Children’s Day: Modi joins Congress top brass in paying tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru

Both Congress and BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (November 14) paid rich tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, on his 134th birth anniversary.

The Congress leadership on Children’s Day paid rich tributes to Nehru on his 134th birth anniversary, describing him as the prime architect of modern India.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described Nehru as “the prime architect of modern India”. “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime architect of modern India. In his understanding, only a Democratic structure which gave space to various cultural, political, and socio-economic trends to express themselves could hold India together,” Kharge said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh and AICC treasurer Ajay Maken were among the party leaders who visited Nehru's memorial at Shanti Van in Delhi and paid homage to him.

Nehru, the ‘gentle colossus’

“Today, as we gather in Shanti Van, to pay our revered tributes to him, we must preserve, protect and defend India's Constitution and our long-cherished Democratic institutions and principles – his enduring legacy,” Kharge said. In another post in Hindi, Kharge recalled the words of Nehru, who said, “Citizenship is in the service of the country”. “His progressive ideas advanced India's social, political and economic development despite all the challenges and encouraged the people of the country to live together at every moment, without any discrimination, always keeping the country first,” the Congress chief said.

Paying tributes to Nehru, AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh recalled “the 'gentle colossus' who shaped 20th century India so very decisively”. “His legacy lives on and he continues to resonate in numerous ways, even as the self-styled Vishwaguru and his drum-beaters do their worst to deny his monumental contributions and distort, damage, denigrate, demean and defame him,” he said.

World Cup and Nehru. the cricketer

Today, as the nation awaits India's victory in the cricket World Cup final five days hence, let us recall Nehru the cricketer. On September 12th and 13th, 1953 the Prime Minister's XI played a two-day match against the Vice President's XI in New Delhi to raise funds for flood relief in different states, he noted.

Nehru, he said, was on the field throughout. He bowled, fielded and batted. “Nehru found time to speak on the radio for a few minutes while the game was on. Later, he served as the auctioneer selling off cricket bats and scorebooks presented to him in November 1948 by the West Indies and Indian cricket teams that had just played a test match in Delhi then, and also by the Commonwealth and Indian cricket teams that had played a test match in February 1951 in Kanpur,” Ramesh recalled.

“Fortunately, what he said on both occasions in Hindi was captured for posterity. They make for wonderful reading even today," he added, citing a news report of the time.

From bashing Nehru to paying him tributes

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, known for his veiled diatribes against Nehru, also paid tributes to Nehru on his birth anniversary. In a one line message from his personal handle on X, the prime minister wrote, “Tributes to our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru Ji on his birth anniversary.”

His party colleague and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma was, however, more forthcoming in remembering Nehru. In a series of posts and a montage shared on X, Sarma said the most satisfying part of his job is to help children build their future. "My tributes to our first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his janmatithi (birth anniversary)," he said.

In a separate post, the Assam chief minister posted a video showing moments he shared with children of various age groups with Hindi song 'Kholo Kholo' from the film 'Taare Zameen Par' playing in the background. “Helping children build a bright future is the most satisfying part of my job. #HappyChildrensDay,” he said.

Hundreds of miles away, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also extended Children’s Day greetings and said his government is committed to work towards their overall development of the young generation. In a post on X, Adityanath wrote, “Best wishes on Children's Day to all the dear children, who are the 'aadhaar' (base) of the nation's hope, aspiration and progress.”

“Our government is fully committed to providing cultured education, security and good health facilities to children as well as their overall development,” he further said.

The chief minister also met students of Digvijaynath Taekwondo Training Centre in Gorakhpur on this occasion, where children presented him roses and chocolates, a statement of the UP government said.

Give a thought to the plight of children in Gaza

While remembering Nehru on his birth anniversary, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan emphasised the government's responsibility to protect the rights of children and called for concerted efforts to address the plight of Palestinian children affected in the ongoing conflict with Israel.

In a Facebook post on the occasion of Children's Day commemorating the birthday of India's first Prime Minister, the chief minister underscored the dire situation faced by Palestinian children amid the war.

He urged collective action to ensure their safety and facilitate their rehabilitation.

Vijayan said availability of nutritious food, healthcare, and quality education are the inherent rights of every child born in the world. Safeguarding these rights is a fundamental responsibility of governments, he said. Highlighting the vision of the architects of the Constitution, including Nehru, the chief minister said that they envisioned an India where violence and exploitation against children would be eliminated.

A call for collective action

Drawing attention to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, the chief minister pointed to the distressing images of victimised children. “As many as 4,609 children have been killed in Gaza alone in the Israeli attack against Palestine," he said.

The chief minister described the faces of the seriously injured and orphaned children as a scar on human consciousness. Vijayan asserted that these tragedies will persist until Israel's aggression, supported by imperialist forces, comes to an end. He called on progressive forces worldwide to unite and raise their voices against this injustice.

Vijayan also urged collective action to ensure the safety and rehabilitation of Palestinian children, making Children's Day a reminder of this imperative.

The chief minister also took pride in declaring Kerala as a model for the entire country in terms of child rights.

Nehru was born in Prayagraj, then called Allahabad, in 1889 and was one of the leading faces of the country's freedom struggle. His admirers credit him for nurturing democratic roots in the country.

(With agency inputs)