Historical Figure

Jawaharlal Nehru

Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964

About Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman 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 1947, he served as the country's first prime minister for 16 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A well-regarded author, he wrote books such as Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), that have been read around the world.Wikipedia ↗

Associated Events

Genocide1946 CE – 1946 CE

Direct Action Day

On August 16, 1946, the Muslim League called for "Direct Action" to demand Pakistan. In Calcutta, the resulting riots killed approximately 4,000–5,000 people in four days of Hindu-Muslim violence. The Great Calcutta Killings spread retaliatory violence to Bihar and Noakhali.

Independence1947 CE – 1947 CE

Indian Independence

India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, simultaneously partitioned into India and Pakistan (the latter comprising West Pakistan and East Bengal, later Bangladesh).

Partition1947 CE – 1947 CE

Partition of India

The division of British India into India and Pakistan (West Pakistan and East Bengal) along broadly religious lines, causing one of history's largest mass migrations (10-20 million displaced) and an estimated 1-2 million deaths in communal violence.

Independence1950 CE – 1950 CE

Constitution of India

On January 26, 1950, India adopted the world's longest written constitution, transforming itself from a Dominion into a sovereign democratic republic. Drafted over nearly three years by a Constituent Assembly chaired by Rajendra Prasad with B.R. Ambedkar leading the Drafting Committee, it abolished untouchability, guaranteed fundamental rights, and introduced universal adult suffrage.

Revolution1942 CE – 1944 CE

Quit India Movement

On August 8, 1942, Gandhi called for immediate British withdrawal with his "Do or Die" speech at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Bombay. Within hours the entire Congress leadership was arrested, but leaderless underground resistance, strikes, and sabotage paralyzed parts of British India in the most serious challenge to colonial rule since 1857.