PRIME MINISTER NEHRU VISITS LOVEDALE

 PRIME MINISTER NEHRU VISITS LOVEDALE 

During the British Raj, Lovedale played host to many Governors of the Madras Presidency and even to Viceroys and Governors- General. 

Post-Independence, the biggest event to happen in Lovedale till then was the visit to the School on June 5, 1959 by the Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964). To the best of our knowledge this remains the only visit to the School by a Prime Minister in office till this day

OL Mr Denzil Prince who studied in Lovedale from 1944 to 1954 and served as Band Master from 1958 till the early 1970s shared his recollections of that momentous day. He remembers the girls in the School Orchestra invited the Prime Minister to the School when he thanked them for playing at the Arranmore Palace in Ooty. Mrs Indira Gandhi led the Prime Minister to where the guests were waiting for dinner. A short while later an ADC informed Mr Prince that the Prime Minister would spend about an hour at Lovedale starting at 9.00 am on his way to Kundah. The boys and girls of the orchestra were jubilant and played with renewed vigour and elan. 

At 11.00 pm they reached Lovedale and drove straight to the Headmaster's Bungalow where they told him the good news! Mr Thomas telephoned the Bursar, the Senior Master, the Estate  Manager and other senior staff. Preparations for the visit then went on till nearly 6.00 am. It was a matter of great honour for the School and the Headmaster wanted the visit of his distinguished guests to go off without any hitch. On his arrival at 9.00 am, Mr Nehru and the other dignitaries were  escorted to the Large Hall by the Headmaster. 

Accompanying Mr Nehru were the Governor of Madras (as the State was known in those days) Mr Bishnuram Medhi, the Chief Minister of Madras, Mr K Kamaraj, and Mr Nehru's daughter,Mrs Indira Gandhi, then the President of the Congress Party. 

Prime Minister Nehru at the Special Assembly at Lovedale. With him is the  Governor of Madras, Mr Bishnuram Medhi.

Picture courtesy: Mr Denzil Prince- also seen in the picture!

The Special Assembly at Large Hall began with the School Song. Welcoming the Prime Minister the Headmaster , Mr K I Thomas said :

 

"This occasion marks the fulfillment of a wish I have cherished for many years, namely a visit to the school by Pandit Nehru. This occasion is significant for another reason too. Where I failed my children have succeeded. A month ago I wrote to the Prime Minister inviting him to spend some time with us during his visit to the Nilgiris. I got a prompt reply from him, but it was an equally polite but negative answer. However, when  our Orchestra played at Arranmore Palace at a banquet in honour of Pandit Nehru, the boys and girls of the Orchestra talked him into coming here."

Here's an extract from Prime Minister Nehru's talk to the students: "we have different languages and we have different religions in this country. We have different climates and sometimes the food we eat is also somewhat different.  So there is such tremendous variety in India. Now, is that a good thing or bad? I think this is a very good thing, but it is only good, if in spite of this variety, there are also strong bonds unifying us. You must have both unity and variety. And while we like this variety, we must always remember that we belong to one large family, the family of India. "

The Assembly concluded with staff and students singing the National Anthem. Mr Nehru then had tea with some Preppers ( called there for the occasion) and went through the School corridors and down the 67 steps to what is now the Junior School. Here he visited the Art Room, presided over by the very talented Art Master, Mr Sushil Mukherjee.

Mr K I Thomas, Prime Minister Nehru, Mrs Indira Gandhi. 

Picture courtesy: OL Salim Thomas. 

About this famous  picture, Mr Prince recalls that KIT was in a very good mood as evident from the rare broad smile. He was not known to smile often and was nicknamed "Stiffy" in those days! 

 

The Lovedale girls bid farewell to the Prime Minster near the Art Room. 

Picture courtesy: OL Indra Gill 

The Prime Minister's party drove off to Kundah from the Junior School bringing to an end their short but memorable visit to Lovedale. 

We thank Mr Denzil Prince for sharing his recollections of that visit with us.

               Mr Denzil Prince in 2021

Picture courtesy: OL Rohan Shetty