Nation pays homage to Nehru

New Delhi (Agencies): The nation on Monday paid homage to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 49th death anniversary.A President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at Shanti Van, the memorial dedicated to Nehru.

An all religion prayer meeting was organised in the memorial premises. A pivotal figure during India's independence movement, Nehru was born on November 14, 1889 in Allahabad. Nehru graduated from Cambridge University, and returned to India in 1912. He was also a key figure in international politics in the post-war period, and was one of the founding figures of the Non-Aligned Movement. Popularly referred to as Panditji, Nehru was also a writer, scholar and an amateur historian. Nehru was one of the youngest leaders of the Indian National Congress and was jailed seven times. He was independent India's first Prime Minister from August 15, 1947 to May 27, 1964.