Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several political leaders paid tributes to India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, on his 136th birth anniversary, observed nationwide as Children’s Day.

About Jawaharlal Nehru

Early Life and Education

• Birth: Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh.
  • Commemoration: His birthday is celebrated as Children’s Day in India in recognition of his affection for children.
• Family Background: He was born into an affluent Kashmiri Pandit family, with his father Motilal Nehru being a noted lawyer and nationalist.
• Education: He received early education at home and later studied at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where exposure to Western political ideas shaped his worldview.
• Legal Training: He completed legal studies in England before returning to India in 1912.

Political Awakening

• Entry into Politics: After returning to India, he joined the Indian National Congress, which was leading the struggle against British rule.
• Influence of Gandhi: His meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1916 profoundly influenced his commitment to non-violence and mass mobilisation.
• Initial Participation: He actively participated in the Home Rule League (1919) and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22).
• Organisational Roles: Served multiple terms as General Secretary of the AICC from 1923.
• Ideology: Advocated secular nationalism, socialism, scientific temper, anti-imperialism, and internationalism.

Major Role in the Freedom Struggle

• Anti-Simon Protest: He was lathi-charged in Lucknow (1928) while protesting against the Simon Commission.
• Constitutional Work: “He contributed to the drafting of the Nehru Report (1928), chaired by Motilal Nehru, which proposed constitutional reforms.”
• Poorna Swaraj Declaration: As President of the Lahore Session of the Congress (1929), he proclaimed complete independence (Poorna Swaraj) as the national goal.
• Policy Drafting: He authored the Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy Resolution (1929–31), later adopted at the Karachi Session (1931).
• Civil Disobedience: He was repeatedly imprisoned during the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930s) for participating in protests against colonial rule.
• Congress Presidentship: He presided over the Lucknow Session of the Congress (1936).
• Quit India Movement: He played a central role in the Quit India Movement of 1942 and was imprisoned for several years for demanding immediate independence.
  • “He presented the Quit India Resolution on behalf of Mahatma Gandhi on 7 August 1942.”
• INA Trials: After release in 1945, he helped organise the legal defence for INA officers.
• Interim Government: He headed the Interim Government (1946) as de facto Prime Minister.
• Books Written: The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History etc. 

Role in Constitution-Making

• Objectives Resolution: Moved the historic Objectives Resolution (1946), which later formed the Preamble and guiding principles of the Constitution.
• Advocated parliamentary democracy, federalism, secularism, and socio-economic justice.

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Leadership After Independence

• First Prime Minister: He became the first Prime Minister of independent India on 15 August 1947 and served until 27 May 1964.
• Nation-Building: He worked to establish a sovereign, democratic, and secular Indian state through robust institutional frameworks.
• Economic Vision: He introduced planned economic development, promoted public sector industries, and supported land reforms.
• Scientific Temper: “Established premier institutions such as IITs, CSIR, and DRDO, and initiated India’s space and atomic research programmes.”
• State Reorganisation: He constituted the States Reorganisation Commission (1953) to reorganise states on linguistic lines.
• Foreign Policy: He shaped India’s independent foreign policy and co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), emphasising peace and neutrality during the Cold War.

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