Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here’s your knowledge nugget for today.

(Relevance: Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role in Pre-independence and post-independence India. UPSC has asked questions on such important leaders. Also, UPSC’s History, Essay, and Optionals (History, Political Science, and International Relations) papers have contained questions about Nehru and his role in building an Independent India. In this regard, knowing about Nehru becomes important for your UPSC prep.)

November 14 is celebrated as Children’s Day across the country to commemorate the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of Independent India Jawaharlal Nehru, fondly called Chacha Nehru. He was born on November 14, 1889 into a Kashmiri Brahman family in Allahabad (now Prayagraj).

On his birth anniversary, let’s look at the quotes from Jawaharlal Nehru which can enrich your essay writing.

Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.

The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous.

Democracy and socialism are means to an end, not the end itself.

Citizenship consists in the service of the country.

It is worth noting that Mahatma Gandhi, as early as 1942, had declared: “…not Rajaji, nor Sardar Vallabhbhai but Jawahar will be my successor… When I am gone… he will speak my language”.

(From the series– This Quote Means: When Jawaharlal Nehru said in 1947, ‘We made a tryst with destiny…’)

Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech was delivered to the Indian Constituent Assembly in Parliament, just before midnight on August 15, 1947, right as India became free, and is considered one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century. It laid the foundation for the first few decades of India as an independent nation, influencing both policy-making and the social and cultural life of its citizens.

1. He said in the speech, “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance,” reflecting the nation’s aspirations and a bid to embark on a new journey as the nearly two-centuries-long colonial rule came to an end.

2. In ordinary language, the word ‘tryst’ usually refers to an intimate encounter or relationship; however, here, Nehru is juxtaposing the word with the larger reality of Indians finding themselves free from centuries of foreign rule.

3. He then said, “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…” At first glance itself, it is clear that Nehru’s words are indicative of a once-in-a-lifetime event (“which comes but rarely in history”), and that the speech is aware of the weight and urgency that this carries.

4. The quote is reflective of the hopes and dreams of a new nation, represented by freedom fighters who had sacrificed nearly everything to secure independence (“when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance”), and by youth that was eager to take steps forward into the future (“when we step out from the old to new, when an age ends”).

5. Today, when the country is at a stage where it can reap the productivity advantages of having a mostly young population (what is known as ‘demographic dividend’), this becomes even more significant. Now more than ever, India’s youth has the potential to propel the country forward and help it reach higher stages of socio-economic development.

6. By saying “Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world”, Nehru situated the country within the larger global order that was shifting from widespread colonisation to self-rule by countries like Egypt, Indonesia, etc. He said, “It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!”

7. This would also later be reflected in Nehru’s championing of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was a forum of countries not aligned with either of the 20th-century blocs (one headed by the US and one by the erstwhile Soviet Union). India was a founding member of the forum, along with the erstwhile nation of Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Egypt, and Ghana.

The celebration of Children’s Day in India dates back to 1956, when the day was observed as ‘Universal Children’s Day’ on November 20, keeping with the United Nations. After Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964, however, it was decided the celebrations be moved to commemorate his birth anniversary and his fondness for children. Since then, November 14 has been celebrated as Children’s Day in India.

Pandit Nehru was a strong advocate of children’s education and was also instrumental in the establishment of pioneer institutions like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and the National Institutes of Technology (NIT). For him, children were the real assets and strength of the society.

Happy Children’s Day!

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