182) Commemorating the 125th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru: (14.11.1889 – 27.05.1964) with the issue of Commemorative Coins by the Government of India/Reserve Bank of India:

182) Commemorating the 125^th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru: (14.11.1889 – 27.05.1964) with the issue of Commemorative Coins by the Government of India/Reserve Bank of India:

About Jawaharlal Nehru:

Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14.11.1889 at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India and was the son of Motilal Nehru a well-known political leader during the British Raj.

He was an Indian Nationalist who became the first Prime Minister of Independent India in August 1947. He became a prominent Indian National Congress (INC) as a protégé of Mahatma Gandhi.

His Education:

When young, he was home educated through English governesses and tutors.

Later, he was educated in England at Harrow School and later at Trinity College, Cambridge where he received an honours degree in Natural Science. Thereafter, he studied Law at the Inns of Court School of Law (Inner Temple) in London where he trained to become a barrister.

In 1912, he returned to India, enrolled himself at the Allahabad high Court and practiced Law for several years but had little interest in his Law practice as he was drawn more towards Indian Nationalist politics.

In 1913, he collected funds for the Indian Civil Rights Campaigners/Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in South Africa.

He also, began to participate in campaigns against indentured labour and other such discriminations faced by Indians in British Colonies.

In 1919, he joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and sided with the Nationalists who were fighting for greater autonomy from the British. Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas had a great impact on him.

During the 1920s, he became a prominent leader of the left-wing faction of the INC which laid the ground for his assuming leadership of the INC later on.

In 1922, when his father Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party along with C R Das, following a strategy to gain membership of the British sponsored councils for the purpose of obtaining full Dominion status for India, in opposition to Gandhi, Jawaharlal remained steadfastly loyal to Mahatma Gandhi and did not join the Swaraj Party.

During 1920s and 1930s, he was imprisoned on nine occasions by the British Raj Authorities for participating in Civil Disobedience Movements and defying bans on agitations being spearheaded by the leaders of the INC. He spent a total of nine years as prison-time on various occasions between 1921 and 1945.

In 1928, he was elected the President of the Indian National Congress. He was the “blue-eyed boy” of Mahatma Gandhi who engineered Jawaharlal’s rise in the INC hierarchy. Gandhi believed that Nehru would be instrumental in attracting Indian youth towards furthering his cause of civil disobedience movement through “Satyagrah”.

In 1929, Nehru led the historic INC session at Lahore that proclaimed complete Independence as India’s political goal. He served as the President of the Indian National Congress twice during the Independence struggle – once during the Lahore session on 29.12.1929 and the second time during 1936-37.

At midnight on New Year ’s Eve, Nehru hoisted the tricolour flag of India upon the banks of the river Ravi in Lahore. A pledge of Independence was read out which included a readiness to withhold taxes. 172 Indian members of Central and Provincial legislatures resigned their positions in support of the Resolution and in accordance with public sentiment. The INC asked the citizens of India to observe 26^th January as Independence Day. The Indian Flag was hoisted publicly across India by INC volunteers, Natiolists and the citizens of India.

After the Lahore session, Nehru gradually emerged as an important leader of the Indian Independence movement, and Mahatma Gandhi gradually took on a role of a guiding light in spearheading the Quit india Movements.

In 1930, a Series of Round Table Conferences were convened at London where road-maps were discussed towards more participation of Indians in the government leading eventually to India’s Independence in 1947.

In 1931, Nehru attended the signing of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact between Mahatma Gandhi and the British Viceroy Lord Irwin. The British authorities agreed to free all political prisoners and Gandhi agreed to end the Civil Disobedience Movement which he was co-ordinating for several years.

In 1932, both Nehru and Gandhi were jailed on charges of attempting to start another Civil Disobedience Movement.

The Second Round Table Conference was attended by Gandhi, but, did not result in much break-through.

The Third & Final Round Table Conference however led to the enactment of the Government of India Act of 1935 which gave the Indian provinces a system of autonomous government in which elections would be held to elect Provincial leaders.

In 1936-37, during Nehru’s second term as President of the INC, he proposed certain resolutions concerning the foreign policy of the future Indian Nation. He began developing good relations with governments all over the world and worked to set in place a democratic set-up in the country after India gained Independence. He also worked towards planning the economy of future India. Most of his efforts were put paid to when the country underwent a bloody partition in 1947.

Nehru’s concept of a secular India was somewhat validated when the INC under his leadership swept the 1937 Provincial Elections and formed the government in several Provinces.

By this time, Gandhi was positioning Nehru to become more visible as an important Indian leader and he was being seen as the natural heir to Gandhi, and in January 1941, Gandhi went on to announce Jawaharlal as his political successor.

In 1942, during World War II when Japanese troops reached India’s borders, the British again sought to enlist Gandhi’s help, but Gandhi who was spearheading another Civil Disobedience Movement called on the British to “Quit India” and raised the tempo of his movement.

 Both Gandhi and Nehru (who reluctantly agreed to Gandhi’s hard-line stance for immediate Independence for India, for Nehru wanted to support the Allied war effort during the Second World War) were again imprisoned by the British India authorities, this time for about three years.

By the end of World War II, Nehru was positioned as the first Prime Minister of India, with the active support of Mahatma Gandhi, although the majority of the States overwhelmingly supported Vallabhbhai Patel’s candidature as the Prime Minister.

 The British India administration was considerably weakened by managing several fronts – fighting the Axis armies on several theatres during World War II, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army (INA) which was inspiring the imagination of the youth of India, Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movement in India etc. Nehru, like most Indian Nationalists of that time, abandoned fashionable British clothes and foreign possessions.

The Quit India Movement of 1942, saw a desperate British India Government effectively take steps to crush the INC as a political organisation by jailing its leaders.

By 1947, upon realising that India’s Freedom from British Rule was just a few years away both the Indian National Congress led by Gandhi and the Muslim League led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted to increase their influence in Independent India.

The British Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten was charged with formulating a withdrawal plan for the British after handing over reins of the government to Indians.

It is often open to conjecture and a matter of debate, whether India’s “destiny” would have charted a different course, had Patel or an educated liberal like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad been appointed Prime Minister in his place.

He initially opposed the Muslim league’s insistence on the division of India on the basis of religion and negotiated with Mohammad Ali Jinnah for power sharing, however when these discussions failed, Nehru  succumbed to Lord Mountbatten’s machinations, who advocated a policy of partition of India along religious lines and acquiesced to his and the Muslim League’s plans to divide India.  This lead to the bloody Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

When Sumita and I visited Simla in Himachal Pradesh, India, with our friends Dennis & Maggie in mid-2012, we visited the Vice-regal Lodge which is presently the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies where furniture, locks, curtains etc. from the British Raj times was shown to us on the guided tour of the museum portion of the Institute. The tour guide spoke with feigned amusement when he came across a round table which had two round halves placed together to form the round table, with a clearly visible dividing line. “This straight line down the middle on this round table symbolises the Radcliffe Line on which Jinnah & Nehru sat for discussions on the future face of India, after gaining Independence from the British. Do you know that both Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru harboured ambitions to become the Prime Minister of India and both for their personal interests were not willing to yield an inch. Then Lord Mountbatten mentioned to both of them that he would “lock” both of them in the room containing the round discussion table and would only “release them” when they would come to some kind of an agreement. Finally, they agreed to partition India on religious lines carving out the State of Pakistan, so that both would be benefit from the arrangement and become Prime Ministers of their partitioned countries”. 
My note:
The Radcliffe Line was published on 17 August 1947 as a boundary demarcation line between India and Pakistan upon the Partition of India.

 Photos taken by Sumita of the Vice-regal Lodge in Simla, where the discussions on the future face of India took place leading to the Partition of India.

  (We are searching in  Sumita's photo collection of the photo of the round table on which the discussions between Jinnah & Nehru took place & will place the image here, ASAP)

 Found it!! this is the Round Table (with the "Radcliffe Line" down the centre) on which the Partition of India was finalised by Jinnah & Nehru.

In hindsight, it was only Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who saw through the attendant dangers of partitioning India. While every other member of the Indian National Congress fell in line with Nehru’s decision, Azad steadfastly maintained that partitioning of India would lead to a continuing bitterness and conflict between the two partitioned nations. Ultimately, Nehru & Jinnah were both proved wrong and Azad was proved right as considerable resources of both India and Pakistan are engaged/spent on an on-going basis on the defence of their territorial borders.  

The British withdrew from India and both Jinnah and Nehru achieved their ambitions – Jinnah became Prime Minister of Pakistan and Nehru, that of Independent India.

A brief about the “Seva Dal” (meaning “The Group which Serves”):

The Seva Dal is the grassroots organisation of the Indian National Congress which has its branches in all the States of India. It was formerly called the Hindustani Seva Mandal.

Its formation was necessitated, when several freedom fighters who were taking up the cause of India’s freedom through peaceful means – following Gandhiji’s “Satyagrah” (insistence of a right through peaceful means) were thrown in prisons and suffered untold hardships. It was felt by the Congress party leaders that the volunteers participating in peaceful demonstrations should be trained to fight back and defend themselves from physical injury caused through police brutality.

As a result, in 1923, the Hindustani Seva Mandal was mooted at the Kakinada session of the Congress for combating the British Raj and commenced its activities from 01.01.1924.

Jawaharlal Nehru became its first President, despite opposition from several Congressmen who opposed the idea of creating a militia-like organisation within the Indian National Congress, because this militated against the concept of Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence.

The Hindustani Seva Dal also created a women’s wing.

Later, in 1931, the Congress Working Committee renamed the Hindustani Seva Dal as the Congress Seva Dal which became the central volunteer organisation of the Congress.

The Organisation had as its members children, adolescents and adults. All Seva Dal members were required to take an oath which enjoined upon them to stay aloof from political activity in the Congress.

Several training camps were established across India. During the Civil Disobedience Movement, the Seva Dal played an active role and organised picketing activities and in placing at the disposal of the INC an organised militia. Its activities became so prominent that a ban was placed by the British Raj on the Organisation’s activities. The members of the Seva Dal wear the Gandhian Cap and Khaki shorts and white shirts, much like the Bhartiya Janata Party’s Nationalist Wing the “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” (RSS).

Nehru as the First Prime Minister of India:

Jawaharlal Nehru became the First Prime Minister of Independent India from 15.08.1947 to 27.05.1964.

On 15.08.1947, he took office as the Prime Minister of India on 15^th August 1947 and delivered his famous inaugural address titled “Tryst with Destiny”:

“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”.

In October 1947, during his tenure as Prime Minister, India faced a conflict with Pakistan over the State of Kashmir, the status of which was disputed by both countries and has led to armed conflicts as well as on-going terrorism within Indian Territory by Kashmiri sympathisers with leanings towards Pakistan. This dispute is as much alive today, as it was during Nehru’s time.

In 1949, Nehru signed the First Constitution of Independent India, drafted painstakingly by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar which was enacted on 26.01.1950.

Thereafter, Jawaharlal set out to realise his vision of India by embarking on an ambitious programme of economic, social and political reforms by implementing moderate socialist economic policies at a time when India required a speedy and long term policy of industrialisation.

Under his leadership, the INC dominated National and State-level politics and won elections in 1951, 1957 and 1962.

A brief on some of his policies:

Nehru oversaw India’s transformation from a Monarchy to a Republic, while nurturing a plural multi-party democracy.

Nehru had leftist leanings politically and studied Marxism while undergoing imprisonment. He found himself interested in the philosophy and adapted Marxism as he thought fit for Indian conditions.

He imparted modern values and thought, stressed upon secularism, and pursued policies which he thought would take India into an age of scientific development and innovation as well as technological progress. During his tenure, there was concern for the marginalised and poor.

Nehru implemented Economic policies based on import substitution industrialisation and advocated a mixed economy where the Government controlled public sector co-existed with the private sector.

India embarked on agrarian reform and rapid industrialisation. His Agricultural reforms focussed upon successful land reforms which included abolishing of large land-holdings, but efforts to redistribute land by placing ceilings on land holding as well as efforts to introduce large-scale cooperative farming faced obstacles by the landowning rural elite who formed the core of the powerful right-wing of the Congress and built up considerable political support in opposing Nehru’s efforts.

On the Domestic front, between 1947 and 1950, Sardar Patel engineered the integration of several Princely States into the Indian Union. A new Constitution of India was adopted on 26.01.1950 which declared India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic.

In 1953, a States reorganisation Commission was set up to create states on linguistic lines and the Report submitted in 1955, was partially accepted. Nehru stressed commonality among Indians and promoted Pan- Indianism. He refused to reorganise states on either religious or ethnic lines.

He reformed the antiquated Hindu Civil Code through which Hindu widows could enjoy equality with men in matters of inheritance and property. Hindu Law was changed to criminalise caste discrimination.

In 1961, Nehru authorised the Indian Army to invade Portuguese controlled Goa which was annexed into the Indian Federation.

Nehru’s Education policy laid stress on the education of children which was essential for India’s future progress. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as India’s first Education Minister set up several institutions of learning including the All india Institute of medical sciences, the Indian Institutes of Technology, Institutes of Management, National Institutes of Technology. Free and compulsory primary education for all children was guaranteed under the Five-Year plans. Azad oversaw the creation of mass village enrolment programmes and the construction of thousands of schools, Adult Education Centres, vocational and technical schools especially in the rural areas.

Nehru promoted Hindi as the lingua-franca of the Indian nation. After a long & acrimonius debate with non-Hindi speakers Hindi was adopted as the official language of india in 1950 with English continuing as the associate/subsidiary Official language for a period of fifteen years, after which Hindi would become the sole official language. To allay the stiff opposition faced by Nehru, the Official Languages Act 1963 was later amended to ensure that English would continue as the Subsidiary Official Language even after 1965.

In 1948, he established the Atomic Energy Commission of India and laid the foundation stone of the National Defence Academy in 1949. India’s nuclear policy was set with Dr. Homi J. Bhabha spearheading India’s Nuclear Capabilities Programme to establish India’s Regional superiority.

Foreign Policies:

During the Cold War, Nehru preferred to stay non-aligned and followed a policy of “neutrality”. His policy led him to “align” with non-aligned countries of both Africa and Asia.

He was a pacifist and pioneered the policy of non-alignment and co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement of Nations, professing neutrality between the rival blocs of Nations dominated by the USA and USSR.

His policy of non-alignment during the Cold War meant that India received financial and technical support from both power blocs in building India’s industrial base.

In 1948, he agreed to hold a plebiscite in Kashmir under the supervision of the UNO, but as Pakistan failed to pull back troops in accordance with the UN Resolution from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, he declined to hold the plebiscite in 1953.

Chinese Policy & the Chinese Aggression of 1962:

He recognised the People’s Republic of China soon after its creation and lobbied for its inclusion in the United Nations, while refusing to brand China as the aggressors in their conflict with Korea. He sought to establish friendly relations with China in 1950 and hoped to act as an intermediary to bridge the divide between the Communist states and the western bloc.

In 1954, Nehru concluded the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence known as the “Panchsheel” (meaning the “Five Virtues” in Sanskrit), which particularly focussed on the disputed territories of Aksai Chin and south Tibet.

Nevertheless, Nehru’s Foreign Policy of peaceful co-existence suffered through increasing Chinese assertiveness over border disputes and Nehru’s decision to grant political asylum to the 14^th Dalai Lama.

From 1959 onwards, Nehru adopted the “Forward policy” of setting up military outposts in disputed areas of the Sino-Indian border.

Despite Nehru’s efforts to have friendly relations with China with the infamous slogan “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai” (meaning “Indians and Chinese bond together as brothers”), China went to war with India over Indo-Chinese border disputes, in which the Indian Army had to make strategic withdrawals, leading to loss of territory giving China a moral advantage, thanks to inept political decisions and several blunders being committed by Nehru to counter the Chinese aggression.

The 1962 Chinese Aggression, led to considerable Indian losses due to the smaller and ill-equipped number of Indian troops as compared to the numerically superior Chinese troops and some poor forward planning and tactical blunders by Nehru as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. It is said that Nehru’s greatest blunder during the War was not to use the Indian Air Force to beat back the Chinese advance. Clearly, had this option been exercised by Nehru China had neither fuel nor runways long enough for using their Air Force effectively in Tibet.

The losses in the War led to Nehru becoming thoroughly unpopular in India and rang the death knell to his policy of forming a strong Asian Axis to counteract the influence of the Cold War Bloc superpowers.

Later, China withdrew to the pre-war lines in the Eastern sector at Tawang, but retained Aksai Chin which was within British India and came under Indian control after India gained Independence.

After the war, sweeping changes were brought about for strengthening the war preparedness of the Indian Armed Forces to defend its borders.

My impressions of the Chinese Aggression:

I remember that in 1962 I was all of four years old and my uncle who had just graduated from the Indian Military Academy was deployed to a forward sector during the Chinese Aggression as a Lieutenant. I remember the following incident which he narrated  which left an indelible impression on me:

He mentioned that there was a huge Chinese presence very near to the Indian troops and he was leading an Indian scouting patrol to assess the Chinese strength. As he climbed up a snow-covered hillock, suddenly, at the same time there emerged on the other side a young Chinese officer, who too perhaps was on his first scouting mission. Both of them came atop the hillock and froze, having not expected to see an enemy soldier almost within hand-shaking distance. Then, having been trained in the best traditions of warfare, my uncle reacted first and fired his firearm just before the Chinese soldier did. My uncle’s shots hit his opponent, while the Chinese Officer’s shots went wild. My Uncle, an avid “shikari” in his own right, had never taken a “pot-shot” at a human being before. Almost as quickly as he had shot the Chinese Officer, he was by his side trying to find out if he could provide him some medical help. After all, the Chinese officer too was a young man, and was simply trying to do his job. One of the men in the patrol pulled my uncle back from atop the hillock shouting a warning “Sir, there seems to be a huge Chinese presence on the other side of this hill and they are advancing upon us. You can do nothing about him. He’s dead already. It was either him or you. Let us get back fast to our lines from here otherwise they will kill us all or take us prisoner”.

Suddenly there was a volley of gunfire in the direction of the Indian patrol from below the hillock on the Chinese side and shouting of urgent orders in Chinese as the enemy was running uphill towards the patrol. Sensing imminent danger, the Indian patrol moved back stealthily & safely to the Indian lines, without any casualty or firing a single shot in the direction of the enemy so as not to give away their position.

I have recounted this story in my mind several times over as I grew up and reflected that experiences/incidents like these bring out the horrors of actual warfare, from the confines of political gamesmanship/War-Room manoeuvres and leave an indelible mark on a Soldier’s psyche, particularly those who are highly sensitive human beings like my uncle was.

The territorial disputes still plague both Nations, with China laying its claims to its territories under Indian control, which had been captured by the British Indian Authorities during territorial wars with Burma.

Nehru’s Death and Legacy:

After the Chinese aggression in 1962, Nehru never recovered from the Chinese debacle, which constantly gnawed at him as a betrayal of trust by the Chinese and his health declined significantly thereafter.

He passed away on 26.05.1964.

As India’s first Prime Minister & External Affairs Minister, he played a major role in shaping modern India’s government and political culture and foreign policy.

He created a system for providing universal primary education and set up world-class educational institutions. He established Programmes like the National Book Trust and the National Literacy Academy which promoted the translation of regional literature in other Indian languages and organised the transfer of materials between various regions in pursuit of a single unified India.

He stressed commonality among Indians while keeping in mind regional diversities.

A style of jacket which he wore became immensely popular world-wide and is called the “Nehru Jacket”. (I have come across this term several times while working on American Cross-word puzzles).

His Birthday on 14^th November is celebrated as “Bal Divas” (Children’s Day) in recognition of his work for the welfare, education and development of children and the youth of India.

Numerous public institutions and memorials across India are dedicated to his memory. The Nehru family homes at Anand Bhavan and Swaraj Bhavan are preserved to commemorate his and his family’s legacy.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955, which is India’s highest civilian honour.

Of late, there has been some criticism on the basis of leaked classified files that Nehru spied on the kin of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, fuelling speculation that he feared that if Netaji returned or his kin got information on Netaji’s actual fate, he/they could pose a serious threat to Nehru’s political aspirations. Also, there is speculation that Nehru knew that Netaji did not die in an air-crash but met his end at the hands of the Russians, a fate which Nehru knew about. Declassification of relevant files is not being done by the Government of India, including the present one, on grounds that the information contained in those files is very sensitive and could strain the relations with some friendly countries. As such, the issue remains as it is and Nehru’s image has been sullied somewhat in the absence of relevant information being declassified.

His writings:

He wrote prolifically. Some of his popular books are, “The Discovery of India”, “Glimpses of World History” and his autobiography “Toward Freedom” and “Letters from a Father to his Daughter”.

Commemorative Coin:

The Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India has issued a five rupee coin in March 2015 to commemorate the occasion of 125^th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru for general circulation. The specifications of the coin are:

Shape: Circular; Diameter: 23 mm; Number of Serrations: 100; Metal Composition: Nickel Brass (Copper – 75%; Zinc – 20%; Nickel – 5%). 

           Reverse of the Five Rupee coin issued on the occasion.  
The coin shows a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru facing front, in the centre. Along the periphery of this face of the coin is the inscription “Jawaharlal Nehru ki 125vi Jayanti” (in Hindi/ Devnagri) on the upper periphery and “125^th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru” (in English) on the lower periphery. At the bottom, below his portrait are mentioned the years under commemoration “1889-2014”. 2014 is also the 50^th year of Nehru’s passing away in 1964.

Notice that on the reverse of this coin the “Diamond” mint mark of the Mumbai Mint has been engraved on the bottom periphery.

                          Obverse of the Five Rupee coin. 
This face shows the Lion Capital in the centre with the legend “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth will Prevail/triumph). On the left periphery/flank is the word “Bharat”, in Hindi/Devnagri script and on the right hand periphery/flank is mentioned “India”, in English. On the bottom half of the coin is mentioned the denominational value of the coin with the numeral “5”, preceded by the rupee symbol.

Interesting Numismatic details on Jawaharlal Nehru:

He is the only Indian personality on whom coins have been issued with his profile facing both left and right. With the latest coin showing him as facing front, this is an unmatched honour bestowed upon him by the Government of India/India Government Mints.

I have the following coins issued on him in my collection:

Coins issued shortly after he passed away in 1964:

Reverse of a One Rupee coin showing his portrait facing left with the peripheral inscription "JAWAHARLAL NEHRU" on top and his life years "1889 - 1964" on the lower periphery.

 Obverse of the above One Rupee Coin showing the Lion Capitol (the emblem of India) on the centre top below which is the senomination of the coin, the numeral "1". Further below is the Diamond Mint mark of the Bombay mint (present day Mumbai mint). Also inscribed on the coin is the name of the country "Bharat" & "India" on the upper portion and the currency "Rupiya' and "Rupee" on the lower portion. Another version of this coin was also issued with the inscriptions in Hindi/Devnagri. (Another version of this coin  was also issued with the inscriptions in Hindi/Devnagri).

 Reverse of a Fifty Paise coin showing his portrait facing left with the peripheral inscription "JAWAHARLAL NEHRU" (in Hindi/Devnagri) on top and his life years "1889 - 1964" on the lower periphery.

 Obverse of the above Fifty Paise Coin showing the Lion Capitol (the emblem of India) on the centre top below which is the senomination of the coin, the numeral "1". Further below is the Diamond Mint mark of the Bombay mint (present day Mumbai mint). Also inscribed on the coin is the name of the country "Bharat" & "India" on the upper portion and the currency "Rupiya' and "Rupee" on the lower portion. 
(Another version of this coin  was also issued with the inscriptions in English).Rahul Kumar has an interesting titbit to add :
  "The coins released in 1964 showed the legend only in English.   This anomaly caused a furore "forcing" the mints to release versions with the Hindi legend". 

 A First Day Cover issued posthumously by the Indian Posts & Telegraphs commemorating "Bal Din" (Children's Day) on Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday on 14.11.1964. The cancellation stamp on the 0.15 paise stamp mentions "Children's Day 14.11.1964 and New Delhi". there is also a rose on the cancellation stamp, a symbol associated with Nehru . Nehru is shown showering his blessings on a little girl. The stamp itself shows Nehru facing left & is a replica of the coins issued on him in that year.

Coins issued commemorating Jawaharlal Nehru's Birth Centenary in 1989: 

Reverse of a Five Rupee coin showing his portrait facing right. Nehru is shown wearing the Gandhian cap and his iconic Nehru jacket,  with the peripheral inscription "Jawaharlal Nehru Janamshati" (in Hindi/Devnagri) on the left and the centenary year "1989"  on the lower bottom . Below the year, is the Diamond Mint mark of the Bombay mint (present day Mumbai mint).

Obverse of the above Five Rupee Coin showing the Lion Capitol (the emblem of India) on the centre top below which is the senomination of the coin, the numeral "5".  Also inscribed on the coin is the name of the country "Bharat" & "India" on the upper portion and the currency "Rupiya' and "Rupee" on the lower portion.  

Posted on 20.07.2016:

I have yesterday received a Commemorative Uncirculated Rs.5/- Coin from the Hyderabad Mint on the “125^th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru”:

The Cover of the Album containing the Commemorative Rs.5/- coin.

The Cover shows a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru. The inscriptions on the album are “Smarak Sikka” (in Hindi) and “COMMEMORATIVE COIN” (in English) and “JAWAHARLAL NEHRU KI 125VIN JAYANTI – 1889-2014” (in Hindi) and “125^TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU – 1889-2014”.

The inner pages 2 and 3 of the Coin Album

                              Page 2 of the Coin Album

The text on this page reads, inter alia:

“Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India was also the architect of modern India. He was born great and also achieved greatness by his vision, hard labour, sincerity, honesty, patriotism and great intellectual powers. He was born on 14^th November 1889, in Allahabad. His father was Motilal Nehru, who was a prominent lawyer. He took his earlier study at home and went to England for higher study. Later he returned to India and became a lawyer. He joined the freedom movement of India with Mahatma Gandhi and his hard works made him able to be the first Indian Prime Minister after the Independence of India for an uninterrupted period of over 17 years. He set up the National Planning Commission with himself as its first Chairman. He was a great writer. “The Discovery of India” and “Glimpses of World History” are his famous books”. Nehru, the beloved leader of millions of his countrymen passed away on 27^th May 1964. Nehru loved children a great deal. His birthday is celebrated as “Children’s Day” every year.”

Page 3 of the Coin Album shows Nehru in consultation with some of the senior leaders of India, a postage stamp of Rs.2/- issued on Children’s Day showing Nehru interacting with a child, along with the Obverse image of the Rs.5/- coin

The specifications of this coin:

Denomination: Rs.5/-; Metallic Composition: Nickel-Brass: Copper-75%, Zinc – 20%, Nickel – 5%.

                       Obverse of the Rs.5/- coin

The Obverse of the coin shows the Emblem of the Government of India – the Lion Capitol, together with the inscription “Satyameva Jayate (meaning “Truth Always Prevails”). The country name is given on the left and right peripheries – “Bharat” in Hindi) and “India” (in English). The denomination of the coin “Rs.5” is given at the bottom of this face.

                                  Pages 4 and 5 of the Coin Album

Page 4 of the Coin Album contains the Reverse of the coin, an image of Nehru at a podium and more specifications of this coin:

Dimensions:

Diameter: 23.00 mm; Weight: 6.00 gms; No. of Serrations: 100

The Reverse of the coin shows a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru with the peripheral inscriptions “JAWAHARLAL NEHRU KI 125VIN JAYANTI – 1889-2014” (in Hindi) and “125^TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU – 1889-2014”.

The ‘Star” Mint Mark of the Hyderabad Mint is at the bottom.

Page 5 of the Coin Album shows an image of the Reverse of the Rs.5/- coin, a Re.1/- stamp which bears the legend “Mera Bharat Mahaan” (meaning “My India is Great”). There is also an image of Mahatma Gandhi sharing a lighter moment with Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Back Cover of the Coin Album gives a brief description about the Hyderabad Mint.

(In addition to the Hyderabad Mint coin, the Five Rupee coin commemorating the 125th Birth Anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru was collected by me at a Provision store. The other coins have been contributed for my collection by Krishna Tonpe, except for the One Rupee coin issued in 1964, which has been given for my collection by Shri Rajendrasinh Mohite. The First Day Cover is from the collection of Rahul Kumar. Coins scanned and article researched and written by Rajeev Prasad).




Links:

1) A Road Trip to Himachal : Chandigarh, Manali, Dharamshala & Simla 

2) Commemorative Coins issued on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad - India's First Education Minister

3) Coins commemorating Motilal Nehru - the Patriarch of the Nehru-Gandhi Family (includes the chart showing how every succeeding Prime Minister from this "Dynasty", faces left or right in the tradition of the British Monarchy)