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Nehru first met Gandhi at Charbagh station in Lucknow
On December 26, 1916, a 27-year-old man arrived at Lucknow railway station from Allahabad and met another 47-year-old man for the first time in front of Charbagh station. The young man was Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and the older one Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi.
On December 26, 1916, a 27-year-old man arrived at Lucknow railway station from Allahabad and met another 47-year-old man for the first time in front of Charbagh station. The young man was Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and the older one Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi.
The meeting lasted for 20 minutes and changed the history of India as it paved the way for Indian independence.
Head of the department of history, Navyug Girls’ Post Graduate College Dr Shobha Mishra said, “ The duo met for the first time in front of Charbagh station. Both had come here to participate in the annual meeting of the Indian National Congress.”
Dr Shobha Mishra said , “ In his autobiography, Nehru has written about his first meeting with Gandhiji in 1916. That was the year of his marriage with Kamala.” Dr Mishra said, “ Nehru penned down the first meeting with Gandhiji stating it was about the time of Lucknow Congress during Christmas, 1916.”
“Nehru had great respect for Gandhi. He has written , ‘I admired him(Gandhi) for his heroic fight in South Africa, but he seemed very distant and different and unpolitical to many of us young men. His adventure of non violence and victory in Champaran, filled us with enthusiasm. We saw that he was prepared to apply his methods in India and they promised success,’ " said Dr Shobha Mishra.
“During the Lucknow session, Nehru opposed the recruitment of Indian labourers to be sent to other countries like Africa, Caribbean Islands and Fiji. He presented a bill in front of all Congressmen, which was supported by Gandhiji . From here the chemistry between the two great leaders developed,” said Dr Mishra.
Mayank Ranjan, who organizes Yuva Mahotsav in the Lucknow Mahotsav every year said , “ My father Yogendra Nath Srivastava was a hardcore Gandhian. He told me about the place where Gandhi first met Nehru.”
He added, “ We saw that place and found no one cared about it .We decided to clean that place and organize an annual event in memory of that meeting every year. The place where the duo met has a plaque with the history written on it. As a mark of respect, for the past 35 years we have been lighting candles there on Independence Day and October 2. The number of visitors these days has increased constantly . This shows youths respect their leaders who won them independence. This year too we will light candles at the place where history was created and we expect a good crowd like last year.”
Ranjan said , “Our organization Institute of Professional Studies has demanded to install statue of Nehru and Gandhi at the place and turn it into a memorial . We hope that our demand would be considered.”
The founder manager of City Montessori School Jagdish Gandhi, a noted Gandhian and the man who changed his surname from Agarwal to Gandhi, said, “ As a follower of Gandhi I want construction of Gandhi -Nehru memorial at that place.”
