Centenary of Nehru's BirthPrint Page

The portrait bust is a replica commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the Indian politician, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) , who became the first Prime Minister of India. It was presented to the people of Bathurst as a token to celebrate Australia Day and the European settlement of Australia in 1788. 

Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad and was educated in England, at Harrow School, and then at Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied law at the Inner Temple in London and returned to India in 1912 and practised law for some years. In 1916, he married Kamala Kaul and the following year they had a daughter, Indira.

In 1919, Nehru joined the Indian National Congress which was fighting for greater autonomy from the British. He was heavily influenced by the organisation's leader Mohandas Gandhi. During the 1920s and 1930s Nehru was repeatedly imprisoned by the British for civil disobedience. In 1928, he was elected president of the Congress.

By the end of World War Two, Nehru was recognised as Gandhi's successor. He played a central role in the negotiations over Indian independence. He opposed the Muslim League's insistence on the division of India on the basis of religion. Louis Mountbatten, the last British viceroy, advocated the division as the fastest and most workable solution and Nehru reluctantly agreed.

On 15 August 1947, Nehru became the first prime minister of independent India. He held the post until his death in 1964. He implemented moderate socialist economic reforms and committed India to a policy of industrialisation.

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