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Nehru was inclined to admire the socialist model of the Soviet Union. He was impressed by their centralized and integrated economic programs called five-year plans and decided to implement the same in the Indian economy.

However, Nehru was not blind to what he perceived as shortcomings and realized that taken in its entirety; the Soviet model might not work in India. He therefore favoured a combination of Socialism and Capitalism or ‘middle way’ and implemented Democratic Socialism in India.

He wanted the state to be the primary entrepreneur and all its citizens to be equal shareholders. He strengthened the democratic policies of the nation immensely by creating proper wealth distribution systems at all levels.

He described this reasoning in one of his letters, “Could (the communist) new economic approach, shorn of violence and coercion and suppression of individual liberty, be helpful in solving our problems or the world’s problems?”

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The initial years of independence for India were marked by turbulence. A massive exchange of populations was taking place along India’s borders at Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Refugees poured in continuously and this was draining the resources of Indian states such as West Bengal and Punjab.

At the same time there existed over 500 princely states which needed to be integrated into the Union of India. Along with Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a major role in convincing the rulers of these states to accede to India. Through these extremely sensitive times when Indian nationhood was in its nascent stages, one man’s vision set India firmly on the road to progress - Jawaharlal Nehru’s.

One of the most pressing tasks on his hands was to draft the constitution of India. Although this responsibility had been given to Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Nehru also contributed to its formulation. He was determined that India would be secular and democratic in nature and had taken several inputs from the Government of India Act of 1935.

The Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution of India on 26 November 1949. The constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. India was to have a federal form of government with each provincial state responsible for its own local affairs such as health and education and a central government in Delhi controlling matters of national interest such as foreign affairs, defence and finance.

A lower house of 500 representatives, Lok Sabha, would be elected by the adult population, while an upper house, Rajya Sabha, would be appointed by the state legislatures and the President.

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Though many years have passed since his death, Jawaharlal Nehru continues to be remembered as the architect of modern India. His vision of a secular, industrial and cosmopolitan nation helped transform a nation ravaged by 200 years of British rule into a modern, productive and self-sufficient one.

It must be mentioned that Gandhiji had a more traditional outlook and was not interested in industrialization or a global presence for India. Jawaharlal Nehru on the other hand, had both - a national and global vision. He pioneered the international policy of non-alignment, due to which India has benefited in matters of foreign policy, economic undertakings and educational exchanges.

Nehru incorporated many of his own ideals in India’s constitution and had a secular and democratic worldview. This shows most clearly in those parts of the Constitution that deal with human rights, where it states that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, or place of birth. The practice of untouchability was abolished and its practice in any form was forbidden. All people were guaranteed twelve basic freedoms which included freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom of peaceful assembly.

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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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Communal violence is a kind of violence that is perpetrated on the basis of membership to a certain group or religion. The years 1946 and 1947 witnessed some of the worst communal violence ever seen in India.

Almost a million people lost their lives as rioting and violence between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs swept across Punjab, Delhi, Bengal and other parts of India. Nehru, like many others, had hoped that partition would bring an end to the violence but the rioting and violence continued unabated. Partition displaced 15 million and killed more than a million people.

Nehru conducted joint tours to encourage peace and calm angry and disillusioned refugees. The violence he saw deeply affected him but he was determined to ensure that every Indian citizen, no matter which religion he or she belonged to, was protected by law and did his utmost to work towards this goal.

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Mahatma Gandhi was heartbroken by the violence. The ‘free India’ he had envisioned was a land of peace and harmony where people from various religions would live as brothers and sisters.

The unfolding of the horror of partition filled Gandhiji with profound sorrow. He would not participate in the celebrations of 15 August, 1947 and instead spent the day fasting and praying.

At this time Bengal, which was to be partitioned into East and West, had been witnessing blood-thirsty violence for many months. Gandhiji worked day and night trying to bring peace to the Hindu-Muslim community in Bengal. Under his calming influence the violence did eventually cease.

Next he travelled to Delhi, where he announced that he was beginning an indefinite fast which would end only when the violence there ended. But unlike the other regions Gandhiji had received a death threat at Delhi and a bomb exploded at one of his prayer meetings.

Refusing all offers of protection Mahatma Gandhi continued his mission for peace. He knew the risks he was taking but he carried on.

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The British government planned to hand over power to the people of India by June 1948. In February 1946, a high-level Cabinet Mission was sent to India to discuss the transfer of power. One of the plans proposed by the Mission was to form a constituent assembly.

At first Jinnah was inclined to accept the Mission’s proposals but this changed when Nehru announced at his first press conference that no constituent assembly could be bound by any prearranged constitutional formula.

As a consequence, Jinnah called upon the ‘Muslim nation’ to launch direct action on 16 August 1946. This set off Hindu-Muslim rioting which spread in many regions such as Calcutta, Noakhali and Bihar.

Lord Mountbatten, who was the Viceroy at that time, decided that the situation was far too dangerous to wait till June 1948 for the handover and resolved to partition the country by 15 August 1947.

Both the Congress and the Muslim League accepted this decision. The closing weeks of the British Raj were busy for Jawaharlal Nehru.

As Prime Minister-elect of a new nation he had a lot to deal with. It fell upon him to decide matters of policy, and make decisions regarding India’s national flag, national anthem, national language etc.

Nehru applied himself to these matters and many more with enthusiasm and energy that belied his 58 years.

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At 11 pm, on the night of August 14, 1947 the Constituent Assembly gathered at the Central Hall of Parliament for the birth of India’s freedom. Celebrations had started a day earlier. At exactly midnight, India became a free nation and Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru delivered his historic ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.

This day marked the beginning of a new chapter in India’s history and the end of 182 years of British rule. A cabinet of ministers was sworn in with Jawaharlal Nehru as the Prime Minister. Those present sang ‘Vande Mataram’ which later became the National Song of India. The celebrations ended well past midnight after a group of women, representing the women of India, formally presented the National Flag to the Assembly.

Mahatma Gandhi stayed away from celebrations and instead observed a 24-hour fast, offered prayers and spun khadi yarn. He said, “My way of celebrating great events such as today’s, is to thank God for it and therefore to pray.”

Gandhiji was upset at the Hindu-Muslim rioting that was taking place in the country and was in a sombre mood at the time.

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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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In February 1946, a Cabinet Mission led by Lord Pethick-Lawrence, A. V. Alexander and Sir Stafford Cripps was sent to India by the British Government to negotiate the transfer of power from the British Government to India.

The Mission was initiated by the Prime Minister of Britain Clement Atlee. Since both Congress and Muslim League had many differences in viewpoints, the Cabinet Mission came up with their own set of proposals.

The Cabinet Mission presented two sets of proposals - long term and short term. The long term proposals included the formation of a constitution-making body or Constituent Assembly. It was also proposed that some parts of the country were free to join the Indian Union or remain aloof if they wished so. The Congress accepted the long term proposals in the hope that partition could be avoided.

The short term plan was that there would be a temporary national government till the constitution was formed. This government was to consist of representatives of the Congress, the Muslim League and others.

The Muslim League did not accept the short-term plan because Nehru had said that the Congress would lead the Constituent Assembly to shape Indian freedom as it liked. Finally, an interim government led by Jawaharlal Nehru was authorized by Lord Wavell and was installed on 2 September 1946.

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The Interim Government or the Provisional Government of India was formed on September 2, 1946, led by Jawaharlal Nehru. It was the only cabinet in India’s history in which arch rivals the Congress and the Muslim League shared power at the centre.

The Interim Government functioned with a great degree of autonomy and remained in power until the end of British rule, after which it was succeeded by the dominions of India and Pakistan.

The Muslim League initially decided to sit out of the government and three of the five ministries reserved for Muslims were occupied by Asif Ali, Sir Shafaat Ahmad Khan and Syed All Zaheer - all non-League representatives. Two posts remained vacant.

However, Lord WaveII agreed to allot all five reserved portfolios to the Muslim League if it agreed to co-operate and the latter finally joined. The cabinet was reshuffled to accommodate the new members in October.

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After World War II ended, colonialism was slowly disintegrating all around the world. New powers such as the USA, Russia and China emerged which were against Imperialism and the sun was slowly setting on the British Empire.

In 1945 Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, and major political leaders from India met in Shimla for a conference. The talks veered towards the two-nation idea. Muhammad Ali Jinnah insisted on a separate land for Muslims. He scuttled all negotiations for a viable and united India.

Thus the Wavell plan or the Shimla Conference failed in its objective of a gradual transfer of power on the basis of equal representation of Hindus and Muslims in an Executive Council.

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Nehru was imprisoned for 1,041 days during World War II. This was his longest imprisonment and also his last. By this time it was anticipated that India would be granted freedom once the war had ended and Nehru used his time in prison to discuss with his fellow Congress members the shape of the new India which would emerge.

India was under the tight control of the British government at this time, which had clamped down on nationalists and protestors in the wake of the Quit India Movement. The country was virtually under military rule and this continued till the end of the war.

After the release of the Congress leaders, the most pressing business was to get ready for the elections in 1946. Nehru’s zeal for reaching out to the common populace remained undiminished. As in the 1937 election campaign, his election tour took him to every part of the country, even to the remotest areas.

Everywhere he went crowds turned up in the thousands to listen to him as he described the bright, new future that was dawning for India. It was no wonder that when the election results were announced the Congress had made a clean sweep of the polls.

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India’s involvement in the Second World War was problematic for Gandhiji who was against any form of violence. He realized however, that some form of opposition must be made against Fascist forces. To this end he reiterated that India was happy to offer help as a free country to the Allied efforts in World War II, but not under the yoke of the British Empire.

He wanted complete independence from the British and when a disillusioned Congress refused the proposals of the Cripps Mission, Gandhiji launched the final round in the Indian war for Independence. He initiated the Quit India Movement in August of 1942 with a pan-Indian cry for complete freedom from the British.

On August 8, 1942 he addressed the people from Mumbai’s Gowalia Tank Maidan saying, “Here is a mantra, a short one that I give you. Imprint it in your hearts, so that in every breath you give expression to it. The mantra is ‘Do or Die’. We shall either free India or die trying”.

By August 9, Gandhiji, Nehru and all senior Congress leaders had been arrested and detained. Protests broke out all over the country and Britain soon realized that India was becoming ungovernable. The question was no longer ‘if’ India would get independence but ‘when’.

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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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