A leader and a gentleman

The Nehru legacy, which had its origins in the hoary days of the Mughal empire, still lives on

HR Bharadwaj Delhi

Pandit jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, was a colossus who strode at a time when the country urgently needed a leader who could keep India's tryst with destiny. Studying his enduring contribution to politics and nation-building is not really easy. His impress is visible in every aspect of political and social life. It is important to trace his earlier years to comprehend what shaped Nehru's vision and world.

The Nehrus

Kashmiri Brahmins are known in north India for their refined intellect and good looks. The first Nehru was Pandit Raj Kaul, a scholar of Sanskrit and Persian based in Kashmir. In 1716, he attracted the attention of Emperor Farruk Saiyyer, who invited him to Delhi and granted some villages and a house situated on the canal running through the city as jagir. From the fact of his residence on the canal (Nehar), he was known as Raj Kaul Nehru and in the course of time "Nehru" became the surname adopted by the family.

Panditji's father, Motilal Nehru, was a vakil (judge) of the Allahabad High Court. He had a roaring practice and he was permitted to appear and plead at the bar of the Judicial Committee of His Majesty's Privy Council. He was also one of the founders of the Swaraj Party. He responded enthusiastically to the call given by Mahatma Gandhi to join in the non-cooperation movement under the flag of the Indian National Congress. Motilal was typical of the distinguished class of persons who had joined the freedom movement and in his old age he gained the reputation of being the "aristocratic of the assembly".  Whatever the place he sat at a table, it would become, as an eminent English judge said later, the head of the table. Consciously imperious, he created great loyalty as well as bitter opposition.

 He presided over the Amritsar Congress during Christmas in 1919 and readily sacrificed everything for the sake of the country-his fabulously lucrative legal practice and his aristocratic style of living. Moti Lal Nehru's contribution was significant in the growth of parliamentary life in the country. He headed a committee to formulate constitutional principles for India. Motilal Nehru's great admiration for Gandhi descended on his son too.

Jawaharlal Nehru was born in 1889 in Allahabad. His father had meticulously planned his career. He sent him to Harrow, an aristocratic public school in the north-western outskirts of London. After studying there for two years, Jawaharlal went to Trinity College, Cambridge. Trinity enlarged his vision and helped him come in contact with the top-most intellectuals of the world. He saw and had the opportunity to hear George Bernard Shaw, Roosevelt and many top Indian politicians during their visits there. He went to Inner Temple to complete his legal training. Young Nehru travelled extensively in the British Isles and Europe. Having called to the Bar, Nehru returned to India, where the whole Nehru family was eagerly awaiting his arrival. His father Motilal Nehru made no secret of his happiness that his son was ready to join him in his lucrative legal practice and expressed the hope that within the next few years, he would be able to manage independently. Motilal wrote a letter to attract his son to legal practice. "An overzealous client sent a money order of Rs500 to you as your fee and it has been directed to Mussoorie. The first fee your father got was Rs5. You are gradually 100 times better than your father. I wished I was my son instead of being myself."