NEHRU AS A PROSE WRITER

         

Before Jawahar Lal Nehru, English prose was not a powerful genre of Indo-Anglican literature. There was hardly any standard prose in existence. It was Nehru who enhanced the popularity of English prose by writing some popular books. His writings are marked with a unique style. It is lucid, spontaneous and suggestive. It has poetic richness.

 Nehru was a great journalist. He was always in favour of the freedom of press. He always stood in favour of a free and fearless press. He condemned yellow journalism. Though Nehru worked as a journalist for a long time, his prose became very sublime and penetrating. Even his extempore remarks are worthy of attention . At the same time Nehru was a great orator. He always spoke in a cultured tone. In this context he is compared with Churchill.

 Nehru was a great letter writer too. One can find much freshness and charm in his letters. In these letters Nehru used the conversational style. Here we do not come across a pedant but a great conversationalist. His contribution to the making of Indian history is great. As an autobiographer Nehru earned wide acclaim. In short, Nehru used prose for various purposes.

 In The Relationship of Language Nehru takes a historical view of the development and diversification of languages. Language for his is a unifying factor. In Language, Writing and Numerals' Nehru considers language as an important means of communication. Here again he discusses the gradual development of language. Therefore, these essays are marked by simplicity of language generates spontaneity of utterance and a conversational tone.

 To conclude, Nehru's prose was appropriate to the needs of the occasion. In his varied style he revealed his mastery of English prose. His literary works intertwined literature, history and science all together. He used words and phrases wisely and appropriately. His thoughts are embellished by the use of similes, metaphors and other figures of speech. In short, he was a great master of Indo-Anglican prose.