The Leader I Admire
14th November, the date of the birth of Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated as Children’s Day in India. I also took part in the celebration as a kid. Thus, I have heard a lot and read a lot about him out of my curiosity.
He truly was the visionary who laid the foundation of modern India. He put our country on the road to industrialization. Nehru wanted India to become an industrial giant. He set in motion the projects to build big dams for irrigation and power generation. Then, India was dependent on food grain imports. Self-sufficiency in agricultural production was the need of the hour.
He understood the importance of education for the country. His inspiration resulted in framing up of the basic education policy. Schools, colleges and great many technical institutions came up fast. As a result, today India has become a knowledge power having armies of educated youth scientists etc. Through sustained education Nehru wanted us to become a rational society.
Ignorance and blind faiths are hurdles in the way of making of a modern nation. He was the spirit behind India becoming a secular state and a parliamentary democracy. These facts reveal how much we owe to Jawaharlal Nehru for what we are today. In only 15 years he cast the mould of shining India.
Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14th November, 1889 At Allahabad in the aristocratic family of his sire, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Motilal was a very distinguished barrister of his time. He also was a prominent freedom fighter and a Congress leader. Jawaharlal was imparted primary education at home by able tutors as was the custom in those days. Later, he was sent to England for higher studies where he passed out from Harrow School and Cambridge University.
On return home he showed little interest in getting established as a successful lawyer. Instead, Jawaharlal got drown in freedom movement. He joined politics as a Congressman and became ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi.
Freedom politics resulted in his being sent to jail several time. In 1916 he married Kamla Nehru, a homely girl of a Delhi family. In jail he wrote ‘Discovery of India’ and ‘Glimpses of World History.’ The letters written by him to his daughter Indira from jail was later compiled in a book titled ‘Letters from Father to Daughter.’
Jawaharlal was a writer, orator, politician statesman and a philosopher. Mahatma Gandhi recognized him as a great leader of fine qualities and abilities. Jawaharlal held a great promise for the countrymen as potential leader of future. He served as president of Congress party for four terms of one year each. In 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru headed the first Interim Government formed by Congress party as a prelude to total independence from the British rule.
After gaining independence he was made the first Prime Minister of free India under the patronage of Mahatma Gandhi. At midnight on 15th August, 1947 Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the tricolour of independent India from the ramparts of the Red fort of Delhi. He delivered the historic ‘tryst with destiny’ speech to the nation on that—occasion.
For laying the foundation of free India and charting out its future course, Nehru worked day and night. Rightly he earned the epithet of ‘Architect of Modern India.’ To build the infrastructure he sought the help of friendly nations of the world. Five year plans began to be implemented which still continue on. Jawaharlal strived hard at international level to bring peace to the world.
He was inter-mental in starting the Non-alignment movement which made India the world player. Panchsheel was also his idea. The only setback of career was Chinese attack of 1962 on northern frontiers of India. One and half years later on 27th May, 1964 Jawaharlal Nehru breathed his last. He left an indelible mark of the life on Indian nation and we will ever cherish his name and works.