Nehru, Kripalani, Bose… Rahul Gandhi has big shoes to fill

Some of the presidents of the Congress party have strode like colossus over Indian polity

GN Bureau | December 4, 2017


#Congress   #Jawaharlal Nehru   #Rahul Gandhi  


Rahul Gandhi, who becomes the Congress chief on Monday without opposition, is taking up a position that was once occupied by stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru, JB Kripalani and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Here are 10 of the Congress presidents who have headed the party that came into being in 1885.

K. Kamaraj: Considered a kingmaker in the 1960s, he was responsible for Lal Bahadur Shastri becoming the prime minister. He navigated the party after Jawaharlal Nehru’s death.

READ: Lesser known facts about Rahul Gandhi

U. N. Dhebar: He joined the Indian independence movement after coming under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi. As chief minister of then Saurashtra state, he carried out several reforms.

Jawaharlal Nehru: India’s first prime minister, Nehru is considered the architect of the modern Indian nation-state. He oversaw the country’s transition from a colony to a republic.

J. B. Kripalani: Better known as Acharya Kripalani, he was the Congress chief in 1947 when the transfer of power took place. He was a Gandhian and he courted arrest during the Civil Disobedience movement.

Abul Kalam Azad: Maulana Azad was a senior Muslim leader in the Congress and he became the first minister of education of free India. He espoused socialism and secularism.

Subhas Chandra Bose: Also known by the honorific Netaji, Subhas Bose revived and revamped the Indian National Army. In 1939, he defeated Mahatma Gandhi’s preferred nominee Pattabhi Sitaramayya.

Madan Mohan Malaviya: He was an educationist and a moderate leader. He founded the Banaras Hindu University.

Mahatma Gandhi: He led India to independence. His stress on non-violence inspired civil rights movements and freedom struggle across the world.

Vallabhbhai Patel: Popularly called Sardar Patel, he is the man who united the country. He was India’s first deputy prime minister.

Lala Lajpat Rai: Part of the  Lal Bal Pal triumvirate, he played a key role in the freedom struggle. He was assaulted while leading a silent march against Simon Commission and died a fortnight later.

Comments

 

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter