Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of Modern India – A Comprehensive Biography

PWOnlyIAS November 11, 2023 05:57 2123 0

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Context: November 14 is the birth anniversary of independent India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of Modern India – A Comprehensive Biography

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism and Architect of Modernity

About: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a lawyer, Indian nationalist, politician and socialist thinker who played a major role in post-independent India.

Jawaharlal Nehru

Birth: Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad in 1889 to Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani.
- Motilal Nehru was a famous lawyer and nationalist.
Education: He was initially home tutored and later educated in England, at Harrow School, and then at Trinity College, Cambridge.
- He completed studying law from Inner Temple in London.
Early Career: After returning to India, Nehru practiced law for some years. Later he abandoned his practice and joined the freedom struggle.
Thoughts: Nehru’s thoughts were based on the pillars of democracy, socialism, unification, and secularism.
- He was a supporter of liberal brand of politics.

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Dynamic Role in India’s Struggle for Independence

Freedom Struggle:
- Home Rule League: Nehru joined the Home Rule League established by Annie Besant in 1916, which advocated for self-governance.
  - He served as the Secretary of the Home Rule League, Allahabad in 1919.
- Non-cooperation movement: Nehru participated in the non-cooperation movement where he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi.
- Foreign Allies: Nehru worked to obtain support of foreign allies for Indian freedom struggle by establishing contacts with movements for independence and democracy around the world.
- Independence for India League: Nehru formed the Independence for India League, a pressure group with the Congress, demanding complete Independence for India.
- Individual Satyagraha: Nehru participated as the second satyagrahi in the individual satyagraha movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1940, and was sentenced to imprisonment.
- Congress President: Nehru was elected the president of the Lahore Session of Indian National Congress in 1929.
  - It was in this session that the Poorna Swaraj declaration of Congress was adopted.
  - Nehru also presided over the Congress party session of 1936 held in Lucknow.
- Congress Policy: Nehru drafted the Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy resolution, which were to be the main goals of the Congress party and the nation’s future.
- Quit India Movement: Nehru introduced the ‘Quit India’ resolution at the All-India Congress Committee session in Bombay in 1942.
- Defence of INA Officials: Nehru played a main role in organizing legal defence for Indian National Army (INA) officers and troops tried for disloyalty by the British.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s Governance Legacy: From Independence to Linguistic States
- Interim Prime Minister: Nehru headed the interim government as the Prime Minister under the Cabinet Mission plan in 1946.
- Prime Minister: Post India’s independence in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru served as India’s first Prime Minister for 16 years till 1964.
  - During his Oath as the Prime Minister of India, Nehru made the famous “Tryst with Destiny” speech.
- Linguistic States: Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission, known as Fazl Ali Commission, for the creation of states on linguistic lines.
Education: Nehru played a critical role in establishing institutions of higher learning including IITs, AIIMS and IIMs.
- He also included free and compulsory primary education to all children in his five-year plans.
Science and Technology: Nehru laid the stepping stone for India Atomic Energy Commission and space agency.
Constitution: Nehru was the chairperson of three committees in the Constituent Assembly. They were the Union Constitution Committee, Union Powers Committee and States Committee.
- Nehru’s 1946 ‘Objective Resolution’ became the underlying principles behind the Preamble of Indian Constitution.
Society: Nehru was an admirer of tribal culture and wanted them to develop on their own without imposition from the mainstream.
- He introduced five policy outlines known as ‘Tribal Panchsheel’ for approaching tribal development in India.
International Peace:
- Indo-China Peace Agreement: Nehru signed the peace deal with China, called the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, known popularly as the Panchsheel.
- Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): NAM is considered to be Nehru’s biggest foreign policy accomplishment as he created a group of like-minded countries which decided to not align with any superpower during the cold war era.
- Commonwealth: Nehru decided to maintain good relations with Britain and other British Commonwealth countries by signing the 1949 London Declaration, under which India agreed to remain within the Commonwealth of Nations after becoming a republic.
Industrialization: Nehru advocated for a mixed economy where the government-controlled public sector would co-exist with the private sector. He considered industries as temples of modern India.
- Under Nehru’s policies, government invested in large-scale public sector industries such as steel, iron, coal, and power.
Five Year Plans: Five year plans were economic policies introduced in 1951 by Jawaharlal Nehru, inspired from Soviet Russia’s policies.
- The second five year plan was known to be based on the Nehru-Mahalanobis model.
Land Reforms: Nehru initiated land reform policies to abolish Zamindari system and carried out redistribution of land resources among small farmers.
Green Revolution: The idea of self sufficiency in food production was envisioned by Nehru, who decided to initiate Green Revolution in the third Five Year Plan in 1961.
De-nuclearisation: Nehru campaigned for abolition of nuclear weapons, as he feared that nuclear arms race would lead to over-militarization that would be unaffordable for developing countries.

Criticisms of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Policies: Examining Kashmir and the Sino-Indian War

Kashmir Policy: Nehru has been frequently criticized for his blunders while handling Kashmir. It is alleged that his delayed action led to India losing control over large areas of land.
China Policy: It is alleged that Nehru’s military unpreparedness cost India the victory in the Sino-Indian war of 1962. The diplomatic failure to tackle a hostile territorial situation has continued to haunt India even today.

Jawaharlal Nehru: Literary Legacy and Thoughtful Quotes

Books: Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946) are some of the well known works of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Quotes
- “The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.”
- “Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”
- “Politics and religion are obsolete. The time has come for science and spirituality.”
- “Time is not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.”
- “Only through the right education can a better order of society be built up.”
- “It is the habit of every aggressor nation to claim that it is acting on the defensive.”
- “The children of today will make the India of tomorrow. The way we bring them up will determine the future of the country.”
- “Failure comes only when we forget our ideals and objectives and principles.”

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Jawaharlal Nehru: Honors and Legacy:

Children’s Day: Children’s day is celebrated every year to mark the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru. Initially, Children’s Day in India was celebrated on November 20 but post the demise of Jawaharlal Nehru’s in 1964, a resolution was passed to declare November 14 as Children’s Day to honour his legacy.
Bharat Ratna: Nehru was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 1955.

Conclusion:

Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the greatest political icons of modern India. His contributions towards building a modern nation cannot be ignored.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a lawyer, Indian nationalist, politician and socialist thinker who played a major role in post-independent India.

Nehru was elected the president of the Lahore Session of Indian National Congress in 1929. It was in this session that the Poorna Swaraj declaration of Congress was adopted.

Non-Aligned Movement is a group of like-minded countries which decided to not align with any superpower during the cold war era.

Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946) are some of the well known works of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Children’s day is celebrated every year to mark the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 1955.

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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of Modern India – A Comprehensive Biography

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism and Architect of Modernity

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Dynamic Role in India’s Struggle for Independence

Criticisms of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Policies: Examining Kashmir and the Sino-Indian War

Jawaharlal Nehru: Literary Legacy and Thoughtful Quotes

Jawaharlal Nehru: Honors and Legacy:

Conclusion:

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Jawaharlal Nehru?

In Which Year did Nehru become the President of Congress for the First time?

What is the Non-Aligned Movement?

Which are the famous books Written by Jawaharlal Nehru?

What are the Honours accorded to Jawaharlal Nehru?

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