Jawaharlal Nehru:Leader Extraordinaire!

Jawaharlal Nehru is probably one of the most well-known freedom fighters that India has seen and known. An Indian statesman who was the first Prime Minister of India, he was one of the leading figures of the Indian independence movement.

As one of the members of the Non-aligned movement, he was also a very important figure in the international arena in post-war international politics. Famously known as Pandit Nehru and Panditji, Jawaharlal Nehru was a great scholar who was also very famous because of his love for children.

Nehru joined politics at a very young age, becoming a leader of the left wing of the Congress party. The son of a wealthy barrister Motilal Nehru, Jawahar went on to become the Congress president under the gentle mentorship of Mahatma Gandhi. A charismatic and radical leader, Nehru advocated complete independence from the British Empire in the long-lasting struggle for India’s independence. He was a key player in the independence movement; Nehru was also understood to be Mahatma Gandhi’s political heir. An advocate for Fabian socialism and the public sector as a means to overcome long-lasting challenges of economic development, he firmly believed these could play a role in overcoming the challenges addressed by poorer nations.

Nehru completed his education from India and abroad, studying at the Harrow and Trinity College at Cambridge. He hoisted the flag of independent India in New Delhi on August 15, 2010 when India gained independence from the British rule. He was a firm follower of the principles of parliamentary democracy, secularism and liberalism. These coupled with his concerns for the poor and underprivileged are said to have guided him in formulating socialist policies that influence independent India even today. In fact, these also reflect the socialist origins of his worldview. Jawaharlal Nehru was also later followed by his daughter Indira Gandhi and his grandson Rajiv Gandhi, becoming the Prime ministers of India.