Jawaharlal Nehru

 [  More about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru - Profile, Thoughts, Writings, Chronology ]

While inaugurating the Indian National Commission of UNESCO in New Delhi Pandit Nehru said “In inaugurating this conference I do not know quite what you all expect me to say . I have been asked to come here and address you almost in my official capacity as Prime Minister, and I suppose I cannot easily get away from it. But I am something other than a Prime Minister too. Iam also a HUMAN BEING” . Here in this article I am trying to trace the outline of the diverse aspects of Pandit Nehru's personality , not in his official capacity as a politician , or stateman, but just as a Man. Nehru was a lover of nature , fond of children,friend of the common man, a man of peace and of unrivalled gallantry.

Jawaharlal Nehru's Thoughts

Descending from the valley of Cashmere Nehru was essentially a man of the mountains and a lover of nature. It was natural that the mountains beckoned him. During the summer of 1916 , that is , a few months after his marriage Nehru had an adventure, wandering for several weeks in mountains leading to Ladkakh Road.

“This was my first experience to the narrow and lonely valleys,high up in the world which red to the Tibetan Plateau.......
We went up the narrow valley bottom flanked on each side by mountains........
The lonliness grew, there were not even trees or vegetation to keep us company, only bare rock and the snow and ice and , sometimes very welcome flowers. Yet i found a strance satisfaction in these wild and desolate haunts of nature . I was full of energy and a feeling of exaltation..... we had left our camp at four in the morning and after twelve hours, almost continuous climbing we were rewarded by the sight of a huge ice field... i do not know what our altitude was, but i think it must have been about 15000 to 16000 feet ....we had now to cross the ice field.. it was tricky business as there were many crevasses and the fresh snow often covered a dangerous spot. It was this fresh snow that almost proved to my undoing for I stepped upon it and it gave way and down I went a huge and yawning crevasse. It was a tremendous fissurs and anything that went right down it could be assured of safe keeping and preservation for some geological ages. But the rope held and I clutched to the side of the crevasse and I pulled out. We were shaken up by this but still we persisted in going on.

Nehru's fondness for children was boundless. It is this spontaneous and all embracing unalloyed love for children that resulted in the perpetuation of Nehru's birthday as children's day celebrated all over India.

Nehru expressed his delight at the performance of the children when he visited an exhibision of pictures and cartoons for Sankar's children. “ As I looked at the pictures I thought of the vast army of children all over the world, outwardly different in many ways , speaking different languages wearing different kinds of cloths and yet so very like one another. If you bring them together they play or quarral. But even their quarrel in some kind of play. They do not think of differences of class or color status. They are wiser than their fathers and mothers..... I wish I had more times so that I could visit odd nooks and corners of India. I would like to go there in the company of bright young children whose minds are opening out with wonder and curiosity as they make new discoveries...... I would like them to discover for themselves that they can play about in the snow in some parts of India and see other places where tropical forests flerish. Such a trip with children would be voyage of discovery of the beautiful trees of our forests and hillsides and the flowers that graces in changing seasons and bringing life and color to us. We would watch the birds and try to recogonize them and make friends with them. But the most exiting adventure would be to go to the forest and see the wild animals both the littleones and the big. Foolish people go with a gun and kill them and put an end to something that was beautiful”.

Shouldering the burdon of prime ministership and leadership of nation Nehru very much wanted to be a freeman leading a normal life. Nehru envied the unrestricted freedom and capacity for enjoyment amoung the tribals. “ I would prefer being a nomad in the hills to being a member of stock exchange where one is made to sit and listen to noices that are uguly to a degree . I am sure that the tribal flock, with their civilization of song and dance will last till long after stock exchanges have ceased to exist. Nehru felt that we could solve own problems of unemployment and low productivity to a great extend by a change in our own mental make up, that is accepting the dignity of labour. He exhorted Indians to recogonize the dignity of labour to build a new and prosperous India”. Revolution can remove the old regime, but it cannot make the nation wealthy overnight. To improve their lot the Russian toiled the sweated and have came their own. From socialist Russia to capitalist America it is a farcry... The American people recogonize the dignity of labour. Even the son of rich earn their living while they learn. They think it derogatory to live on the earning of others. We have got to change our mentality. At present we are apt to look down on manual labour and that tendency is responsible for our plight..... You will deteriorate unless you go down to the field and do the job yourself and unless you consider any job not too low for you.

The weapons we use to win political independence from a mighty Empire was non violence. Nehru the true diciples of Mahatma Gandhi, the architect of peaceful non-violent means against the might of arms was a champion of peace, both in international affairs, Germs of conflict , einmity and revenge in the human minds leads to aggressive appoach and open conflicts and confrontation. But he man of peace is likely to suceed in semming the tide of violent uphavals and maintain peace with one and all.

Pandit Nehru was essentially a man of peace “ we in the country must not think of approching our objectives through conflict and force. We have achieved many things by peaceful means and there is no reason why suddently abandon that method and take to violence. There is very special reason why we should not do so. I am quite convinced that if we try to attain our ideals and objectives, however high they may be by violent methods we shall delay matters greatly and help the growth of the very evils we are fighting. India is not only a big country, but a country with a good deal of variety, and if any one takes to the sword, he will in-evitably be faced with the sword of someone else. This clash between swords will degenerate into fuitless violence and in the process, the limited energies of the Nation will be dissipated at any rate greatly diminised”.

.........In stressing the need for peaceful approach to international affairs Nehru repeats “ the peace of the country cannot be issued unless there is peace elsewhere also. In the narrow and contracting world, war and peace and freedom are becoming invisible. There for it is not enough for one country to secure peace with in its own boarders, but it is also neceessary that it should endeavour to its almost capacity, to help in the maintenance of peace all over the world.

What Nehru said in his days is true if the world today is also “ A single pharse can sumup what is today the formost issue in international affairs, peace or war. The later if it comes will be on overwhelming and all envoloping war, the war which will probably ruin the pround structure of modern civilization. I am sure that people all over the world want peace are anxious to avoid war”.

Nehru above all was a man with a big heart. “If we are to be worthy of our country, we must have a big minds and big hearts, for small men cannot face big issues. Let each one of us do his duty to his country and his people and not dwell too much on the duty of others “. Nehru again stressess the need for devotion to duty as the means of speeding up the progress of nation......”. So whatever you may be, whether in the Army or the Airforce or the Navy or in the civil employ of the Government each of you must do your duty effitiently and in a spirit of service to the nation.

Let us hearken to Pandit Nehru's words and follow his advise, to do duty concious and be men of peace.