Story of the First Prime Minister of free India
On the occasion of children’s day, let us remember the man whose birthday marks the occasion in India, the first Prime Minister of free India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He was fondly called “Chacha” the children who were in turn adored him.
Nehru was born into a family of Kashmiri Brahmins known for their administrative aptitude but had migrated to Delhi in the eighteenth century. Son of the renowned lawyer, Motilal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of free India was a prominent leader of the Indian Independence Movement and one of the closest associates of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru was the eldest of four siblings which included the likes of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit who went on to become the first woman president of the United Nations General Assembly.
The first Prime Minister of free India was home schooled up till the age of sixteen following which he went to the leading English school Harrow for two years which was followed Trinity College where he earned a degree in natural science. Following which he spent two years at Inner Temple in London before qualifying as a barrister.
After completing his “English education”, he returned to India to discover India. The time period that immediately followed his return saw him being described as an “instinctive nationalist who yearned for his country’s freedom”. It was, however, his first meeting with Gandhi that completely drew the first Prime Minister of free India into the freedom movement as well as the arena of politics.
The primary journey of Nehru in politics is said to have started when he was elected as the president of Congress Party in the historic Lahore session of 1929. From then there was no looking back. He was one of the leaders under whom India achieved freedom and he went on to become the first Prime Minister. He was a visionary who laid down the foundation of transforming the country. In an age when we imported every tiny thing, it was this man who led with a vision of a scientifically and economically strong country. He set the country going in the best possible direction. He was truly what one calls a man with a vision.
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