An outstanding personality of twentieth-century Indian history, Jawaharlal Nehru was a pivotal figure in India’s independence movement and the country’s first Prime Minister. An active politician for most of his life, Nehru was also a renowned writer and scholar.

The Oxford India Nehru, part of the prestigious Oxford India collection, draws from the entire range of Nehru’s writings and speeches, and brings together more than 200 letters, articles, book extracts, political statements, prison diary entries, and early personal correspondence. Covering a wide variety of subjects—be it marriage feasts, the annexation of Tibet, monsoon clouds, the Suez Canal, the responsibility of scientists, the betrayal of Czechoslovakia, fundamentals of social behaviour, or honey—the writings reflect the phenomenal range of Nehru’s interests and activities.

The first section, ‘Culture and Society’, reveals Nehru’s belief that for future progress, knowledge of our past culture and civilization is essential. Nehru’s intense admiration for Gandhi and the unique relationship they shared is reflected in the section on Gandhi. ‘Congress’ and ‘Toward Freedom’ reveal how closely Congress work and the Independence movement were linked in the struggle for freedom. ‘Independent Years’ covers seventeen years of Nehru’s life as Prime Minister. The section ‘India and Beyond’ reflects his active involvement in world affairs. While the ‘Personal’ section provides glimpses of Nehru’s private life, the writings in the ‘General’ section bring out the extraordinary breadth of his interests.

With rare photographs complementing the text, The Oxford India Nehru is a collector’s item that will appeal both to readers of Jawaharlal Nehru’s writings as also students and scholars of Indian history, literature, and culture.

‘… a very judicious selection of Jawaharlal Nehru’s writings covering a wide range of important themes—personal, political, social, and historical. … should be of immense value to the present generation.’ — A.G. NOORANI, constitutional expert and Nehru scholar

‘… an exceedingly useful collection that illuminates many facets of Jawaharlal Nehru’s personality and public life. It also unfolds the career of the Indian nationalist movement, Nehru’s interactions with its principal leaders, and his engagement with the mobilization campaigns.’ — MUSHIRUL HASAN, editor, Selected Writings of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia

‘Nehru again? Has not the “tryst” been played, re-played, and “the light gone out” a thousand times? But then Hamlet quests “to be or not to be” deathlessly, and fourteen decades on Lincoln touches a Gettysburg in all of us. Nehru’s honest doubt no less than the mailed fist of his courage pygmy hyperbole and unmask pretence. Nehru again, please.’ — GOPALKRISHNA GANDHI, Governor of West Bengal