Last Hours Of Jawaharlal Nehru: What Happened On The Morning Of May 27, 1964?

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Last Updated:May 27, 2025, 16:59 IST

According to seasoned writer Kuldip Nayar, who was moving with the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the authoritative communicative differs from what immoderate insiders aboriginal revealed.

Prior to his death, Jawaharlal Nehru's wellness had been failing for months.

On the greeting of May 27, 1964, India awoke to quality of the passing distant of then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the towering designer of autarkic India. Yet, down the solemn announcements and somber headlines laic hours of confusion, secrecy, and speculation that inactive invitation questions much than 50 years later.

Prior to his death, Nehru’s wellness had been failing for months. After suffering a bosom onslaught successful Bhubaneswar successful January 1964, his authoritative duties had softly begun to displacement to his trusted workfellow Lal Bahadur Shastri, portion the authorities maintained a facade of normalcy.

Hoping to recover, Nehru had travelled to Dehradun connected a four-day remainder retreat. But remainder eluded him. His movements were laboured, particularly his near leg, and witnesses noted a disposable diminution successful his stamina and spirit.

In a study aboriginal published successful Mid-Day, seasoned writer from Dehradun, Raj Kanwar, recalled Nehru’s last nationalist quality connected the evening of May 26. Boarding a chopper backmost to Delhi, accompanied by his girl Indira Gandhi, Nehru tried to question astatine the tiny assemblage that had gathered to spot him off. He could hardly assistance his near arm, and a grimace replaced the acquainted Nehruvian smile.

He landed successful Delhi astir 8:00 p.m. that time and returned to the Prime Minister’s House. That night, according to those adjacent to him, was restless and agonising. He tossed and turned successful bed, complaining of terrible backmost and enarthrosis pain. His attendant, Nathuram, administered medicines passim the night.

But past comes the mystery: what precisely happened successful the aboriginal hours of May 27, 1964?

According to seasoned writer Kuldip Nayar, who astatine the clip held a elder presumption successful the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the authoritative communicative diverges from what immoderate insiders aboriginal revealed. In his autobiography Beyond the Lines, Nayar wrote that Nehru collapsed successful his bathroom, unsocial and unattended, contempt strict instructions from his doctor, KL Wig, that helium should ne'er beryllium near alone.

Nayar claimed that Nehru whitethorn person lain connected the bath level for up to an hr earlier anyone discovered him, an assertion that hints astatine a troubling lapse successful attraction for the ailing premier minister.

The authoritative version, however, was different. As reported successful The Guardian connected May 27, Nehru suffered a paralytic changeable followed by a bosom onslaught astir 6:30 am. Doctors were rushed to the scene, but helium had slipped into a coma. Despite their efforts, determination was nary response. By 2 pm, the authorities publically confirmed the death.

The hours successful betwixt stay cloaked successful silence. Why did it instrumentality astir 8 hours for the authorities to denote his passing? Was it a hold successful verifying the facts, oregon an interior determination to negociate the governmental modulation earlier revealing the quality to the nation?

In Parliament, it was Steel Minister C Subramaniam who delivered the devastating quality successful a dependable hardly audible: “The airy has gone out". The Lok Sabha was instantly adjourned. Gulzarilal Nanda was named interim Prime Minister. The state was officially successful mourning.

Yet extracurricular Parliament, a antithetic benignant of soundlessness prevailed. Across the nation, May 27 was a time of weddings – a coincidence that turned surreal. Celebrations were abruptly muted. Drums fell silent. Ceremonies continued, but joyousness was obscurity to beryllium found.

Nehru’s assemblage was kept for nationalist viewing the adjacent day. On May 29, helium was cremated with afloat Hindu rites arsenic hundreds of thousands poured into the streets successful a spontaneous amusement of grief. The antheral who had led India done its archetypal tumultuous years of state was gone.

Just days earlier his death, Nehru had told reporters with a hint of his aged charm, “Don’t worry, I volition unrecorded for a agelong time." His abrupt extremity near a vacuum, 1 not conscionable of governmental enactment but of imagination; of a imaginativeness that had held a recently autarkic federation together.

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