Jump to content

Kamala Nehru: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Reverted edits by 204.109.64.186 (talk) (HG) (3.4.12)
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit Android app edit App section source
 
(46 intermediate revisions by 31 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Indian independence activist and the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{{short description|Indian independence activist and wife of Jawaharlal Nehru (1899-1936)}}
{{Cleanup|reason=requires correct style and needs referencing|date=May 2020}}
{{Cleanup|reason=requires correct style and needs referencing|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name =
| name = Kamala Nehru
| image = Kamala Nehru 4cr.jpg
| image = Kamala Nehru 4cr.jpg
| caption = Undated photograph
| caption = Undated photograph
Line 11: Line 11:
| birth_name = Kamala Kaul
| birth_name = Kamala Kaul
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|08|01|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1899|08|01|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], British India {{small|(present-day [[India]])}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1936|02|28|1899|08|01|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1936|02|28|1899|08|01|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Lausanne]], Switzerland
| death_place = [[Lausanne]], Switzerland
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]|1916}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Jawaharlal Nehru]]|1916}}
| children = [[Indira Gandhi]]
| children = [[Indira Gandhi]] (daughter)
| occupation = [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence activist]]
| parents =
| parents =
| family = [[Nehru–Gandhi family]]
| family = [[Nehru–Gandhi family]]
Line 21: Line 22:
}}
}}


'''Kamala Nehru''' (''[[née]]'' '''Kaul'''; {{audio|Kamla Nehru.ogg|pronunciation}}; 1 August 1899 – 28 February 1936) was an Indian independence activist and the wife of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the first Prime Minister of [[India]]. Her daughter [[Indira Gandhi]] was the first female Prime Minister of India.
'''Kamala Nehru''' (''[[née]]'' '''Kaul'''; {{audio|Kamla Nehru.ogg|pronunciation}}; 1 August 1899 – 28 February 1936) was an Indian independence activist and the wife of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the first [[prime minister of India]]. Their daughter [[Indira Gandhi]] would go on to become the first and to date, the only female Prime Minister of India.


== Early life and marriage ==
== Early life and marriage ==
Nehru was born on 1 August 1899 to Rajpati and Jawahar Mull Atal-Kaul, who were from a [[Kashmiri Pandit]] family of [[Old Delhi]].<ref name=Jayakar1995>{{cite book|last1=Jayakar|first1=Pupul|title=Indira Gandhi, a biography|date=1995|publisher=Penguin|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=978-0140114621|pages=9–11|edition=Rev.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gm5JGkb2rhkC&q=%22kamala+marriage&pg=PR9}}</ref> She was the eldest child and had two brothers, Chand Bahadur Kaul and the botanist, [[Kailas Nath Kaul]], and a sister, Swaroop Kathju.
Kamala Kaul was born on 1 August 1899 to Rajpati and Jawahar Mull Atal-Kaul, who were from a [[Kashmiri Pandit]] family of [[Old Delhi]].<ref name=Jayakar1995>{{cite book|last1=Jayakar|first1=Pupul|title=Indira Gandhi, a biography|date=1995|publisher=Penguin|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=978-0140114621|edition=Rev.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gm5JGkb2rhkC}}</ref>{{rp|9–11}} She was the eldest child and had two brothers, Chand Bahadur Kaul and the botanist, [[Kailas Nath Kaul]], and a sister, Swaroop Kathju.


[[File:Kamala and Jawaharlal Nehru 1916.jpg|thumb|Jawaharlal and Kamala Nehru on their wedding day, 8 February 1916]]
[[File:Kamala and Jawaharlal Nehru 1916.jpg|thumb|Jawaharlal and Kamala Nehru on their wedding day, 8 February 1916]]


Kamala married [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] at the age of 16.<ref name=Jayakar1995/> Her husband went to a trip in the [[Himalayas]] shortly after their marriage.<ref name=windsor/> In his autobiography, Jawaharlal Nehru, referring to his wife, stated "I almost overlooked her."<ref name=windsor>{{cite news|title=From years 1916 to 1964...The man and the times|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tzA_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=81AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4355,5162968&dq=kamala+nehru&hl=en|access-date=19 January 2013|newspaper=The Windsor Star|date=27 May 1964}}</ref> Nehru gave birth to a girl child in November 1917, [[Indira Gandhi|Indira Priyadarshini]], who later succeeded her father as prime minister and head of the Congress party.<ref name=windsor/>
Kamala married [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] at the age of 16 <ref name=Jayakar1995/>{{pageneeded|date=April 2024}} at the historic Haskar Haveli in Sitaram Bazar.<ref>[https://www.onmanorama.com/travel/outside-kerala/2019/11/26/delhi-6-haveli-indira-gandhi-mother.html The neglected Delhi 6 haveli of Indira Gandhi's mother]</ref> Her husband went to a trip in the [[Himalayas]] shortly after their marriage.<ref name=windsor/> In his autobiography, Jawaharlal Nehru, referring to his wife, stated "I almost overlooked her."<ref name=windsor>{{cite news|title=From years 1916 to 1964...The man and the times|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tzA_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=81AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4355,5162968&dq=kamala+nehru&hl=en|access-date=19 January 2013|newspaper=The Windsor Star|date=27 May 1964}}</ref> Nehru gave birth to a girl in November 1917, [[Indira Gandhi|Indira Priyadarshini]], who later succeeded her father as prime minister and head of the Congress party.<ref name=windsor/>


==Contribution to the Indian Independence Movement==
== Harilal Gandhi Movement 1931 ==
Kamala Nehru was involved with Harilal Gandhi in the national movement, and quickly emerged to the forefront. In the Non Cooperation movement of 1921, she organized groups of women in [[Allahabad]] and picketed shops selling foreign cloth and liquor. When her husband was arrested to prevent him delivering a "seditious" public speech, she decided to go in his place and read it out to a large crowd of onlookers (filled with her supporters). The British soon realized the threat that Kamala Nehru posed to them and how popular she had become with women's groups all over India. She was arrested on two additional occasions for her involvement in Independence struggle activities, along with [[Sarojini Naidu]], Kamala Nehru's mother, and many other women of the Indian freedom struggle.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nehru|first1=Jawaharlal|title=An Autobiography|date=26 January 1936|publisher=Bodley Head|location=London}}</ref><ref name="iloveindia1">{{cite web|url=http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/kamala-nehru.html|title=Kamala Nehru Biography|publisher=Iloveindia|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref> During this period she started a dispensary in her house [[Swaraj Bhavan]], converting few rooms into a Congress Dispensary to treat wounded activists, their families, and other residents of Allahabad(now Prayagraj). After her death, [[Mahatma Gandhi]] with the help of other prominent leaders converted this dispensary into a proper hospital known as [[Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital]] in her memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.knmhospital.org/legacy.aspx|title=KNMH : The Legacy|website=www.knmhospital.org}}</ref>
Kamala was involved with the Nehrus in the national movement, that she emerged into the forefront. In the Non Cooperation movement of 1921, she organized groups of women in [[Allahabad]] and picketed shops selling foreign cloth and liquor. When her husband was arrested to prevent him delivering a "seditious" public speech, she decided to go in his place and read it out to a large crowd of onlookers (filled with her supporters). The colonial authorities soon realized the threat that Kamala Nehru posed to them and how popular she had become with women's groups all over India. She was arrested on two additional occasions for her involvement in Independence struggle activities, along with [[Sarojini Naidu]], Kamala Nehru's mother, and many other women of the Indian independence struggle.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nehru|first1=Jawaharlal|title=An Autobiography|date=26 January 1936|publisher=Bodley Head|location=London}}</ref><ref name="iloveindia1">{{cite web|url=http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/kamala-nehru.html|title=Kamala Nehru Biography|publisher=Iloveindia|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref> During this period she started a dispensary in her house [[Swaraj Bhavan]], converting few rooms into a Congress Dispensary to treat wounded activists, their families, and other residents of Allahabad(now Prayagraj). After her death, [[Mahatma Gandhi]] with the help of other prominent leaders converted this dispensary into a proper hospital known as [[Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital]] in her memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.knmhospital.org/legacy.aspx|title=KNMH : The Legacy|website=www.knmhospital.org}}</ref>


Kamala Nehru spent some time at Gandhi's ashram with [[Kasturba Gandhi]] where she built a close friendship with [[Prabhavati Devi]] – the wife of freedom fighter [[Jayaprakash Narayan]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jayakar|first1=Pupul|title=Indira Gandhi, a biography|date=1995|publisher=Penguin|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=978-0140114621|pages=90–92|edition=Rev.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gm5JGkb2rhkC&q=padmaja&pg=PR9}}</ref> They were also freedom fighters for Indian freedom from the British.
Kamala Nehru spent some time at Gandhi's ashram with [[Kasturba Gandhi]] where she built a close friendship with [[Prabhavati Devi]] – the wife of independence activist [[Jayaprakash Narayan]].<ref name="Jayakar1995" />{{rp|90–92}}


==Death==
==Death==
Kamala Nehru died from [[tuberculosis]] in [[Lausanne]], Switzerland on 28 February 1936, with her daughter and mother-in-law by her side. During her last few years, Kamala Nehru was frequently ill and taken to a [[sanatorium]] in Switzerland for treatment, though she returned to India as she got well. In early 1935, as Kamala Nehru's health again deteriorated, she was taken to [[Badenweiler]] in Germany by [[Subhas Chandra Bose|Subhash Chandra Bose]] and admitted to a sanatorium for treatment. Her husband [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] was in prison in India at that time. As her health worsened, Jawaharlal Nehru was released from prison and rushed to Germany in October 1935. While Nehru's health improved initially, it started to deteriorate again in 1936, and she died on 28 February. In the prologue to his autobiography, in a chapter added after Kamala's death, Jawaharlal Nehru recounts that he was devastated and remained in mourning for months.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nehru|first1=Jawaharlal|title=An Autobiography|date= 1940|publisher=Bodell Head|location=London|edition=2nd}}</ref>
Kamala Nehru died from [[tuberculosis]] in [[Lausanne]], Switzerland, on 28 February 1936, with her daughter and mother-in-law by her side. During her last few years, Kamala Nehru was frequently ill and taken to a [[sanatorium]] in Switzerland for treatment, though she returned to India as she got well. In early 1935, as Kamala Nehru's health again deteriorated, she was taken to [[Badenweiler]] in Germany by [[Subhas Chandra Bose|Subhash Chandra Bose]] and admitted to a sanatorium for treatment. Her husband [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] was in prison in India at that time. As her health worsened, Jawaharlal Nehru was released from prison and rushed to Germany in October 1935. While Nehru's health improved initially, it started to deteriorate again in 1936, and she died on 28 February. In the prologue to his autobiography, in a chapter added after Kamala's death, Jawaharlal Nehru recounts that he was devastated and remained in mourning for months.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nehru|first1=Jawaharlal|title=An Autobiography|date= 1940|publisher=Bodell Head|location=London|edition=2nd}}</ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
[[File:Kamala Nehru 1974 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Nehru on a 1974 stamp of India]]
[[File:Kamala Nehru 1974 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Nehru on a 1974 stamp of India]]
A number of institutions in India and around the world have been named in Kamala Nehru's honor, including:
A number of institutions in India, and a road in Pakistan, have been named in Kamala Nehru's honor, including:


===India===
===India===
*Kamla Nehru Park in [[Mumbai]]
*Kamala Nehru health and wellness center in [[Dindigul]]
*Kamla Nehru Balika High School in [[Patna]]
*Kamla Nehru Balika High School in [[Patna]]
*[[Kamala Nehru College]] at [[Delhi University]]
*[[Kamala Nehru College]] at [[Delhi University]]
Line 48: Line 51:
*[[Kamla Nehru College for Women, Jodhpur]] in [[Jodhpur]]
*[[Kamla Nehru College for Women, Jodhpur]] in [[Jodhpur]]
*Kamala Nehru Degree Evening College in [[Bangalore]]
*Kamala Nehru Degree Evening College in [[Bangalore]]
*[[Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology]] in [[Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh|Sultanpur]]
*[https://knipss.ac.in/ Kamla Nehru Institute of Physical and Social Science Sultanpur] in [[Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh|Sultanpur]]
*[[Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital]] in [[Allahabad]]
*[[Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital]] in [[Allahabad]]
*Kamala Nehru Polytechnic in [[Hyderabad]]
*Kamala Nehru Polytechnic in [[Hyderabad]]
Line 56: Line 59:
*Kamala Nehru Women's College in [[Bhubaneswar]]
*Kamala Nehru Women's College in [[Bhubaneswar]]
*Shaskiya Kamla Nehru Girls Higher Secondary School in [[Bhopal]]
*Shaskiya Kamla Nehru Girls Higher Secondary School in [[Bhopal]]
*Kamal Nehru Government Girl's High School in [[Yanam]] ([[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]])
*[[Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management]] in [[Nagpur]]
*Kamala Nehru Park in Raigarh, Chattisgarh
*Kamala Nehru Nagar in [[Ghaziabad]]
*Kamla Nehru Group of Institutions, Sultanpur UP


===Pakistan===
===Pakistan===
In [[Karachi]], a road is named after her.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/blog/finding-kamala-nehru-in-pakistan-jinnah-in-guntur-764557|title=Blog: Finding Kamala Nehru in Pakistan, Jinnah in Guntur|work=NDTV.com|date=20 May 2015}}</ref>
In [[Karachi]], a road is still named after her, near the [[Mazar-e-Quaid|Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/blog/finding-kamala-nehru-in-pakistan-jinnah-in-guntur-764557|title=Blog: Finding Kamala Nehru in Pakistan, Jinnah in Guntur|work=NDTV.com|date=20 May 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Kamla+Nehru+Rd,+Jamshed+Quarters+Amil+Colony,+Karachi,+Karachi+City,+Sindh,+Pakistan/@24.8771712,67.0378085,18.72z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x3eb33e5c142de69f:0x354419fea65f959c!8m2!3d24.8780402!4d67.0393858!16s%2Fg%2F12hlkhwrg?entry=ttu Kamala Nehru Rd, Karachi]</ref>


=== In popular culture ===
=== In popular culture ===
''Kamala Kaul (Nehru) '' is a 1986 Indian [[documentary film]] directed by Ashish Mukherjee. Produced by the [[Government of India]]'s [[Films Division of India|Films Division]], it provides an overview of her life and contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=KAMALA NEHRU {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/kamala-nehru|access-date=2021-06-12|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>
''Kamala Nehru'' is a 1986 Indian [[documentary film]] directed by Ashish Mukherjee. Produced by the [[Government of India]]'s [[Films Division of India|Films Division]], it provides an overview of her life and contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=KAMALA NEHRU {{!}} Films Division|url=https://filmsdivision.org/shop/kamala-nehru|access-date=2021-06-12|website=filmsdivision.org}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 76: Line 82:
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:Kashmiri Pandits]]
[[Category:People from Allahabad]]
[[Category:Kashmiri women]]
[[Category:People from Prayagraj]]
[[Category:Nehru–Gandhi family]]
[[Category:Nehru–Gandhi family]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Switzerland]]

Latest revision as of 03:17, 24 October 2024

Kamala Nehru
Kamala Kaul Nehru
Undated photograph
Born
Kamala Kaul

(1899-08-01)1 August 1899
Delhi, British India (present-day India)
Died28 February 1936(1936-02-28) (aged 36)
Lausanne, Switzerland
OccupationIndian independence activist
Spouse
​
(m. 1916)​
ChildrenIndira Gandhi (daughter)
RelativesKailas Nath Kaul (brother)
FamilyNehru–Gandhi family

Kamala Nehru (née Kaul; pronunciationⓘ; 1 August 1899 – 28 February 1936) was an Indian independence activist and the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. Their daughter Indira Gandhi would go on to become the first and to date, the only female Prime Minister of India.

Early life and marriage

[edit]

Kamala Kaul was born on 1 August 1899 to Rajpati and Jawahar Mull Atal-Kaul, who were from a Kashmiri Pandit family of Old Delhi.[1]: 9–11  She was the eldest child and had two brothers, Chand Bahadur Kaul and the botanist, Kailas Nath Kaul, and a sister, Swaroop Kathju.

Jawaharlal and Kamala Nehru on their wedding day, 8 February 1916

Kamala married Jawaharlal Nehru at the age of 16 [1][page needed] at the historic Haskar Haveli in Sitaram Bazar.[2] Her husband went to a trip in the Himalayas shortly after their marriage.[3] In his autobiography, Jawaharlal Nehru, referring to his wife, stated "I almost overlooked her."[3] Nehru gave birth to a girl in November 1917, Indira Priyadarshini, who later succeeded her father as prime minister and head of the Congress party.[3]

Contribution to the Indian Independence Movement

[edit]

Kamala was involved with the Nehrus in the national movement, that she emerged into the forefront. In the Non Cooperation movement of 1921, she organized groups of women in Allahabad and picketed shops selling foreign cloth and liquor. When her husband was arrested to prevent him delivering a "seditious" public speech, she decided to go in his place and read it out to a large crowd of onlookers (filled with her supporters). The colonial authorities soon realized the threat that Kamala Nehru posed to them and how popular she had become with women's groups all over India. She was arrested on two additional occasions for her involvement in Independence struggle activities, along with Sarojini Naidu, Kamala Nehru's mother, and many other women of the Indian independence struggle.[4][5] During this period she started a dispensary in her house Swaraj Bhavan, converting few rooms into a Congress Dispensary to treat wounded activists, their families, and other residents of Allahabad(now Prayagraj). After her death, Mahatma Gandhi with the help of other prominent leaders converted this dispensary into a proper hospital known as Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital in her memory.[6]

Kamala Nehru spent some time at Gandhi's ashram with Kasturba Gandhi where she built a close friendship with Prabhavati Devi – the wife of independence activist Jayaprakash Narayan.[1]: 90–92 

Death

[edit]

Kamala Nehru died from tuberculosis in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 28 February 1936, with her daughter and mother-in-law by her side. During her last few years, Kamala Nehru was frequently ill and taken to a sanatorium in Switzerland for treatment, though she returned to India as she got well. In early 1935, as Kamala Nehru's health again deteriorated, she was taken to Badenweiler in Germany by Subhash Chandra Bose and admitted to a sanatorium for treatment. Her husband Jawaharlal Nehru was in prison in India at that time. As her health worsened, Jawaharlal Nehru was released from prison and rushed to Germany in October 1935. While Nehru's health improved initially, it started to deteriorate again in 1936, and she died on 28 February. In the prologue to his autobiography, in a chapter added after Kamala's death, Jawaharlal Nehru recounts that he was devastated and remained in mourning for months.[7]

Legacy

[edit]
Nehru on a 1974 stamp of India

A number of institutions in India, and a road in Pakistan, have been named in Kamala Nehru's honor, including:

India

[edit]

Pakistan

[edit]

In Karachi, a road is still named after her, near the Mazar-e-Quaid-e-Azam.[8][9]

[edit]

Kamala Nehru is a 1986 Indian documentary film directed by Ashish Mukherjee. Produced by the Government of India's Films Division, it provides an overview of her life and contributions.[10]

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kamala Nehru.
  1. ^ a b c Jayakar, Pupul (1995). Indira Gandhi, a biography (Rev. ed.). New Delhi, India: Penguin. ISBN 978-0140114621.
  2. ^ The neglected Delhi 6 haveli of Indira Gandhi's mother
  3. ^ a b c "From years 1916 to 1964...The man and the times". The Windsor Star. 27 May 1964. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. ^ Nehru, Jawaharlal (26 January 1936). An Autobiography. London: Bodley Head.
  5. ^ "Kamala Nehru Biography". Iloveindia. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  6. ^ "KNMH : The Legacy". www.knmhospital.org.
  7. ^ Nehru, Jawaharlal (1940). An Autobiography (2nd ed.). London: Bodell Head.
  8. ^ "Blog: Finding Kamala Nehru in Pakistan, Jinnah in Guntur". NDTV.com. 20 May 2015.
  9. ^ Kamala Nehru Rd, Karachi
  10. ^ "KAMALA NEHRU | Films Division". filmsdivision.org. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kamala_Nehru&oldid=1253049291"