Letters for a nation: from Jawaharlal Nehru to his chief ministers, 1947-1963

In October 1947, two months after he became independent India s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote the first of his fortnightly letters to the heads of the country s provincial governments-a tradition that he kept until his last letter in December 1963, only a few months before his death.

Carefully selected from among nearly 400 such letters, this collection covers a range of themes and subjects, including citizenship, war and peace, law and order, national planning and development, governance and corruption, and India s place in the world. The letters also cover momentous world events and the many crises and conflicts the country faced during the first sixteen years after Independence.

Visionary, wise and reflective, these letters are not just a testimony to Nehru s statesmanship and his deep engagement with every aspect of India s democratic journey, but are also of great contemporary relevance for the guidance they provide for our current problems and predicaments.