Memories of our country’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru come to mind on this day–his 52nd death anniversary. Nehru ji was also a great writer and a keen nature lover. All his life, he remained in love with the mighty Himalayas.
Half a century after his death, his memories linger on in the Doon valley and Mussoorie where he spent a lot of time. These places reminded him of Kashmir and he felt at home here.
On May 26, 1964, Nehru left the Doon valley for New Delhi after a brief vacation. The next afternoon, he passed away. Nehru liked to describe himself as “a child of the Himalayas” and never missed an opportunity to be in close contact with the hills. He had a great love for this valley and spent many holidays here in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Circuit House in Dehradun cantonment (now the Raj Bhavan) was where he stayed, usually accompanied by his daughter, Indira. The last four days of his life were spent with his daughter, Indira, visiting old friends and taking leisurely walks in the tranquil gardens of the picturesque ‘Circuit House’.
Nehru had suffered a minor stroke in January 1964 but soon got back to work. In April 1964, Sheikh Abdullah was released from jail. On May 22, Nehru addressed a press conference and announced that the Sheikh would proceed to Pakistan to talk with President Ayub Khan. Reporters at the press conference noted that Nehru looked tired and weak.
On May 24, Abdullah took an airplane to Rawalpindi, on a political mission. The same morning, Nehru flew to Dehra Dun for a short holiday. On May 25, Nehru visited his old friend, Sri Prakasa, former minister and governor, at Kothalgaon, eight miles uphill on the Doon-Mussoorie route, and returned to Circuit House. It was on the same day that Nehru and Indira visited Sahastradhara late in the afternoon and enjoyed the views of the mountains from the newly constructed PWD guest house.
It was on May 26 that Nehru and Indira were seen off at the cantonment helipad near the Circuit House by a farewell group of 30 people. Commissioner B D Semwal, district magistrate A P Dikshit, police chief R S Sharma and civil surgeon G P Srivastava and Doon’s veteran journalist Raj Kanwar were among those who came to see him off.
Talking to The Pioneer , Raj Kanwar said about Tuesday, May 26 ,1964 “ The scene of action was the Cantonment Polo Grounds in Dehra Dun. Jawaharlal Nehru haltingly climbed the few steps of the helicopter stairway, his usual brisk gait missing. Indira followed him very close as if she feared her Papu might stumble. That was the end of his four-day visit to Dehra Dun for rest and recuperation after the stroke that he had suffered on the previous 8 January.”
It was by sheer providence that Nehru had chosen to spend his last four days in Dehra Dun. Here in the sylvan surroundings of the Circuit House under the shade of his favourite camphor tree, with birds as his companions, he felt at home, and he felt at peace. “Here he partook of simple vegetarian meals, took leisurely walks on the expansive lawns, sat under trees, and occasionally read,” says Kanwar who vividly recalls several meetings with Nehru ji when he was a young journalist in the Doon valley.
Coming back to the moment when Nehru ji was leaving Doon on May 26, Kanwar says about Nehru ji “A pale, faint smile appeared on his otherwise rosy countenance. In retrospect, and ruminating over my impressions of that evening, I realized that his left hand was less active than his right. Nehru’s left knee appeared somewhat stiff, hampering his brisk trademark gait… Nehru did not appear his usual cheerful self. There was a strange expression on his face. Did he have a premonition about his deathIJ District Magistrate AP Dikshit, during whose tenure Nehru visited Dehra Dun on five occasions, had written a book on those visits in 1965 titled ‘Antim Charan’. My impressions tallied with those of Dikshit,” recalls Kanwar.
Even during his days of imprisonment in the Dehra Dun jail during the freedom struggle, Nehru ji loved to watch the Himalayas from the small window in his prison cell. He was kept at Dehra Dun jail three times in 1932-33,for about four months in 1934 ,and then for 14 months during 1940-41. He was allowed to receive food from outside. It was brought to him by the well-known Kashmiri family-the Tankhas- of the Doon valley.
It was here that the great leader began writing his autobiography in 1934. During his third and last term here, he wrote parts of the “Discovery of India”.