Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 and died on 27 May 1964. He is often referred to as Panditji. He was an Indian politician and statesman, a leader in the Indian Independence Movement, and the first Prime Minister of independent India. Nehru was elected by the Indian National Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister in 1947, and re-elected when the Congress party won India's first general election in 1951. He was one of the founders of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He was the son of moderate nationalist leader and Congressman Motilal Nehru; Jawaharlal Nehru became a leader of the left wing of the Congress. He became Congress President under the mentorship of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. 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 were to later serve as the third and sixth Prime Ministers of India, respectively. Took active part in Non-Cooperation Movement; elected President of the Allahabad Municipal Corporation in 1924, and served for two years as the city's chief executive; Presided over Congress' annual session in Lahore in 1929 and passed a resolution demanding India's independence; elected as Congress President in 1936, 1937, and 1946; became first Prime Minister of independent India; was one of the main architects of Non Aligned Movement. Jawaharlal Nehru, also known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the foremost leaders of Indian freedom struggle. He was the favorite disciple of Mahatma Gandhi and later on went on to become the first Prime Minister of India. Jawaharlal Nehru is widely regarded as the architect of modern India. He was very fond of children and children used to affectionately call him Chacha Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru received education in some of the finest schools and universities of the world. He did his schooling from Harrow and completed his Law degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. The seven years he spent in England widened his horizons and he acquired a rational and skeptical outlook and sampled Fabian socialism and Irish nationalism, which added to his own patriotic dedication.
Jawaharlal Nehru returned to India in 1912 and started legal practice. He married Kamala Nehru in 1916. Jawaharlal Nehru joined Home Rule League in 1917. His real initiation into politics came two years later when he came in contact with Mahatma Gandhi in 1919. At that time Mahatma Gandhi had launched a campaign against Rowlatt Act. Nehru was instantly attracted to Gandhi's commitment for active but peaceful, civil disobedience. Gandhi himself saw promise and India's future in the young Jawaharlal Nehru.
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Nehru family changed its family according to Mahatma Gandhi's teachings. Jawaharlal and Motilal Nehru abandoned western clothes and tastes for expensive possessions and pastimes. They now wore a Khadi Kurta and Gandhi cap. Jawaharlal Nehru took active part in the Non- Cooperation Movement 1920-1922) and was arrested for the first time during the movement. He was released after few months. Jawaharlal Nehru played a key role in building modern India. He set up a Planning Commission, encouraged development of science and technology, and launched three successive five-year plans. His policies led to a sizable growth in agricultural and industrial production. Nehru also played a major role in developing independent India's foreign policy. He called for liquidation of colonialism in Asia and Africa and along with Tito and Nasser, was one of the chief architects of the nonaligned movement. He played a constructive, mediatory role in bringing the Korean War to an end and in resolving other international crises, such as those over the Suez Canal and the Congo, offering India's services for conciliation and international policing. He contributed behind the scenes toward the solution of several other explosive issues, such as those of West Berlin, Austria, and Laos.
But Jawahar Lal Nehru couldn't improve India's relations with Pakistan and China. The Kashmir issue proved a stumbling block in reaching an accord with Pakistan, and the border dispute prevented a resolution with China. The Chinese invasion in 1962, which Nehru failed to anticipate, came as a great blow to him and probably hastened his death. Jawaharlal Nehru died of a heart attack on May 27, 1964.
He loved children a lot and hence we celebrate his birthday as children’s day.
Even in our school we had a very colorful program. We had a special assembly which was dedicated to the children. Our teachers sang a song for us– ‘Ye Dosti’ and there was also an excellent dance by our teachers on the Hindi number – ‘Des Rangila’. We were also allowed to wear color dress. There was a PowerPoint presentation that was shown by our school Computer Science department. Various competitions were held for us in different age groups.
Classes 1-5 –Card Making Competition
Classes 6-12 – Making of Chart based on the life and contribution of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The whole program was co-ordinated by our Student Council members of our school, who did a wonderful job.
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/jawaharlal-nehru.html