Isher Singh Jasrotia
Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru – The First Prime Minister of India, the first Indian to enlighten the public about the importance of education, Chairman of Planning Commission, the first Indian as inventor of Panchsheel, established friendly and bilateral relations with the foreign countries across the world immediately after attaining independence.
Universally Chilren’s Day was being celebrated on 20th November every year and thereafter before 1959, Children’Day was universally being celebrated as decided by the UN General Assembly sanctioned by 191 states across the world over. Subsequently universally linked with the rights of the children, the day 20th Nov was preponed with the Birth Anniversary of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru who had great passion, love and affection for the children. The fact was that Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru being the first Prime Minister of Independent India, was also called Chacha Nehru in the second decade and thereafter. If we recollect the memories in our school days time between 1954 – 1965 and even after that, in the schools, the children used to bear caps on their heads and called Pt. Nehru as Chacha Nehru.
He has distinguishable, tremendous and unmatchable service at his credit which cannot be obliterated from the history of India. He had the mission for transformation of society into an egalitarian one. His recognition in terms of statesmanship, autobiography, Panchsheel, Discovery of India, his visionary concept, aspirations and perception of peace and tranquility and equality of human being are worth commedable and a source of new light to the modern generation.
Before the pre-independence era, he followed the philosophy and ideologies of Mahatama Gandhi – a person known across the world for non-violence, truthfulness – an ultimate for realistic prevalence.
His symbolic characteristic is praiseworthily for his ambition of converting the knowledgeable society into egalitarian society. The promotion of book culture, National Book Trust was born of a dream by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, the objective of which was to build up a book reading society by setting up an institution working for realising the vision. The main focus was on the topics relating to education and children book, culture of India.
The NBT is now largest publishing house in India which covers wide range of topics – social sciences, arts, biographies, science and technology, children’s books about culture of India. NBT has also exhibited its application across the country as well as the world over by participation of book publishers and ostentatiously exhibiting. Since the NBT is actively engaged in dissemination of ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, science and technological development, the dreams and aspirations of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru are being fulfilled for consumption of our modern society.
His focus on the education was that when there is no creative energy, the nation becomes weak in every respect, hence he laid great emphasis towards the education of the children who are to become the future of the coutry and whose talent, expression, energies and contribution should be channelised and utilised. He also visualised that in addition to the academic eduacation, the physical education of the children is also necessary.
In December 1929, under Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru’s leadersip, the Indian National Congress at its Lahore Session resolved and declared ‘Pooran Swaraj’ complete independence to be the goal of the national movement.
At the time of partition of India, with the help of the then Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, hereinafter called the “Iron Man of India”, he integrated the states falling within the jurisdiction of India, except Junagarh, Kashmir and Hyderabad had succeeded to Indian Union. Kashmir remained as problem and undecided for a longer time. When the Kashmir was invaded by the frontier tribesmen, Maharaja Hari Singh, made accession and signed an Instrument of Accession on 26th of Oct. 1949 during the Prime Ministership of Pt. Nehru.
The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950 in the form of India as Sovereign, Democratic Republicvand after taking over as Prime Ministership, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru’s priorities were friendly and bilateral relations with the countries which became as one of widening concentric circles, around a central axis of historical and cultural commonalty. India organised the Asian relations and chaired the International Control Commission in 1954. Some significant steps were taken in the pursuance of admission of India as full dialogue partner in ASEAN.
Under the dynamic leadership of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, India became the founder member of the Non-Aligned Movement and played an active role in strengthening the movement and making it an effective voice in representing the collective aspirations and interests of the developing countries on the vital issues vis-a-vis peace and harmony.
The significance of his dynamic leadership for strategic policy and maintaining good relationship with countries is commendable when China launched a sudden aggression over India in North East Frontier Agency (NEFA). India got sympathy and support from many countries like USA and UK for the interpretation of Panchsheel and ultimately China was compelled to declare unilateral ceasefire. His letters written from jail to his daughter Indira Gandhi, ex Prime Minister of India, as source of refinement, discern his perception, ideology, statesmanship, leadership qualities. His delivering the lecture continuously for hours together by which he intended to preach the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi in the mindset of Indians – the attainment of peace and tranquility is praiseworthily. He had the passion and vision for non-violence and progress of the nation by enlightening the masses by way of educating them through elementary education and implementing the rural development programmes. He had great aspiration for conversion of society into comprehensible modernisation form.
He had great passionate admiration for the children and it is a matter of delighte and coincidence of both these events when we recollect the memory of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on his Birth Anniversary on 14th of November, the Children’s Day falling on the same day. It is due to this fact that he was called Chacha Nehru. Like Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Viveknanda, Swami Dayanand Sarswati, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru had the passion of peace and harmony, equality of human being, advocated strong desire and conception of contemplation of children’s mindset, which insinuates the reality of egalitarian society – a society for attainment of equal rights. He had the perception that the wealth of the nation lies in generating faith, confidence and mindset of the children who realise the reality of life in the contemporary India. He had visual perception that human suffering, misery, illiteracy, superstitions are root causes of poverty and backwardness of the nation. He pleaded for the richness of the nation through educating the youth and exploiting their disposition, energies and potentials.
The youth have to be infused with the contemplation that the futuristic destiny of India is dependent upon youth which should be designed in a shape so as to meet the requirement of the nation in a changed fashion. Like other great leaders, he disseminated the message of brotherhood, love, truth and non-violence. He was known as the best PM for enlightening the minds of youth. His priorities were towards the education of the children as he believed that the education being basic factors for all round development of the children, they being tendered heart, to be handled carefully by the parents and the teachers.
Jawahar Lal Nehru’s address was a stirring call to action: ” we have no open conspiracy to free this country from foreign rule, and you, comrades, and all the countrymen and countrywomen are invited to join it”. Nehru also made it known that in his view liberation did not mean only throwing off the foreign yoke: “I must frankly confess that I am a socialist and a republican and am no believer in kings and princes, or in an order which produces the modern kings of industry, who have greater power over the lives and fortunes on men than even the kings of old and whose methods are as predatory as those of old feudal aristocracy.” He also spelt out the method of struggle; ” Any great movement for liberation today most necessarily be a mass movement, and mass movements must essentially be peaceful, except in times of organised revolt….. And if the principal movement is a peaceful one, contemporaneous attempts at a sporadic violence can only distract attention and weaken it”.
Let us take pledge to commemorate the memories of these distinguished and eminent personalities by contemplating their deeds in the mindset of our new generation in the educational institutions and other associated establishments relating to the education so as to disseminate and give wide publicity to the heroic characteristics traits of these great
persons.