He was imprisoned several times during in connection with the Salt Satyagraha and other movements launched by the Congress. After release, he flew to Switzerland to see his ailing wife and visited London in February-March, He also visited Spain in July , when the country was in the throws of Civil War. Just before the court-break of the Second World War, he visited China too. On October 31, Pt. He was released along with the other leaders in December On August 7, Pt. On August 8, he was arrested along with other leaders and taken to Ahmednagar Fort.
This was his longest and also his last detention. In all, he suffered imprisonment nine times. After his release in January , he organized legal defence for those officers and men of the INA charged with treason.
Against the background of the Cold War, Nehru developed a policy of 'positive neutrality' for India. He became one of the key spokesmen for the non-aligned countries of Africa and Asia, many of which were former colonies that wanted to avoid dependence on any major power.
Despite efforts at cooperation by both countries, Indian-Chinese border disputes escalated into war in and Indian forces were decisively beaten. This had a significant impact on Nehru's declining health.
He died on 27 May Two years later Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi, became prime minister. With an interruption of only three years, she held the post until her assassination in Her son Rajiv was prime minister of India from to , but he too was assassinated. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.
Looking back, we can see that Nehru was at a juncture where he fought the very people who had empowered him with education. His perfect sense of right and wrong and his Indian upbringing despite a western education, gave him the opportunity to join and rise up the ranks of the Congress party in its freedom struggle. After he became Prime Minister, he maintained equal distance from both the superpowers, America and the Soviet Union, without fear or favour, even as he charted a Non-Aligned course for the country based on the policy of Panchsheel.
A socialist at heart, he signed the Panchsheel Agreement between China and India that was to serve as the five guiding principles of the relationship between these two sovereign nations. An underprepared Indian army took on waves of Chinese soldiers, fought valiantly and paid a heavy price. Nehru's meticulous nurturing of India's democracy during its troubled birth and childhood stands out. Scholars are convinced that democracies cannot be established at low levels of income.
Thus, India's democratic longevity is unique. It is perhaps due to the country having a popular anti-colonial movement. More importantly, Nehru, though all-powerful, did not fritter away pre-independence legitimacy.
In fact, he strengthened it to the last root and set the agenda for inclusive growth. Nehru understood and practiced it. During the seventeen years he was the Prime Minister, Nehru strode the Indian political stage like a colossus. But he never imposed his political will and always had an ear for what others had to say.
Though not in favour of linguistic states, he adhered to popular wishes. He did not choose chief ministers, but allowed the party organisation at the state-levels to elect their leaders. When courts challenged his land reform programmes, instead of being critical of the judges, he chose to undertake constitutional amendments.
A liberal and a true democrat at heart, Nehru wanted a healthy political debate. In , during free India's first general elections, nearly million voted. As three-fourths of citizens were illiterate, candidates were given symbols such as bicycles, lanterns, lamps, animals, flowers and symbols of everyday usage. It was a six-month process where those deputed for election work rode camels, took boats and even trekked to remote corners.
The general elections in and deepened the legitimacy of the electoral process on the Indian consciousness. Nehru spent four to five hours every night dictating replies. And "there were the years when the Prime Minister was Today, citizens gleefully point to the Indian democracy's various weaknesses, but the very edifice of democracy and the freedom we enjoy as a sovereign democratic republic would not have been possible without Nehru's unwavering commitment to such institutions.
It is an enduring legacy. Otherwise, power would not have touched all sections of people and made ours a broad-based democracy. Nehru's greatest contribution was the clear establishment of a vision to lift India from the 18th to the 21st century. It spoke of the impoverishment inflicted on India by the imperialists. So the leaders who inherited the mantle of leadership had to tackle centuries of neglect. But, aided in their leadership was a vision. For example, when Nehru was making his first trip to America as the prime minister, some members of his cabinet suggested that he ask that country for food to tackle shortages at home.
We have to sort this problem ourselves.
0コメント