Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India,
                having led the freedom struggle from the front along with Mahatma
                Gandhi. Born in an affluent Kashmiri family, Nehru spent his youth
                acquiring an education in the best schools and colleges in England
                and returned to India very much an Englishman and became a
                lawyer. But a chance encounter with General Dyer, the architect of
                the Jalliawalan Bagh massacre, hearing him boast about the
                incident, converted Nehru into a rebel committed to freeing India
                from British rule. He started his political career in the United
                Province (now Uttar Pradesh) and in a little over 10 years, he was
                elected as the President of the Congress, a position he was to hold
                five times. His belief in socialist principles led him, in association
                with others, to establish the left wing of the Congress party. Nehru
                was a voracious reader and a prolific writer and his political thought
                was influenced by thinkers like Mill, Gladstone and Morley. The
                biggest impact on him was of Gandhi and he reciprocated by
                anointing Nehru as his successor. Nehru led the country to
                independence and guided it through the turbulence of Partition,
                which, many critics point out, was in many ways a problem of his
                own making. As Prime Minister, he was instrumental in developing
                India's industry and infrastructure, which reflected his belief in
                science and technology. Nehru's socialism also envisaged Five
                Year Plans to regulate economic growth and development of the
                country's resources in an organised manner. He also brought in India
                onto the world map, with his leadership in international issues. By
                the time he died in office in 1964, Nehru had been the Prime
                Minister for 17 years. Though he left many tasks
                unfinished-Pakistan's estrangement with India, tension with China, a
                festering communal problem, rampant poverty-Nehru remains one of
                the most adored and idolised leaders of India.

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