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One of the greatest gifts of Jawaharlal Nehru was his ability to communicate. His ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech, delivered on the eve of India’s Independence is widely regarded as one of the finest speeches of the 20th century. His political and campaign speeches established a deep connection with the masses and garnered votes as well as public sentiment for him.

Apart from his speeches and conversations, Nehru was also a prolific writer. His writings reveal his sensitivity, his deep moral sense and his vision. He wrote historical, autobiographical and political works, some of which have become classics, such as The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History and Letters from a Father to his Daughter.

In addition, Nehru also made it a point to write fortnightly letters to the chief ministers of all the states of India. His letters covered law and order, national planning, advice regarding governance, corruption and world events. A few of these letters were collected and published as books such as Selected works of Jawaharlal Nehru and Letters for a Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru to his Chief Ministers 1947-1963.

Nehru was a great promoter of the freedom of the press. He believed that having a free press was vital for the health of democracy and that it was necessary to criticize persons in authority.

He conducted regular interactions with the press and hosted Press Conferences every month at the Parliament House and later at Vigyan Bhavan. This was a unique event that lasted about 90 minutes where Nehru would answer questions pertaining to any issue that the journalists wanted to discuss.

These conferences were a vital communication between journalists and Nehru, and made the prime minister accessible and accountable to the public. These meetings were a testimony to Nehru’s style of governance which was open, accessible and accountable.

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Not many know that Nehru was a cinephile who encouraged Indian cinema, especially films that carried a positive message. Post-Independence, many viewed films as an uncultured and boorish form of entertainment. However, Nehru saw potential in this medium and encouraged films as a tool for communication. He saw an opportunity for the country to shape its identity through films.

He set up the Film Enquiry Committee (FEC) in 1949, which led to the development of the Film Industry in India. Nehru also used this emerging medium to advantage in the field of diplomatic relations. He included film stars such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor and Nargis as part of cultural delegations to Russia and Egypt, where the popularity of Indian cinema soared.

Nehru himself was portrayed in a number of short films and documentaries. Nehru’s character has been played multiple times by Roshan Seth - in Richard Attenborough’s 1982 film Gandhi, in Shyam Benegal’s 1988 television series Bharat Ek Khoj (which was based on Nehru’s book, The Discovery of India) and in a 2007 TV film titled The Last Days of the Raj. Benegal also directed the 1984 documentary film Nehru, which covered his political career and used real footage of Nehru instead of a depiction by an actor.

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Nehru was not only the most popular Prime Minister of India, but a prominent figure even on the global stage. India had based her freedom struggle on the values of peaceful opposition and non-violent protest. This unique strategy garnered considerable attention and respect globally and earned India and her leaders of the time, especially Nehru, iconic status.

Nehru had a finger on the pulse of the nation. He had a special rapport with the humble farmer as well as the intellectual youth of India. The masses that he addressed trusted and loved him. He was deeply connected to ground realities and initiated many agricultural reforms. At the same time, his modern, progressive vision drew talented new blood into the Congress.

He belonged to a prominent family who were well-educated and prosperous. Because of this he was exposed to the cream of society and had a classical Western education. He was thus able to straddle both the humble world of the rural peasant and the hallowed halls of high society with equal ease.

He was widely admired for his idealism and statesmanship. He stood apart from other politicians because of the sincerity of his actions. He was motivated by the desire to only serve and not to gather power or wealth for himself. He was a courageous and powerful leader who ensured that democracy took firm root in India.

He is unique because he held absolute power ever since he took office as the first prime minister of India till his death in 1964, but never let power corrupt him. While he lived, he defended the freedom of the marginalized and the voiceless and worked tirelessly to modernize and strengthen India. He was not just a leader and statesman but a beloved and admired guardian and founder of Indian democracy.

Nehru’s death marked the end of an era. Condolence messages poured in from Commonwealth countries as well as from leaders all across the world. His life was one of long endeavour, unfailing service and exemplary idealism. Dignitaries from 17 countries attended his funeral. Such was his charisma and stature that even his adversaries honoured him, including President Ayub Khan of Pakistan, who called him a “great Indian leader who commanded not only admiration but the devotion of his people”. The West Pakistan Provincial Assembly adjourned without transacting business after observing two minutes silence in memory of the “great freedom fighter”.

In India his body was draped in the National Flag and he was accorded a state funeral with full military honours. Flag officers of the Indian Armed Forces maintained a constant vigil over his body till 28 May when his body was borne on a ceremonial gun carriage to the banks of the Yamuna River.

The masses who revered Nehru in life gathered in full force to pay their last respects. Around 1.5 million people lined the streets of New Delhi to catch a final glimpse of him.

According to Nehru’s wishes, a handful of his ashes were thrown into the Ganga and the rest were carried and scattered over fields. He had said that “I want these to be carried high up into the air in an aeroplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil of India and become an indistinguishable part of India.”

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Nehru had been suffering from ill health for some time and had even considered resigning twice from the Prime minister’s post at the age of 74. However, due to the enormity of his responsibilities he was unable to do so.

In January of 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru suffered a stroke. Although he was partially paralyzed, he continued in office for another three months. Senior colleagues handled his ministerial duties, though he insisted on dealing with official papers himself, which he did right up to the evening before he died.

Nehru spent the last four days of his life from May 23 to 26, 1964 in Dehradun, his favourite getaway. An eye-witness account by journalist Raj Kanwar recounts that he sat under his favourite camphor tree and listened to the birds in the wooded grounds of Circuit House, now Raj Bhawan during these days.

He was restless the night before his death and woke one last time at 6.30 am before falling into a coma. He died on 27 May at 1.44 pm. His daughter Indira Gandhi was by his side at his death.

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During Jawaharlal Nehru’s time in prison, he wrote several letters to his daughter Indira Gandhi, who was 10 years old at the time. Through his letters, he taught her about history, science and evolution. His letters were published as a book called “Letters from a Father to His Daughter”. He also read extensively in prison.

It was perhaps this thirst for knowledge and the desire to share it that made him a passionate advocate of education, not just for children but also for adults. He was responsible for the establishment of some of the most revered institutions of higher learning in India - such as the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs), the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMs).

Nehru made a provision in his five-year plans to guarantee free and compulsory primary education to all India’s children. Towards this end, Nehru was instrumental in mass village enrolment programmes and the construction of many schools. He also initiated the provision of free milk and meals to children to fight malnutrition. Vocational and technical schools were also organized for adults in rural areas at his behest.

The early emphasis on science and technology made India one of the largest producers of doctors and engineers in the world today. India owes much of this success to the foresight of Jawaharlal Nehru.

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At the time of independence, India had already experienced the Bengal famine of 1943 where 3 million people had died of starvation. With this background, Nehru realized that to progress, India must focus on agriculture.

He said, “If our agricultural foundation is not strong then the industry we seek to build will not have a strong basis either. Apart from that, if our food front cracks up, everything else will crack up too.” Nehru saw the connection between agriculture and industry and realized that without agricultural advancements, no other industry would prosper.

He concentrated on four aspects of agriculture - upliftment of the farmer, development of rural infrastructure, higher productivity and harnessing science and technology in farming.

The nation thus embarked on the path of agrarian reform. Land reforms included the abolishing of giant landholdings, but efforts to redistribute land by placing limits on land ownership failed.

Attempts to introduce large-scale cooperative farming were confounded by the land-owning rural elite, who had considerable political clout in the Congress and were successful in opposing Nehru’s efforts.

Agricultural production expanded in the 1960s. The introduction of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice began the Green Revolution in India. Better irrigation facilities and fertilizers led to the increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

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Jawaharlal Nehru based his nation-building on four essential components- socialism, democracy, secularism and non-alignment.

Nehru created his own brand of socialism which was based on the tenets of non-violence and democracy. He established a cooperative, socialist commonwealth and accelerated the path to industrialization. He also advocated the abolition of the Zamindari system.

Nehru believed that a sound democracy should have strong self-governance from the grass root level. He initiated the Panchayati Raj system because he believed that development should begin from below and not be dictated from above.

As for secularism, Nehru was a staunch protector of minorities and individual human rights. He stated in 1951, “If anyone raises his hand against another in the name of religion, I shall fight him till the last breath of my life, whether from inside the government or outside.”

Towards this end, he created a system of reservations in government services and educational institutions to eradicate social inequalities and disadvantages faced by scheduled castes and tribes.

Nehru’s foreign policy was based on the idea of non-alignment, where he refused to be courted by either of the two power blocs of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and preferred to chart a new course based on non-violence and peaceful cooperation among nations.

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Nehru presented the first Five-year Plan to the Parliament on 9 July 1951. They were formulated by the Planning Commission of India.

The five-year plans were developed for the effective and balanced utilization of resources. They were centralized and integrated national economic programmes. The first plan was adopted against the back-drop of partition, severe food shortage and mounting inflation. It focused on agriculture and irrigation. The plan had a target of 2.1 per cent GDP growth but recorded a growth rate of 3.6 per cent.

The second five-year plan focused on the development of the public sector and rapid industrialization. Under this plan hydroelectric power projects and steel plants were set up in different parts of India. India had a total of 12 five-year plans, the last one being from 2012 to 2017.

In Nehru’s mixed economy, the government would manage strategic industries such as mining, electricity and heavy industries while serving public interests and keeping a check on private enterprises.

Nehru pursued land distribution and launched programmes to build irrigation canals, dams and spread the use of fertilizers to increase agricultural production. He initiated a series of community development programmes aimed at spreading diverse cottage industries and helping rural India. Nehru also launched India’s programmes to harness nuclear energy.

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On the afternoon of January 30, 1948 as Gandhiji walked to his prayer meeting in Birla House (now known as Gandhi Smriti), a young man pushed his way forward from the crowd, pulled out a gun and shot him.

This unthinkable crime was committed by a fanatic, Nathuram Godse, because he disagreed with Gandhiji’s conviction that Hindus and Muslims should live together in harmony. Jawaharlal Nehru broke the tragic news to the country on radio. He said, “The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere...A glory has departed and the sun that warmed and brightened our lives has set and we shiver in the cold and dark.”

Nehru’s sense of loss was intense. Gandhiji had been his guiding light throughout his political life. Prior to Gandhiji’s death, there had been some friction between Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, but this changed after they met for Gandhiji’s memorial service.

They put their differences aside and worked in harmony after the tragic event.

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On September 26, 1946, Nehru declared the government’s plan to engage in direct diplomatic relations with all countries and to set up goodwill missions. He also expressed support for the independence of other colonised nations.

In November 1946, India ratified the Convention on International Civil Aviation. In the same month, a committee was appointed to advise the government on nationalizing the armed forces.

In December Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was inducted into the cabinet. The year 1947 saw the opening of diplomatic channels between India and many countries. In April 1947, the U.S. announced the appointment of Dr. Henry F. Grady as its ambassador to India. Embassy level diplomatic relations with the U.S.S.R. and the Netherlands were also established in April 1947.

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When World War II broke out in 1939, Britain declared war on India’s behalf. Viceroy Linlithgow declared India at war with Germany and Japan without consulting Indian politicians. In protest all provincial Congress governments resigned.

The Congress demanded independence and leaders like Nehru insisted that India would only fight alongside Britain as a free country. The Congress launched the Quit India Movement against the British in August, 1942. Wide scale protests erupted all over India which Britain suppressed by arresting thousands of Congress supporters. Nehru was sentenced for making ‘seditious’ speeches and the British government denounced him as “the most disruptive single force in the politics of the country”.

The Indian Army was crucially involved in the Allied campaign in the Second World War. Indian troops distinguished themselves on all fronts in many countries during World War II. More than 2.5 million Indian troops fought Axis forces around the globe and over 87,000 Indian soldiers died. The British knew that they had little chance of winning the war without India’s help and refused to hand over power during this time. Key Congress leaders, including Nehru, were kept in prison till 1945 and only released after the war was over.

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There were a series of Acts related to India passed by the British Parliament between 1773 and 1935. The first such Acts were known as East India Company Acts and the later ones were titled Government of India Acts.

Of these the 1935 Government of India Act was the longest Act of British Parliament enacted till then. Some of the most significant aspects of the Act were - granting of a large measure of autonomy to the provinces of British India, the establishment of a federation of India, the introduction of direct elections and a partial reorganization of the provinces.

Rajendra Prasad, along with many other moderates, welcomed the Act since it gave Indians the chance to participate in government immediately. They believed that power-sharing was the best way forward and the first step towards full ‘home rule’.

Others disagreed arguing that power-sharing was likely to slow up processes towards independence and that Britain was using it as a sop to the nationalist movement. Nehru was of the opinion that the Congress should stick to its principles and refuse to collaborate with Britain.

Finally, a compromise was worked out whereby the Congress would formally reject the 1935 Act (thus registering its dissatisfaction with the provisions of the Act), but would put up candidates in the elections to the legislative assemblies due to be held in 1937.

Although Nehru was unhappy with this decision, he immediately set to work to marshal the party into a unified force ready for the elections ahead.

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As per the Government of India Act 1935, provincial elections were held in 11 provinces, including Madras, Bihar, Orissa, Sindh, Bengal, Punjab and the North West Frontier Province.

The three main contenders in the election were the Indian National Congress, the All India Muslim League and the Unionist Party. Jawaharlal Nehru was the leader of the Congress at the time and threw himself wholeheartedly into the election campaign. He covered around 80,000 km across the length and breadth of India, through cities and villages, jungles, deserts and plains. Over 10 million people came to hear him and his popularity grew enormously.

His campaign centred around the message that all Indians were part of the fight for freedom and should rally behind the Congress to fight poverty, unemployment and all forms of degradation. It was a message that ordinary people could understand and respond to and when the time came to vote, they swept his party to an overwhelming victory.

The Congress won 758 out of 1500 seats and went on to form 7 provincial governments. The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, won 109 seats, and the Unionist Party, led by Sikandar Hayat Khan, won 101 seats.

Established in 1906, the Muslim League lacked popular appeal and received only five per cent of the total number of votes cast. These results, Jawaharlal Nehru pointed out, justified the Congress’s claim of representing all Indians. But this claim led Nehru into making one of his most serious errors of judgement and was a catalyst to the rise of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

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Gandhiji said, “Next to air and water, salt is perhaps the greatest necessity of life”. Under the British Salt Act of 1882, Indians were prohibited from collecting or selling salt. They were forced to buy salt from the British, who charged a heavy salt tax on this basic commodity. This was especially burdensome for the poor.

It is no wonder then that Gandhiji chose breaking the salt tax law as his first priority after the Civil Disobedience Movement was launched.

On March 12, 1930, Gandhiji along with 78 volunteers, set out from Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad for the coastal town of Dandi in Gujarat, many kilometres away. Along the way Gandhiji addressed large crowds and many joined the march to Dandi. After 24 days, on April 5, Gandhiji along with tens of thousands of followers reached their destination. On reaching the sea, Gandhiji picked up a few crystals of salt saying, “With these crystals of salt, I am going to shake the foundations of the British Empire”.

The salt Satyagraha was taken up across the country and millions of people began to make salt in their homes. The police arrested more than 60,000 people in the aftermath.

Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal were both arrested for their participation. Motilal died shortly after his release from prison in 1931. Jawaharlal Nehru and his family remained at the forefront of the struggle.

The flame of Satyagraha had been lit and the response was overwhelming. India’s freedom struggle began to be followed all over the world. The British soon realized that Gandhiji could neither be suppressed nor ignored and dreaded this new weapon - Satyagraha.

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