Independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was born on November 14, 1889 in Allahabad, central India.

His father Motilal Nehru was a prominent advocate and early leader of the Indian independence movement. Yong Nehru graduated from Cambridge University, England, and returned to India in 1912. Over the next thirty years, he rose to become the top political leader of the Indian National Congress Party and its struggle for independence from Britain.

After independence he served as India’s first Prime Minister from 1947 until his death in May, 1964. Nehru was a renowned orator and had the ability to give many extemporaneous speeches in a single day. His most famous speech is called “Tryst With Destiny,” which was addressed to the Constituent Assembly of India in New Delhi on the night of August 14, 1947.

In a few moments, India was to become independent after centuries of colonial invasion and rule:

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.”

Here are some of Nehru’s popular quotations:

“Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.”

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will.”

“Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by a serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind. Lasting peace can come only to peaceful people.”

“The only alternative to coexistence is co-destruction.”