in Nongpoh Jawaharlal Nehru on a 1989 USSR commemorative stamp.In his lifetime, Jawaharlal Nehru enjoyed an iconic status in India and was widely admired across the world for his idealism and statesmanship. His birthday, 14 November, is celebrated in India as Baal Divas (Children’s Day) in recog nition of his lifelong passion and work for the welfare, education and development of children and young people. Children across India remember him as Chacha Nehru (Uncle Nehru). Nehru remains a popular symbol of the Congress Party which frequently celebrates his memory.Congress leaders and activists often emulate his style of clothing, especially the Gandhi cap, and his mannerisms. Nehru’s ideals and policies continue to shape the Congress Party’s manifesto and core political philosophy. An emotional attachment to his legacy was instrumental in the rise of his daughter Indira to leadership of the Congress Party and the national government. Many documentaries about Nehru’s life have been produced. He has also been portrayed in fictionalised films.The canonical performance is probably that of Roshan Seth, who played him three times: in Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi, Shyam Benegal’s 1988 television series Bharat Ek Khoj, based on Nehru’s The Discovery of India, and in a 2007 TV film entitled The Last Days of the Raj. [28] In Ketan Mehta’s film Sardar, Nehru was portrayed by Benjamin Gilani. Nehru’s personal preference for the sherwani ensured that it continues to be considered formal wear in North India today; aside from lending his name to a kind of cap, the Nehru jacket is named in his honour due to his preference for that style.Numerous public institutions and memorials across India are dedicated to Nehru’s memory. The Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi is among the most prestigious universities in India. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port near the city of Mumbai is a modern port and dock designed to handle a huge cargo and traffic load. Nehru’s residence in Delhi is preserved as the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. The Nehru family homes at Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan are also preserved to commemorate Nehru and his family’s legacy. edit] Writings Nehru was a prolific writer in English and wrote a number of books, such as The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History, and his autobiography, Towards Freedom. [edit] Awards In 1955 Nehru was awarded with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. [29] [edit] Criticism D. D. Kosambi, a well-known Marxist historian, criticized Nehru in his article for the bourgeoisie class exploitation of Nehru’s socialist ideology. [30]Jaswant Singh, a former leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), viewed Nehru, not Mohammad Ali Jinnah, as causing the partition of India, mostly referring to his highly centralised policies for an independent India in 1947, which Jinnah opposed in favour of a more decentralised India. The split between the two was among the causes of partition. It is believed that personal animosity between the two leaders led to the partition of India. [31][32] Singh was later expelled from the BJP for having favourable views on Jinnah. [ How to cite Jawaharlal Nehru, Papers Jawaharlal Nehru Free Essays Jawaharlal Nehru BY Joshua49905 Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in Allahabad in British India. His father, Motilal Nehru (1861-1931), a wealthy barrister who belonged to the Kashmiri Pandit community,[9] served twice as President of the Indian National Congress during the Independence Struggle. His mother, Swaruprani Thussu (1868-1938), who came from a well-known Kashmiri Brahmin family settled in Lahore, was Motilal’s second wife, the first having died in child birth. We will write a custom essay sample on Jawaharlal Nehru or any similar topic only for you Order Now Jawaharlal was the eldest of three children, two of whom were girls. The elder sister, Vijaya Lakshmi, later became the irst female president of the United Nations General Assembly. The youngest sister, Krishna Hutheesing, became a noted writer and authored several books on her brother. Nehru described his childhood as a â€Å"sheltered and uneventful one†. He grew up in an atmosphere of privilege at wealthy homes including a large palatial estate called the Anand Bhawan. His father had him educated at home by private governesses and tutors. [ Under the influence of a tutor, Ferdinand T. Brooks, Nehru became interested in science and theosophy. Nehru was subsequently initiated into he Theosophical Society at age thirteen by family friend Annie Beasant. However, his interest in theosophy did not prove to be enduring and he left the society shortly afterwards Brooks departed as his tutor. Nehru wrote: â€Å"for nearly three years [Brooks] was with me and in many ways he influenced me greatly. † Although Nehru was disdainful of religion, his theosophical interests had induced him to the study of the Buddhist and Hindu scriptures. According to B. R. Nanda, these scriptures were Nehru’s â€Å"first introduction to the religious and cultural heritage of rovided Nehru the initial impulse for [his] long intellectual quest which culminated†¦ in the Discovery of India. † Nehru became an ardent nationalist during his youth. The Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War intensified his feelings. About the latter he wrote, â€Å"[The] Japanese victories [had] stirred up my enthusiasm Nationalistic ideas filled my mind I mused of Indian freedom and Asiatic freedom from the thraldom of Europe. Later when Nehru had begun his institutional schooling in 1905 at Harrow, a leading school in England, he was greatly influenced by G. M. Trevelyan’s Garibaldi books, which he had received as prizes for academic merit. Nehru viewed Garibaldi as a revolutionary hero. He wrote: â€Å"Visions of similar deeds in India came before, of my gallant fght for [Indian] freedom and in my mind India and Italy got strangel y mixed together. Nehru had developed an interest in Indian politics during his time in Britain. Within months of his return to India in 1912 he had attended an annual session of the Indian National Congress in Patna. Nehru was disconcerted with what he saw as a â€Å"very much an English-knowing upper class ffair. † The Congress in 1912 had been the party of moderates and elites. Nehru harboured doubts regarding the ineffectualness of the Congress but agreed to work for the party in support of the Indian civil rights movement in South Africa. He collected funds for the civil rights campaigners led by Mohandas Gandhi in 1913. Later, he campaigned against the indentured labour and other such discriminations faced by Indians in the British colonies. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, sympathy in India was divided. Although educated Indians â€Å"by and arge took a vicarious pleasure† in seeing the British rulers humbled, the ruling upper classes sided with the Allies. Nehru confessed that he viewed the war with mixed feelings. Frank Moraes wrote: â€Å"If [Nehru’s] sympathy was with any country it was with France, whose culture he greatly admired. † During the war, Nehru volunteered for the St John Ambulance and worked as one of the provincial secretaries of the organisation in Allahabad. [ Nehru also spoke out against the censorship acts passed by the British government in India. Nehru’s health began eclining steadily after 1962, and he spent months recuperating in Kashmir through 1963. Some historians attribute this dramatic decline to his surprise and chagrin over the Sino-Indian War, which he perceived as a betrayal of trust. Upon his return from Kashmir in May 1964, Nehru suffered a stroke and later a heart attack. He was â€Å"taken ill in early hours† of 27 May 1964 and died in â€Å"early afternoon† on the same day, and his death was announced to Lok Sabha at 1400 local time; cause of death is believed to be heart attack. Nehru was cremated in accordance with Hindu rites at the Shantivana on the banks of the Yamuna River, witnessed by hundreds of thousands of mourners who had flocked into the streets of Delhi and the cremation grounds. Nehru, the man and politician made such a powerful imprint on India that his death on 27 May 1964, left India with no clear political heir to his leadership (although his daughter was widely expected to succeed him before she turned it down in favour of Shastri). Indian newspapers repeated Nehru’s own words of the time of Gandhi’s assassination: â€Å"The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. â€Å" How to cite Jawaharlal Nehru, Papers Jawaharlal Nehru Free Essays Introduction- Jawaharlal Nehru was born on the 14th of November in 1889 in Allahabad, in the time when British were conquering India. He always had a rose in his pocket to show that kids were/are like buds/flowering plants in the garden. He was very fond of children, so in India they celebrate his birthday, as children’s day. We will write a custom essay sample on Jawaharlal Nehru or any similar topic only for you Order Now He was one of the freedom fighters of India. That shows that he is a very close friend of Mohamdas Karamchand Gandhi. He also like the bird white-dove which he thought represented peace. He was also an exceptional child and was greatly loves by everyone in India even as a kid. His father was an eminent lawyer- Motilal Nehru, and his mom was Swaroop-rani. He was not sent to school in his childhood (got education from home), but later, He went to Cambridge in England, for higher studies. He returned to India in 1912, and then he became a lawyer. He was doing his practice in Allahabad High Court. Then he quit his practice and joined the freedom movement. This is where he met Mahatma Gandhi, and got closer to him. During the fight for freedom, he was sent to jail by the British people a lot of times. India got freedom in 1947 and Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime-minister. He was also one of the most successful prime-ministers of India. He did a lot of good things to India like- he started the industrialization, he also developed irrigation in India. He made India get better, by leaps and bounds during his presidency. He has also written a lot of books. He worked severely hard for serving his country. He was a great lover of nature and beauty. Since he loved children, all the kids called him ‘Chacha’- which means uncle. He died on 27th of May in 1964. Collage Pictures- 1. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru I chose this picture to show how Nehru was close Mahtma Gandhi. They did many things together, to get freedom for India from the British. Jawaharlal Nehru found something special in Gandhi that any other political leader had. Even his father, did not have such political skills. Even Nehru’s father, Motilal Nehru liked Mahtma Gandhi; he found inner confidence in him, which none of the political leaders had, that time. 2. Jawaharlal Nehru with Rose on his clothes I chose this picture to show how kind and caring person he was. As I stated in the beginning, he was very fond of children, and he thought that children were like buds in the garden. To represent this thought of his, he thought of the rose as kids/children and he wore it on this clothes. 3. Jawaharlal Nehru’s 1 rupee coin and stamp The coin and the stamp, both were released in the same day which he became the president. This was released to show all the great things he did. The coin and the stamp represent him. 4. A portrait that represents Jawaharlal Nehru I chose this picture because it shows how much he liked peace and white dove. In this portrait, he has white doves circling him, which shows that he liked peace, and he prefers being surrounded in peace rather than a wild/violent atmosphere. He has a India flag on his shoulder, and his clothes has INDIA on it, this shows how much he loves the country. The person who painted this, painted a moon behind his head to show, that he did a lot of bright things to the country. 5. In this picture, he is with the Indian flag. The Indian flag represents- †¢RED- courage †¢WHITE- peace and honesty †¢GREEN- hope, joy and love This shows that he has all of this in him. That is why I chose this portrait– Jawaharlal Nehru with the flag of India. How to cite Jawaharlal Nehru, Essay examples