The 137th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru was on 14th November 2026. It is celebrated in India as ‘Children’s Day’ or Bal Diwas due to Nehru’s love for children and focus on educating children.
This quiz includes questions about Nehru’s early life, education, contribution to the freedom movement, time as India’s first Prime Minister, books he has written, economic policies and international relations. The information given in a few questions had some errors so it has been corrected.
50 GK Questions and Answers on Jawaharlal Nehru
Early Life and Education
1. When was Jawaharlal Nehru born?
(a) 14 November 1889
(b) 14 December 1889
(c) 14 January 1889
(d) 14 October 1889
Answer: (a) 14 November 1889
Explanation: Nehru was born in Allahabad, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, on 14 November 1889.
2. Where was Jawaharlal Nehru born?
(a) Lucknow
(b) Allahabad
(c) Delhi
(d) Lahore
Answer: (b) Allahabad
Explanation: He was born in Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.
3. Who was Jawaharlal Nehru’s father?
(a) Gopal Krishna Gokhale
(b) Motilal Nehru
(c) Madan Mohan Malaviya
(d) Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Answer: (b) Motilal Nehru
Explanation: Motilal Nehru was a prominent lawyer and leader of the Indian National Congress.
4. Who was Jawaharlal Nehru’s mother?
(a) Kamala Nehru
(b) Swarup Rani Nehru
(c) Sarojini Naidu
(d) Vijayalakshmi Pandit
Answer: (b) Swarup Rani Nehru
Explanation: Swarup Rani Nehru was his mother. Kamala Nehru was his wife.
5. Which was the school Jawaharlal Nehru attended in England?
(a) Eton College
(b) Harrow School
(c) Rugby School
(d) Winchester College
Answer: (b) Harrow School
Explanation: Nehru went to England in 1905 and studied at Harrow School before entering Cambridge University.
6. Which college did Jawaharlal Nehru attend at Cambridge?
(a) King’s College
(b) Trinity College
(c) St John’s College
(d) Christ’s College
Answer: (b) Trinity College
Explanation: He studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
7. Which subject did Nehru study at Trinity College, Cambridge?
(a) Law
(b) History
(c) Natural Sciences
(d) Economics
Answer: (c) Natural Sciences
Explanation: Nehru graduated with an honours degree in Natural Sciences in 1910.
8. At which institution in London did Nehru study law?
(a) Lincoln’s Inn
(b) Inner Temple
(c) Middle Temple
(d) Gray’s Inn
Answer: (b) Inner Temple
Explanation: After Cambridge, Nehru studied law at the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar.
9. In which year did Jawaharlal Nehru marry Kamala Kaul?
(a) 1914
(b) 1915
(c) 1916
(d) 1917
Answer: (c) 1916
Explanation: Nehru married Kamala Kaul on 8 February 1916.
10. Who was Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter?
(a) Vijayalakshmi Pandit
(b) Indira Gandhi
(c) Sucheta Kripalani
(d) Aruna Asaf Ali
Answer: (b) Indira Gandhi
Explanation: Indira Priyadarshini was born on 19 November 1917. She later became India’s first woman Prime Minister.
Political Journey and Freedom Movement
11. To which political party did Jawaharlal Nehru belong?
(a) Indian National Congress
(b) Forward Bloc
(c) Communist Party of India
(d) Hindu Mahasabha
Answer: (a) Indian National Congress
Explanation: Nehru was one of the leading figures of the Indian National Congress during the freedom movement.
12. In which year did Nehru preside over the Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress?
(a) 1927
(b) 1928
(c) 1929
(d) 1931
Answer: (c) 1929
Explanation: Nehru presided over the Lahore Session of 1929, where the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj or complete independence as its goal.
13. Who was the President of the Indian National Congress during the Lahore Session of 1929?
(a) Mahatma Gandhi
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Motilal Nehru
(d) Subhas Chandra Bose
Answer: (b) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: The Lahore Session was a major milestone in the Indian freedom struggle.
14. Which resolution was adopted at the Lahore Session of 1929?
(a) Quit India
(b) Purna Swaraj
(c) Cabinet Mission Plan
(d) August Offer
Answer: (b) Purna Swaraj
Explanation: The Congress declared complete independence as its objective. 26 January 1930 was observed as the first Independence Day.
15. In which year did Nehru participate in the Non-Cooperation Movement?
(a) 1917
(b) 1920
(c) 1925
(d) 1930
Answer: (b) 1920
Explanation: Nehru joined the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920.
16. Which major movement did Nehru participate in during 1930?
(a) Swadeshi Movement
(b) Civil Disobedience Movement
(c) Home Rule Movement
(d) Khilafat Movement
Answer: (b) Civil Disobedience Movement
Explanation: Nehru participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Gandhi against British rule.
17. During which movement was Nehru detained for his longest and final period of imprisonment?
(a) Non-Cooperation Movement
(b) Civil Disobedience Movement
(c) Quit India Movement
(d) Swadeshi Movement
Answer: (c) Quit India Movement
Explanation: Nehru was arrested on 9 August 1942 after the Quit India resolution and detained mainly at Ahmednagar Fort until 1945. The Nehru Portal records this as his longest and final detention.
18. Who moved the historic Quit India resolution at the AICC session in Bombay in August 1942?
(a) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(b) Jawaharlal Nehru
(c) Rajendra Prasad
(d) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Answer: (b) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Nehru moved the Quit India resolution on 7 August 1942. It was adopted on 8 August.
19. Where was Nehru imprisoned during much of his detention from 1942 to 1945?
(a) Cellular Jail
(b) Ahmednagar Fort
(c) Yerawada Jail
(d) Red Fort
Answer: (b) Ahmednagar Fort
Explanation: Nehru was detained at Ahmednagar Fort after his arrest in August 1942.
20. How many times was Nehru imprisoned during the freedom struggle, according to the Prime Minister’s official biography?
(a) Five times
(b) Seven times
(c) Nine times
(d) Twelve times
Answer: (c) Nine times
Explanation: Nehru’s official biography records nine periods of imprisonment during the freedom movement.
Books and Writings
21. Which book did Jawaharlal Nehru write during his imprisonment at Ahmednagar Fort?
(a) An Autobiography
(b) The Discovery of India
(c) India Wins Freedom
(d) My Experiments with Truth
Answer: (b) The Discovery of India
Explanation: Nehru wrote The Discovery of India during his imprisonment at Ahmednagar Fort. It was first published in 1946.
22. Who was the intended recipient of Nehru’s book Letters from a Father to His Daughter?
(a) Kamala Nehru
(b) Indira Priyadarshini
(c) Vijayalakshmi Pandit
(d) Krishna Hutheesing
Answer: (b) Indira Priyadarshini
Explanation: The book contains letters Nehru wrote to his daughter Indira in 1928, explaining history, nature and human civilisation.
23. Which book is Jawaharlal Nehru’s autobiography?
(a) Glimpses of World History
(b) An Autobiography
(c) The Discovery of India
(d) India Divided
Answer: (b) An Autobiography
Explanation: Nehru’s autobiography is also known as Toward Freedom in some editions.
24. Which book by Nehru presents a broad account of world history through letters to his daughter?
(a) Glimpses of World History
(b) The Discovery of India
(c) The Indian Struggle
(d) Hind Swaraj
Answer: (a) Glimpses of World History
Explanation: The book developed from a series of letters Nehru wrote to Indira Gandhi while he was in prison.
25. In which year was The Discovery of India first published?
(a) 1935
(b) 1942
(c) 1946
(d) 1950
Answer: (c) 1946
Explanation: Nehru wrote the book in 1944 while imprisoned at Ahmednagar Fort. It was published in 1946.
Prime Ministership and Nation-Building
26. When did Jawaharlal Nehru become the first Prime Minister of independent India?
(a) 15 August 1947
(b) 26 January 1950
(c) 2 October 1947
(d) 15 August 1948
Answer: (a) 15 August 1947
Explanation: Nehru became India’s first Prime Minister on the day India gained independence.
27. Who succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister of India?
(a) Indira Gandhi
(b) Lal Bahadur Shastri
(c) Morarji Desai
(d) Gulzarilal Nanda
Answer: (b) Lal Bahadur Shastri
Explanation: Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Nehru after his death on 27 May 1964.
28. When did Jawaharlal Nehru deliver his famous ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech?
(a) 26 January 1950
(b) 14 August 1947
(c) 15 August 1947
(d) 26 November 1949
Answer: (b) 14 August 1947
Explanation: Nehru delivered the speech shortly before midnight on 14 August 1947, as India was about to become independent.
29. Where did Nehru deliver the ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech?
(a) Red Fort
(b) Constituent Assembly, New Delhi
(c) Parliament House, London
(d) Rashtrapati Bhavan
Answer: (b) Constituent Assembly, New Delhi
Explanation: The historic speech was delivered before the Constituent Assembly in New Delhi.
30. Which institution was established in 1950 to formulate India’s economic plans during Nehru’s tenure?
(a) Finance Commission
(b) Planning Commission
(c) NITI Aayog
(d) National Development Council
Answer: (b) Planning Commission
Explanation: The Planning Commission was established on 15 March 1950, with Nehru as its first Chairperson.
31. In which year was India’s First Five-Year Plan launched?
(a) 1947
(b) 1950
(c) 1951
(d) 1956
Answer: (c) 1951
Explanation: The First Five-Year Plan covered the period 1951–56 and gave considerable attention to agriculture, irrigation and power.
32. Which economic model did India broadly follow under Nehru’s leadership?
(a) Complete laissez-faire economy
(b) Mixed economy with a strong public sector
(c) Fully privatised economy
(d) Economy based entirely on foreign investment
Answer: (b) Mixed economy with a strong public sector
Explanation: Nehru’s economic approach combined public-sector-led industrialisation with a role for private enterprise.
33. Which sector received major emphasis under Nehru’s industrialisation policy?
(a) Heavy industries
(b) Luxury retail
(c) Entertainment
(d) Tourism alone
Answer: (a) Heavy industries
Explanation: Nehru considered heavy industries and infrastructure important for building India’s industrial and economic capacity.
34. Which of the following was a major steel plant established during Nehru’s Prime Ministership?
(a) Bhilai Steel Plant
(b) Tata Steel, Jamshedpur
(c) Visakhapatnam Steel Plant
(d) Salem Steel Plant
Answer: (a) Bhilai Steel Plant
Explanation: The Bhilai Steel Plant in present-day Chhattisgarh was established with Soviet assistance and inaugurated in 1959.
35. Which major medical institution was established in New Delhi in 1956 during Nehru’s Prime Ministership?
(a) AIIMS
(b) PGIMER Chandigarh
(c) JIPMER
(d) NIMHANS
Answer: (a) AIIMS
Explanation: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, was established under the AIIMS Act, 1956. It is more accurate to say it was established during Nehru’s tenure than to describe it as personally founded by him.
36. Which institution was originally established as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET), in 1954?
(a) ISRO
(b) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(c) DRDO
(d) CSIR
Answer: (b) Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Explanation: AEET was established under the leadership of Homi J. Bhabha and renamed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1967.
37. Who was India’s first Education Minister after independence and a key figure in shaping its early education policy?
(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
(c) Rajendra Prasad
(d) C. Rajagopalachari
Answer: (b) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Explanation: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad served as India’s first Education Minister from 1947 to 1958.
38. Which of the following statements about bank nationalisation in India is correct?
(a) It was carried out by Nehru in 1951.
(b) It took place under Indira Gandhi in 1969.
(c) It took place under Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964.
(d) It was completed in 1947.
Answer: (b) It took place under Indira Gandhi in 1969.
Explanation: The nationalisation of 14 major commercial banks took place in July 1969, five years after Nehru’s death. It should not be attributed to his tenure.
39. Which major education initiative was launched in 1986, long after Nehru’s death?
(a) Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya scheme
(b) University Grants Commission
(c) IIT Kharagpur
(d) AIIMS New Delhi
Answer: (a) Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya scheme
Explanation: The Navodaya Vidyalaya system emerged from the National Policy on Education, 1986. It was not established by Nehru, who died in 1964.
40. Which award was conferred on Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955?
(a) Padma Vibhushan
(b) Bharat Ratna
(c) Padma Bhushan
(d) Nobel Peace Prize
Answer: (b) Bharat Ratna
Explanation: Nehru received the Bharat Ratna in 1955 during his lifetime. It was not a posthumous award.
Foreign Policy and International Relations
41. Which international policy is closely associated with Jawaharlal Nehru?
(a) Non-Alignment
(b) NATO membership
(c) Warsaw Pact membership
(d) Isolationism
Answer: (a) Non-Alignment
Explanation: Nehru advocated an independent foreign policy that avoided alignment with either major power bloc during the Cold War.
42. Which conference held in Indonesia in 1955 did Nehru attend?
(a) Bandung Conference
(b) Yalta Conference
(c) Potsdam Conference
(d) Vienna Congress
Answer: (a) Bandung Conference
Explanation: The Asian-African Conference was held in Bandung, Indonesia, in April 1955. Nehru was among the prominent leaders who attended it.
43. The Panchsheel Agreement of 1954 was signed between India and which country?
(a) Nepal
(b) China
(c) Sri Lanka
(d) Myanmar
Answer: (b) China
Explanation: India and China articulated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in an agreement signed in 1954.
44. How many principles are included in Panchsheel?
(a) Three
(b) Four
(c) Five
(d) Six
Answer: (c) Five
Explanation: Panchsheel consists of five principles, including mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression and peaceful coexistence.
45. Which of the following was a founding leader of the Non-Aligned Movement?
(a) Jawaharlal Nehru
(b) Winston Churchill
(c) Harry S. Truman
(d) Joseph Stalin
Answer: (a) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Nehru was one of the key leaders associated with the emergence of non-alignment, alongside leaders such as Josip Broz Tito, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sukarno and Kwame Nkrumah.
46. Which country hosted the first summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961?
(a) India
(b) Egypt
(c) Yugoslavia
(d) Indonesia
Answer: (c) Yugoslavia
Explanation: The first Non-Aligned Movement Summit was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
47. Which country was led by Josip Broz Tito, one of the prominent leaders associated with the Non-Aligned Movement?
(a) Egypt
(b) Yugoslavia
(c) Indonesia
(d) Ghana
Answer: (b) Yugoslavia
Explanation: Tito was the President of Yugoslavia and an important figure in the development of the Non-Aligned Movement.
48. Which international organisation was India a founding member of in 1945, before Nehru became Prime Minister?
(a) United Nations
(b) European Union
(c) ASEAN
(d) World Trade Organization
Answer: (a) United Nations
Explanation: India was among the original 51 members of the United Nations, established in 1945. Nehru later supported the organisation’s role in international cooperation.
49. Which principle of foreign policy is associated with Nehru’s approach to relations between countries?
(a) Peaceful coexistence
(b) Territorial expansion
(c) Military bloc politics
(d) Colonial domination
Answer: (a) Peaceful coexistence
Explanation: Nehru advocated peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
50. Which portfolio did Jawaharlal Nehru also hold for much of his time as Prime Minister?
(a) Defence
(b) External Affairs
(c) Finance
(d) Home Affairs
Answer: (b) External Affairs
Explanation: Nehru served as India’s Prime Minister and also held the External Affairs portfolio for most of his tenure.
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