Active Member of The Congress and Europe Tour of Jawaharlal Nehru

The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.

Active Member of The Congress and Europe Tour of Jawaharlal Nehru

Active Member of The Congress

After the Jallianwala Baug massacre of 13th April, 1919, Jawaharlal was busy with the activities of the Congress. He took an active part in the meeting organised in Amritsar in 1919. He joined Gandhiji’s movement of non-violence.

In June 1920, Jawaharlal visited the rural area of Fratapgadh (in Uttar Pradesh). For the first time he encountered the stark poverty and ruthless exploitation of the villagers. He heard their innumerable woes and addressed quite a few open meetings. During the non-cooperative movement, he addressed many a meeting and succeeded in igniting the flame of patriotism among his fellow men. He would go to remote villages and address meetings of farmers. If Gandhiji was the voice of millions of downtrodden and poor farmers, Nehru was the echo of that voice. This is how he experienced people’s first hand awareness and became one with the common people.

When he opposed the visit of the Prince of Wales in December 1921, he was arrested and imprisoned for 6 months. This was Jawaharlal’s first term in jail.

In 1922, when Qandhiji called off the non-cooperation movement, he (Jawaharlal) felt very sad. He also opposed the calling off.

In 1923, Jawaharlal became the General Secretary of the Congress for a period of two years. He also became the President of the Allahabad Municipality. In 1927, he became the General Secretary of the Congress for a period of two years for the second time. During this time, he toured various places of the country. His personality was such that even his opponents had nothing but praise for him. His efficiency and morality were exemplary for all those who came in contact with him.

Europe Tour

In 1926, Jawaharlal toured Europe with his family. During this sojourn he met many Indians who had migrated to Europe and settled there permanently. In February 1927, he attended the Brussels (Belgium) Conference as the representative of the Congress. He came in contact with the European leaders of the socialist movement and the nationalist leaders of Africa and Asia. He was, therefore, attracted to socialism. It was here that he came in contact with the wife of the great Chinese leader Sun-Yat-Sen and the President of North Vietnam, Dr Ho Chi Minh.

In November 1927, Jawaharlal visited the Soviet Onion (Russia). He started taking more interest in Marxism and socialism after his visit. During his next jail term, he studied Marxism in great detail. He wrote a number of articles on the Soviet Onion. He tried to relate the problems and conditions of India with Marxism. In spite of this, he was against violence of any kind.