Historical Figure
Jawaharlal Nehru
1889–1964
Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964
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Biography
Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as the country's first prime minister for 16 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A well-regarded author, he wrote books such as Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), that have been read around the world.
In Their Own Words (5)
I have become a queer mixture of the East and the West ... Out of place everywhere, at home nowhere. Perhaps my thoughts and approach to life are more akin to what is called Western than Eastern, but India clings to me, as she does to all her children, in innumerable ways ... I am a stranger and alien in the West. I cannot be of it. But in my own country also, sometimes I have an exile's feeling.
As quoted in Ambassador's Report (1954) by Chester Bowles, p. 59 , 1954
America is a country no one should go to for the first time.
As quoted in The Traveling Curmudgeon: Irreverent Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes on Dismal Destinations, Excess Baggage, The Full Upright Position, and Other Reasons Not To Go There (2003) by Jon Winokur, p. 5 , 2003
We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
As quoted in Building A Life Of Value : Timeless Wisdom to Inspire and Empower Us (2005) by Jason A. Merchey, p. 74 , 2005
We have laid down in our constitution that India is a secular state. That does not mean irreligion. it means equal respect for all faiths and equal opportunities for those who profess any faith.
An Appeal, 5 July 1961, in Jawaharlal Nehru: An Anthology, pp. 332-3. , 1961
Great causes and little men go ill together.
The Indian Annual Register Vol.1 (January-June 1939) , 1939
Timeline
The story of Jawaharlal Nehru, told in moments.
Arrested for the first of nine total imprisonments by the British. Spends a combined total of over nine years behind bars. Reads voraciously. Writes The Discovery of India in a prison cell in 1944.
Becomes the first Prime Minister of independent India. His speech that midnight: 'At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.' Outside, partition is killing a million people and displacing 15 million more.
Co-founds the Non-Aligned Movement with Tito and Nasser. India won't pick sides in the Cold War. He builds dams, steel plants, and scientific institutions. The Indian Institutes of Technology are his creation. He calls them 'temples of modern India.'
China invades across the disputed Himalayan border. India loses badly. The army is unprepared. Nehru, who'd championed friendship with China, is shattered. His health declines rapidly. He never fully recovers.
Dies of a heart attack in New Delhi at 74. He served as Prime Minister for 17 years. His daughter Indira will follow him. His grandson Rajiv after her. India still celebrates his birthday as Children's Day.
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