Jawaharlal Nehru

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Indian nationalist leader and statesman. One of Gandhi's chief lieutenants in India's fight for independence from the 1920s to the 1940s. He dedicated his entire life to seeking freedom for his country. On 15 August 1947, Nehru was elected the first Prime Minister of the Independent Dominion of India with Lord Mountbatten as governor-general. One of the most influential and interesting leaders of the 20th century, Nehru remained in this post until his death. When India won her independence it tried to include Pakistan, but Pakistan insisted on their own state and both nations have been in a dispute over Kashmir since that time. On 8 April 1950 Nehru signed the Delhi Pact with Liaqat Ali Khan, the leader of Pakistan. Nehru was the oldest child of three born to Motilal, a wealthy Brahman lawyer from Kashmir, and Swarup Rani, who had ties to Lahore, Nehru attended a Convent School for six months in 1896. By 1900 the family had moved to Allahabad and they resided in a palatial home with a swimming pool and tennis courts. An only child for 11 years, he was a voracious reader with areas of interest in literature, history, science, philosophy and economics. From 1902-1904 he was tutored at home then left for schooling at Harrow, England in 1905. In 1907 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge receiving a degree in natural science and his law degree in 1910, returning to India in 1912 with a British accent. He practiced law for some years and there was fierce competition between his politically moderate father and him. With his interest in politics and nationalistic attitude, he grew from a slightly bored young lawyer into an orator who could move and lead the Indian masses. Although he could have been a Kashmiri prince, he chose to work toward an independent India. Nehru met Mohandas Gandhi for the first time in 1916 and recognized his amazing ability to rouse the masses. Recognizing the similarity in their ideals for their country, Gandhi treated Nehru like a son. Nehru shared the vision of a free India, but he did not believe in the pacifist attitude of Gandhi. In the spring of 1919, their cause was impacted by the massacre of 400 Indians protesting for independence in Amritsar, the Punjab's Sikh capital. The plight of India's peasant population imprinted Nehru's mind and heart with the power of a sudden religious conversion and his awakened passion stayed with him all his life. During the 1920 Non-cooperation movement, both the Nehru father and son gave up flourishing legal practices to follow the national movement for independence. A brilliant, charismatic and introspective man with a complex character, Nehru's vast popularity, strong will, energy and pride allowed him to be a benevolent despot once he was in power. His dad died in 1921 after a prolonged illness. Beginning in 1921, during the Civil Disobedience period, Nehru was put into British prisons nine times and spent a total of ten years in jail. He did most of his writing during his incarcerations including an autobiography in 1936. In 1926 Nehru moved his wife and daughter to Europe for a year at which time he became associated with Socialism. He was elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1929, 1936, 1937 and 1946. He was the architect of India's foreign policy which he defined as anti-imperialist, anti-apartheid and anti-colonial. Nehru conceived that third world countries working together and receiving help from both major blocs in the cold war was a constructive way of leading his people and the people of other countries into a more science based, better way of life. Nonetheless, his commitment to Socialism precluded India from the kind of economic progress that a market economy would have produced. Jawaharlal married Kamala Kaul in 1916. Their only child, Indira, was born on 19 November 1918. He loved his daughter dearly and his political training and influence paid a large part in her brilliant career in politics. After his wife's death due to a lengthy illness in 1936, he never remarried. There was speculation about a relationship with Lady Edwina Mountbatten, wife of the last viceroy and governor-general of India, considered by some biographers as being the real love of his life. Nehru became ill and lapsed into a coma, and in spite of a blood transfusion from his daughter, his condition was hopeless and he died on 27 May 1964 at 1:44 PM in New Delhi. On 28 May 1964 thousands of people lined a six-mile funeral route to a place on the bank of the River Yamuna near where Gandhi had been cremated. At 4:30 PM Nehru's grandson, Sanjay, lighted the pyre while Hindu and Buddhist priests chanted. On 9 June 1964, as he had requested, a portion of his ashes were thrown into the River Ganges and the remainder were scattered by plane over the fields of India. There have been several universities named for Nehru and due to his love of children, his birthday is now celebrated as Children's Day. Link to Wikipedia biography