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| Portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru Contemplative Jawaharlal Nehru 3, originally uploaded by lapata. Charcoal, Pencil, and Pastel on White Pape |
the freedom movement in India gave rise to many great leaders. By great devotion to the nation and doing hard labour in their work, these leaders have occupied the heads and hearts of the Indian people. Nehru was one of them. He always said: "What we really are matters more than what other
people think of us." Yes, he always thought about the inner personality of
a person. He was a freedom fighter, a politician, a writer, and a
loving father.
Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest leader of India. He is rightly called the ‘father of the nation of India’. He was the man who had successfully led
the freedom movement in India. Nehru was the popular leader, next to
Mahatma Gandhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889–27 May 1964) was one of the main leaders
leading the freedom movement in India. He had become the first prime
minister of India after its independence. He was known as Panditji
among his close friends. He had studied law in England. His negotiation skill
and political foresight coupled with his pleasant personality were amazing.
Nehru as an Indian Leader Under his able assistance to
Mahatma Gandhi, India had got freedom in the year 1947 from British Rule, known as British Raj. Indian National Congress was the political
party that led the movement for the freedom of India. Nehru was a gem for
his party. He had become president of the party thrice. And next to Mahatma
Gandhi only, perhaps he was the only popular leader having influence throughout
the country. He was the darling of the Indian masses. People loved him in this
way.
He was very much loved by children. He was nicknamed Chacha Nehru,
meaning Uncle Nehru. His birthday, the 14th of November, is celebrated as
'Children's Day in India. Once he became prime minister of
free India, he opened all the gates of economic and social development for
the people of India. Under his able leadership as prime minister, the
country did tremendous economic and social progress. He made his country
walk on the roads of self-sufficiency.
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| Nehru with Mahatma Gandhi, 1942. |
Nehru as a World Leader Though Jawaharlal
Nehru was a leader of India, he always thought in terms of the whole
world. His contribution to the freedom of India was extremely
valuable, but he had a broad vision for international politics, too.
Jawaharlal Nehru, known as Panditjee in his inner friend circle, was
believed to be the Asiatic leader. He always professed for arranging the Asian
countries under one umbrella. He had a burning desire to make one federation of
the nations of Asia.
A major contribution of Nehru to world politics came from his successful
endeavours in carving out an institution called Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It
is a forum of nations that have taken several nations of the world under one
umbrella. These were the nationals who were not willing to align with any of
the major world power. In those days the nations of the world were divided into
two camps. One camp was believed to be under the influence of the USA, and
another was believed to be under the influence of the former USSR. The
countries that did not want to take the side of either of the camps led by two
superpowers became members of this forum.
Lal Bahadur Shastri became the prime minister of India after Nehru
died. Indira Gandhi became prime minister of India after the
untimely death of Lal Bahadur Shastri. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal
Nehru. India has seen unprecedented economic progress during her rule.
However, her decision to impose an emergency for some period in 1975 had been
disliked by many freedom lovers. Here is a pencil sketch of Indira
Gandhi. This sketch is done on bristol paper.
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| Indira Gandhi by Tamer Youssef, originally uploaded by Tamer Youssef. |
The letters written to Indira by her father Jawaharlal Nehru are a treasure
of Indian literature. In this letter, he educated her about Indian culture and
the ongoing freedom movements. Most of these letters are believed to be written
while he was detained in jail by the British Rulers.
Indira Gandhi (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was one of the strongest
leaders of post-independence India. She remained prime minister of India
for the longest period.
Her capacities as a national leader and her able administration were at the
hardest test during India's war against Pakistan in 1971. Today's Bangladesh,
which was called East Pakistan before 1971, can be said as the fruit of the
strong willpower of Indira Gandhi.
Had she been not so shrewd in taking quick decisions, Bangladesh would have not emerged as an independent nation after the war of 1971. And during her reign, the Indian economy also progressed considerably. She was the only daughter of another great leader of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. Unfortunately, she was shot dead by her own security personnel on 31st October 1984. After her death, her son Rajiv Gandhi had become prime minister of India.
