Children’s Day is annually observed across India on November 14 to commemorate the birth anniversary of India’s 1st Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, fondly known as ‘Chacha Nehru’.
- 2022 marks the 133rd birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Background:
i. Following the death of Jawaharlal Nehru on 27th May 1964, the Indian parliament unanimously passed a resolution declaring 14th November of every year, the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru as the official date of Children’s Day.
ii. Prior to this, India celebrated Children’s day on 20th November, the day World Children’s day is celebrated by the United Nations.
- In 1954, the UN declared the 20th of November of every year as “Universal Children’s Day”.
About Jawaharlal Nehru:
i. Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, on November 14, 1889.
ii. He was one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the 1930s and 1940s. He became the 1st Prime Minister (PM) of India in 1947.
iii. During his period as PM, he established a parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s and became noted for his neutralist policies in foreign affairs.
iv. He had written his autobiographical book “An Autobiography : Toward Freedom (1936)” by Jawaharlal Nehru during his imprisonment from January 1934 to February 1935. It was first published in the United States in 1936.
v. In 1979, Mundapallil Oommen Mathai (MO Mathai), Jawaharlal Nehru’s private secretary, wrote the book ‘My Days With Nehru’.
- He mentioned: “He saw in their innocent faces, the future of India”. The innocent faces here denote the Children of India.
Awards and Recognitions of Jawaharlal Nehru:
i. On July 15th 1955, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, was awarded the Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian honour) by then-President Rajendra Prasad
ii. Jawaharlal Nehru was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize several times from 1950 to 1955 but did not receive the honour.
Books Authored by Jawaharlal Nehru:
- The Discovery of India (1946),
- Glimpses of World History (1934),
- His autobiography, Toward Freedom.
- Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929) – a collection of letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to his daughter Indira Gandhi published as a book.
