Braj Kumar Nehru

Personal life Braj Kumar was born to Brijlal Nehru and Rameshwari Nehru in Allahabad, then United Provinces of Agra and Oudh on 4 September 1909. He was educated at the Allahabad University (India), the London School of Economics and at Oxford University. He was awarded the Doctor of Literature degree by the University of Punjab, for his distinguished services in various fields. His grandfather, Pandit Nandlal Nehru, was the elder brother of Pandit Motilal Nehru. He was the cousin to the erstwhile Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi (née Nehru). The ill-treatment of the Jewish community in Europe prompted her father to change her name to Magdolna Forbath. Her nickname was Fori. After marriage, she changed her name to Shobha Nehru.

Career

National Ambassador Braj Nehru stands behind US president John F. Kennedy during Kennedy's speech welcoming Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the United States (1961)

He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1934 and rose to be governor of seven different states of India. From 1934 to 1937 he held various government positions in the province of Punjab. He was appointed Commissioner General for Economic Affairs (external financial relations) of India in 1958. Gujarat (1984–86), Nagaland (1968–73), Meghalaya (1970–73), Manipur (1972–73) and Tripura (1972–73). He was transferred overnight as the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir to Gujarat after he refused to help Indira Gandhi in destabilising the Farooq Abdullah government.

International

Nehru worked as executive director in the World Bank (1949) and was Economic Minister at the Indian Embassy in Washington (1954). He also served as a diplomat, as ambassador to several countries and was offered the post of secretary-general of the United Nations in 1951, but declined. Nehru was also the Indian High Commissioner in London from 1973 to 1977.

Writer

Nehru wrote an autobiography titled Nice Guys Finish Second. Ramesh Kumar Saxena, who worked for him for 35 years, helped writing his biography.

Awards He was appointed an MBE in the 1945 New Year Honours. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

Death Nehru died in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, India on 31 October 2001 at the age of 92.