Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Anniversary 2024: All You Need To Know About Him
Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat author and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century
Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in Allahabad in British India
Nehru was second only to Mahatma Gandhi in leading the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s
On 26 January 1950, when India became a republic, he served as the country's first prime minister for 16 years
In international affairs, he is well-known as one of the Founders of the Non-aligned Movement and, concomitantly, for steering India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War
He also wrote in prison, such as Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), have been read and deliberated upon around the world
The son of Motilal Nehru, a prominent lawyer and Indian nationalist, Jawaharlal Nehru was educated in England at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and trained in the law
He became a barrister, returned to India, enrolled at the Allahabad High Court and soon began to take an interest in national politics, which eventually became a full-time occupation
He joined the Indian National Congress, rose to become the leader of a progressive faction during the 1920s, and eventually of the Congress in its totality, receiving the support of Mahatma Gandhi
Under Nehru's leadership, the Congress emerged as a catch-all party, dominating national and state-level politics and winning elections in 1951, 1957 and 1962
His premiership, spanning 16 years and 286 days—which is, to date, the longest in India—ended with his death in 1964 from a heart attack
Hailed as the "Architect of Modern India", his birthday is celebrated as Children's Day in India