Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)

Jawaharlal Nehru (IPA: [dʒəʋaːɦərˈlaːl ˈneːɦru] , Hindi: जवाहरलाल नेहरू, Urdu: جواهر لال نهرو;‎ 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964), often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian politician who became the first Prime Minister of independent India (1947–64) and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the 1930s and ’40s. Nehru was elected by the Indian National Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister, and re-elected when the Congress Party won India's first general election in 1951 and 1952. Nehru contributed to the establishment of a secular Parliamentary democracy in India and was one of the founders of the international Non-Aligned Movement.

The son of moderate nationalist leader and Congressman Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress when fairly young. Rising to become Congress President under the mentorship of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nehru was a charismatic and radical leader, advocating complete independence for India from the British Empire. In the long struggle for Indian independence, Nehru was eventually recognized as Gandhi's political heir. Throughout his life, Nehru advocated Democratic socialism/Fabian Socialism and a strong Public sector as the means by which economic development could be pursued by poorer nations. He was the father of Indira Gandhi and the maternal grandfather of Rajiv Gandhi, who would later serve as the third and sixth Prime Ministers of India.