Jawaharlal Nehru with Gandhi

Jawaharlal Nehru

First Prime Minister of India after independence

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) was educated at Harrow (1905-7) and Cambridge (1907-10), where he was awarded a law degree. Whilst at Harrow he wrote to his parents complaining about George Edalji’s treatment. The case may have played a small part in changing his view of the British and becoming more self-consciously Indian. After his return to India he practised as a barrister but was eventually drawn into the struggle for independence, alongside Gandhi. He headed the Indian National Congress four times and, like Gandhi, was jailed several times for his part in civil disobedience campaigns. In 1947 he became the first Prime Minister of an independent Indian state.