Jawaharlal Nehru

From TNOpediA

Jawaharlal Nehru ( Hindi: [ˈdʒəʋɑːɦəɾˈlɑːl ˈneːɦɾuː] born 14 November 1889) is an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, statesman, secular humanist, social democrat, and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century.

Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1943, he served as the country's first prime minister for nearly 20 years.

Jawaharlal Nehru
जवाहरलाल नेहरू

Jawaharlal Nehru, 1962
Prime Minister of the Republic of India
Details
Date of Birth14th November 1889
Place of BirthAllahabad, British Raj (Now Controlled by Azad Hind)
Age at start72 years old
Nationality Indian/Awadhi
RolePrime Minister
Political PartyINC - Nehruvian Wing
Ideology Progressivism

In-Game Description[edit | edit source]

Born to a privileged family already involved in the independence struggle, Jawaharlal Nehru experienced India and its traditions almost as an outsider - after completing an English education at the heart of the British Empire and only then returning home. Nevertheless, participating in the Congress' independence struggle at the right-hand side of the Mahatma himself brought him popular support and leadership positions - so that when the British Raj finally collapsed ignominiously in 1943 he was right there to take up the reins.

But this leadership was not only his own. Caught between an expansionist Afghanistan in the west, the Japanese threat encroaching in from the east, and the princes at home jockeying for separate independence, Nehru chose instead to compromise his own power for the sake of the nation, inviting Subhas Bose and the INA to form a joint government for the sake of maintaining India's territorial sanctity. An alliance that would not last, and with the failures of the war against Afghanistan the only other option was to cut off his erstwhile friend and ally and watch as he escaped to the East, forming a bitter rival government in Calcutta.

Now only governing half a country, Nehru nevertheless sought to build the India of his and the rest of Congress' vision - a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic free from the authoritarianism that plagued other postcolonial states. For two decades he laboured as Prime Minister in this endeavour - but now it seems his time is coming to a close. Perhaps he will not be able to settle things and see a united India in his own lifetime. But his legacy - for India's sake - must persevere.