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by Subramaniam Sivagurunathan

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

The 14th of November 2002 marked the 113th birth Anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent India. This day is observed as Children's Day all over that country. Nehru has written: "I am fond of children and this has increased with the years". To the young ones of India, Nehru was their beloved "Chachacha" (Uncle). Nehru was born on 14th November 1889.

Jawaharlal Nehru died on the 27th of May 1964 of a Cerebral Haemorrhage followed immediately by a heart attack. He was succeeded by Gulzari Lal Nanda, the then Home Minister of the Government of India, as Prime Minister.

Here in Sri Lanka, the 28th of May, 1964 - day of Nehru's cremation on the Banks of the river Yamuna - was declared a Public and Bank holiday and all schools in the country, remained closed as a mark of respect to the departed Indian leader. In her condolence message to the then President of India, Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Mrs. Srimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, at that time, stated: "I am deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden death of Prime Minister Nehru. By his death, the world has lost one of the greatest statesmen and the whole of Asia grieves the loss of its foremost leader, dedicated to the cause of peace".

"Mr. Nehru was a sincere friend of Ceylon and had won the hearts of the people of my country on his visits here, by his charm, sincerity, simplicity, humanity and courage".

Accompanied by her Permanent Secretary, N. Q. Dias, brother Dr. Seevali Ratwatte and son Anura, Mrs. Bandaranaike flew to New Delhi to attend Nehru's funeral.

Dudley Senanayake, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (1964) and President of the United National Party, issued this statement on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's death:

"I am sorely grieved at the passing away of the greatest public man the world has known. The combination of his culture, erudition and services to humanity, was a rare one. The world today mourns the passing away of the outstanding champion of the democratic way of life. His loss is not a loss for India alone but a loss to the whole of humanity and as for Ceylon, it is a loss of a special friend".

Dr. N. M. Perera, Leader of the then LSSP, told the press that "Premier Nehru's death was a great calamity for the world in general and Asia in particular". Pieter Keuneman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ceylon said: "This is a sad news. India has lost a great patriot and a distinguished leader, Ceylon a good friend, Asia an outstanding statesman and the world, a staunch champion of peace".

A. Aziz, President of the Workers' Democratic Congress issued this statement: "In the death of Pandit Nehru India has lost a great leader, the Muslims and other minorities of India, a great friend, the Afro-Asian countries, a great fighter and the world, a great force for peace".

"The twentieth century has brought into prominence a long line of persons who have liberated the colonial countries. Of this line, Pandit Nehru was the life-blood. With humility, he served the people. He led the forces of freedom with dignity. There was great love and affection for him even in the minds of his opponents. Generations to come will enjoy the fragrance of his work for peaceful purposes".

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a frequent visitor to Sri Lanka. He first came here in 1931 with his wife Kamala and daughter, Indira. This was followed by visits in 1939, 1954, 1957, and 1959 and for the last time in 1962 - two years prior to his death.

Nehru's official trips to Sri Lanka in 1957 and 1962 were significant as they were in connection with his participation at Anuradhapura, in the final observance of the 2,500th Anniversary of the Buddha's passing away and handing over to the Government of Sri Lanka the Ayurvedic Research Centre at Nawinna, respectively. Whenever he came to Sri Lanka, he never failed to visit the Samadhi Statue of the Buddha at Anuradhapura. Although Nehru was not a follower of any religion, he tried hard to adjust himself according to the teachings of the Buddha. The Indian national emblem is the Dharma Chakra or Wheel of Law.

In 1940, Philip Gunawardena and former President, J. R. Jayewardene attended the Ramgarh Session of the Indian National Congress. Philip was no stranger to Nehru, as the latter had known him in England. Of J. R. Jayewardene, Nehru told reporters at the end of the Session: "I was impressed with both Jayewardene and his plan for the modernization of the Ceylon National Congress. His views on freedom and progress are very similar to ours".

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and Nehru had been the best of friends. They had shared many ideals in common.

Nehru was one of the articulate India leaders to be involved in his country's freedom struggle. He was jailed by the British on nine occasions. His longest imprisonment - from 08th August 1942 to 15th June 1945 - was in the Ahmednagar Fort Jail. During the period of incarceration, Nehru was engaged in gardening, reading and writing books like the "Autobiography", "Glimpses of World History", and the Magnum Opus, "Discovery of India". Not only is there a tremendous demand for these books in all English speaking countries but they have also been translated into several languages.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was a dreamer, visionary. His father, Motilal Nehru, was worldly-visioned. Jawaharlal Nehru had not been and could never become a votary of Mammon - a schemer for wealth. He was a high bred man in the highest and noblest sense of the word. Bitterness and cynicism were not known to him. All his life was consecrated to the service of the down trodden masses of India. He was the first in India to give the clarion call: "Roti, Kapada aur Makaan" - food, clothing and shelter - for his people. Before his death, Nehru had the most satisfaction of bringing some of the conceptions of his early years, to fruition. Finally, Motilal Nehru got round to his son's way of thinking and plunged into the freedom struggle.

Nerhu, the product of Harrow and Cambridge University described himself as "a queer mixture of East and West". His countrymen called him "Bharat Bhusan" - Jewel of India - while one of his biographers and one-time Editor of the Times of Ceylon, Frank Moraes, refers to him as "The Lonely Eagle". A Brahmin by birth, he never displayed any religious impulse. He was upright, tolerant and unswerving in his devotion to truth. He fought hard to establish Secularism in India.

Two people in India influenced Nehru during his formative years. One was Mrs. Annie Besant, the Theosophist and the other Ferdinand T. Brooks, the part - Irish, part - French, private tutor, Both had opened up new vistas for Nehru. The death of Mr. Brooks, under tragic circumstances, caused Nehru untold anguish. While Nehru was growing up in Ananda Bahavan, his father's mansion, he had an insatiable appetite for reading. He began with children's books and transferred his interest to the writings, of Lewis Carrol, Rudyard Kipling, Walter Scott, Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Connan Doyle, Mark Twain, Daphne Du Maurier etc. He also developed a taste for English poetry by British and American poets.

Nehru corresponded regularly with his contemporaries like Prof. Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Betrand Russel, Leonard Woolf and Thomas Mann. He also made it a point to look up these scientists, litterateurs and philosophers, during his trips to U.S.A., Britain and European countries.

Nehru attached great importance to physical exercises. He was a lover and promoter of Yoga, was interested in mountaineering, horse riding, swimming, cricket and tennis. On games, he writes: "I feel no game is Indian or foreign. There is no patriotism in insisting on playing a certain game and no other. At the same time, there should be no insistence on playing only foreign games".

Nehru had a deep love of the countryside and of its toiling peasantry. He was an impassioned lover of nature - a gazer into silent pools, sun-flushed clouds and mountains. As much as he adored children, he cared for birds and animals as they gave him immense pleasure. In fact, he had a collection of pets like the Himalayan Pandas, Peacocks, Parrots, Doves and Tiger cubs, in his spacious garden with its numerous flowering plants - the rose dominating. He wrote once: "Life would become dull and colourless if we had not these magnificent animals and birds to look at and play with".

The Gandhi Cap, staff and the rose-bud - "Talisman of hope and grace" - became a part of Nehru. He had a failing. He was quick-tempered. When the crowds attending his meetings turned unruly, he did not hesitate to wield his staff to control them. This is the moment the security personnel assigned to him dreaded most, as they could not restrain Nehru. Should his colleagues seated on the dais become inattentive, Nehru was known to throw pillows at them? He has an explanation for these outbursts of temper: "If I get angry sometimes, I calm down quickly, for my anger is not with the individual but due to some incident. When the incident passes off, my anger also vanishes".

The following are some of the accolades showered on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, while he was alive.

* "In bravery, he is not to be surpassed. Who can excel him in the love of his country? He is pure as the crystal; he is truthful beyond suspicion. He is a knight sans peur, sans reproach" - Mahatma Gandhi , 1929.

* "Jawaharlal is the Rituraj representing the season of youth and triumphant joy of an invincible spirit of fight and uncompromising loyalty to the cause of freedom" - Rabindranath Tagore, 1949

* "This man has overcome two of the greatest failings in human nature - he knows neither fear nor hatred". Sir Winston Churchil, 1949.

* "More than any other leader, Jawaharlal Nehru, has given expression to man's yearning for peace. In his pursuit of a world free from war, he has served all humanity" Lyndon B. Johnson, 1961.

* " Mr. Nehru is a great statesmen, steadfast champion of the cause of peace, and Governor of a great and friendly nation". Dr. Thomas Mann (Nobel Laureate) 1929 Memorable utterances

* "Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time has come when we shall redeem our pledge. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take a pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity".On 14th August 1947 - When India gained Independence.

* "The light has gone out of our lives and there is darkness everywhere. Our beloved Leader, Bapu, the father of the Nation, is no more".On 30th January 1948 - When Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.

* "The ages roll by and the Buddha seems not so far away after all; his voice whispers in our ears and tells us not to run away from the struggle but calm eyed, to face it and to see in life ever greater opportunities for growth and advancement".

Last Will

"When I die, I should like my body to be cremated. If in a foreign country, my body should be cremated and my ashes sent to Allahabad. A small handful of these ashes should be thrown into the Ganga and the major portion of them disposed of in the manner indicated below. "My desire to have a handful of my ashes thrown into the Ganga at Allahabad has no religious significance, so far as I am concerned.

I have no religious sentiment in the matter. I have been attached to the Ganga and the Yamuna Rivers ever since my childhood and as I have grown older, this attachment has also grown. The Ganga has been to me a symbol and a memory of the past of India, running into the present, and flowing on to the great ocean of the future. "And though I have discarded much of past tradition and custom and am anxious that India should rid herself of all shackles that bind and constrain her and divide her people, and suppress vast numbers of them, and prevent the free development of the body and the spirit; though I seek all this, yet I do not wish to cut myself off from the past completely.

"I am proud of that great inheritance that has been and is, ours, and I am conscious that I too, like all of us, am a link in that unbroken chain which goes back to the dawn of history in the immemorial past of India. That chain I would not break, for I treasure it and seek inspiration from it and as witness of this desire of mine and as my last homage to India's cultural inheritance, I am making this request that a handful of my ashes be thrown into the Ganga at Allahabad to be carried to the great ocean that washes India's shore.

"The major portion of my ashes should, however, be disposed of otherwise. I want these to be carried high up into the air in an aeroplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil of India and become an indistinguishable part of India".

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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