“Some are born great. Some have greatness thrust upon them by destiny. Some achieve greatness by dint of hard work”. I believe Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born great.
He is reckoned as one of the most illustrious sons of India, an outstanding leader who left behind a blazing trail of remarkable achievements and success. Till today he stands unequalled, unrivalled and without a peer in the galaxy of Indian leaders who have graced our land.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the son of Motilal Nehru who was a renowned barrister and a leading political figure. Nehru was born on 14th Nov. 1889 at Allahabad. He took his primary education from English tutors, at home. Later on, he was sent to England for higher studies and returned to India in 1919 after qualifying himself as a barrister.
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On his return to India, he started his practice at Allahabad but soon gave up his job to serve the motherland. He plunged himself wholeheartedly in the National Freedom struggle that was going on that time. Nehru became an ardent disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.
He was sent to jail many times for propagating the cause of independence. But nothing could deter him from fighting for his beloved motherland. In 1929, he was elected the President of Indian National Congress at its Lahore session where the resolution for ‘complete independence’ was passed.
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Thereafter, till independence, Nehru became the voice of India, the chief strategist of the nationalist movement and the forefront congress leader in the country after Mahatma Gandhi. Hence, when India achieved freedom in August 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru was elected to lead the country as its first Prime Minister.
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It is his noble contributions to the cause of building up India after attaining independence that have won him immortal fame. He was a man of vision and foresight. Under his able guidance India progressed in all directions.
He laid the foundation for a vibrant India and paved the path for agricultural prosperity, rapid industrialisation, quick economic development through planning, social integration, national unity and peaceful co-existence with India’s neighbours.
For all these contributions, he is reckoned as the ‘architect of modern India. His contributions to the cause of world peace are also praiseworthy. He was one of the founding fathers of NAM (Non-aligned movement).
Nehru was also a great orator and an author of great repute. His works such as, ‘Discovery of India, ‘Glimpses of World History’, ‘ An Autobiography’, etc. have won him international acclaim as a writer. He had great liking for children, who out of love for him called him ‘Chacha Nehru’.
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In respect to this noble trait, his birthday on 14th November is celebrated all over India every year as Children’s day Nehru breathed his last on May 27, 1964 after 17 years of dedicated service to the cause of the nation.
The death of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 was an irreplaceable loss to India. He had guided the destiny of India from 1947 till his death in 1964. He built up our nation from the scratches and left it in a recognisable position in the assembly of nations.
He laid the path for India’s modernisation and progress. His great contributions to the progress of India, international peace, non-aligned movement, etc. would always be remembered by posterity. A man of his caliber and stature is still to be born in India.