CS Academy, Vallipurathanpalayam, Erode

Class : XII

English handout
The last letter Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

After a succession of letters, Nehru is writing his last letter to his daughter, Indira.

He begins the letter by quoting Benjamin Disraeli, the great statesman of the
nineteenth century: Other men condemned to exile and captivity, if they survive,
despair; the man of letters may reckon those days as the sweetest of his life.

Nehru doesnt go to the extend of comparing himself with Benjamin Disraeli but he
admits that his life in prisons was not very sweet though writing and reading helped
him during his imprisonment.

He also admits that he is not not a literary man, nor a historian.

He feels like a dabbler in many things.

o

He began with science at college,

And then took to law,

And, after developing various other interests in life, finally he adopted the
popular and widely practised profession of goal-going in India the work of a
politician! Remember, goal is an old word for prison.

A prison, with no libraries or reference books at hand, is not the most suitable
place in which to write on historical subjects yet Nehru reminds Indira of the great
history of the world, of India.

He insists that one should have sympathy for the past when he learns history.

Nehru explains the importance understanding history this way to understand a

person who lived long ago, we have to understand his environment, the conditions
under which he lived, the ideas that filled his mind. It is absurd for us to judge of past
people as if they lived now and thought as we do.

He says, history is not a magic show, but there is plenty of magic in it for those
who have eyes to see.

It is important to note he says next If we look upon past history with the eye of
sympathy, the dry bones will fill up with flesh and blood, and we will see a mighty
procession of living men and women and children in every age and every country,
different from us and yet very like us, with much the same human virtues and human
failings.

Here Nehru gives a gist of the world history through Egyptian, Babylonian and the
Indian civilizations.

He then mentions the coming of the Aryans to India and their spreading and
conquering.

He also gives a vivid picture of the Chinese civilization.

Islam in India and the Mughal Empire.

The Renaissance of learning and art in western Europe.

The discovery of America and the sea-routes to the East. Christopher Columbus,
Vasco De Gama.

Inventions of machines, engines, automobiles and the development of capitalism.

Rise of Europe and America.

The spread of industrialism and European domination and imperialism. The British
Empire.

The wonders of science in the modern world. Photography, videography, medical

advancements, etc.

Great empires have risen and fallen and been forgotten by man for thousands of
years, till their remains were dug up again by patient explorers/archaeologists from
under the sands that covered them, yet many an idea, many a fancy, has survived
and proved stronger and more persistent than the empire.

After this, Nehru moves on to the gifts of the past; benefit of learning history.
o

All that we have today of culture, civilization, science, or knowledge of some

aspects of the truth, is a gift of the distant or recent past to us.

We have obligations to our past and to our future.

Our obligation to the future is greater than those we owe to the past
because the past is past and done with, we cannot change it; the future is yet to
come, and perhaps we may be able to shape it a little.

Both, past and future betray us.

The past has given us some part of the truth, the future also hides many
aspects of the truth, and invites us to search for them.

Sadly, the past is often jealous of the future and holds us in a terrible grip,
and we have to struggle with it to get free to face and advance towards the
future.

The great lessons that history can teach us.

o

History never repeats itself.

We cannot learn anything from history by slavishly trying to copy it, or by

expecting it to repeat itself or remain stagnant.

We can learn something from it by looking behind it and trying to discover

the forces that move it.

History teaches us of growth and progress and of the possibility of an infinite

advance for man.

History has no other way of answering old questions than by putting new
ones. (Karl Marx)

The past was a time of faith, blind, unquestioning faith.

o

The wonderful temples and mosques and churches of past centuries could
never have been built but for the overpowering faith of the architects and
builders and people generally.

The very stones that they respectfully put one on top of the other, or
carved into beautiful designs, tell us of this faith.

The age of Reason

o

Our age is an age of disillusion, of doubt and uncertainty and questioning.

We can no longer accept many of the ancient beliefs and customs.

We have no more faith in them, in Asia or in Europe or America.

We search for new ways, new aspects of the truth more in harmony with our
environment.

And we question each other and debate and quarrel and evolve any number
of isms and philosophies.

Like Socrates who questioned in the ancient Athens, we too ask questions
but do not get all answers.

Life sometimes appears to be meaningless but it is rich and varied.

o

Great seas

The mountains

Snow and glaciers

Starlit nights

The love of family and friends

Comradeship of workers in a common cause

Music and books

The empire of ideas.

Thoughts and action!

o

Being selfish, ignoring the problems of other people is not at all desirable.

Thought must lead to action. Action is the end of thought.

All thought which does not look towards action, is a treachery.

If we are the servants of thought, we must be the servants of action.

People avoid action often because they are afraid of the consequences, for
action means risk and danger.

Danger seems terrible from a distance; it is not too bad if you have a close
look at it.

General Questions
1.

Why was it difficult for Nehru to write about history in the prison? How
did Nehru manage to write about history even in the prison?
As a prison has no libraries and reference books, it is hard to write about history in a
prison. Nehru, nevertheless, had had to rely very largely on the many note-books
which he had accumulated since his first imprisonment.

2.

Why does Nehru say that he had been a dabbler in many things?
Nehru finds it hard to define his person. He began with science at college, and then
took to the law, and, after developing various other interests in life, finally he became
a nationalist and politician whose life under the British was nothing but imprisonment.

3.

How did reading and writing help Nehru in the prison?

Although not known as a writer, Nehru admits that the many years he had spent in
the prison had been the sweetest in his life. He recalls that reading and writing
helped him wonderfully to get through the trials of the prison life and loneliness along
with detachment.

4.

How is the life of a writer in prison different from the life of other people
in Benjamin Disraelis opinion?
Benjamin Disraeli, the great statesman of the nineteenth century, has written: Other
men condemned to exile and captivity, if they survive, despair; the man of letters
may reckon those days as the sweetest of his life. By this he says that a writer can
never get tired in a prison because he finds the prison a right place to write with more
powerful feelings and sharp words.

5.

What induces Nehru to write this last letter?

At the end of several long letters, Nehru feels like adding a few flourish lines to

decorate all the other letters so he thinks of writing another letter as the last,
concluding letter.
6.

What does Nehru call the goal-going profession?

In Nehrus opinion, the profession of a politician calls for imprisonment and torture so
gaol-going refers to going to a prison.

7.

Why is it important to look upon history with sympathy and

understanding?
To understand a person who lived long ago, one will have to understand his
environment, the conditions under which he lived and the ideas that filled his mind. It
is absurd for us to judge of past people as if they lived now and thought as we do.
When we understand the past people with their limitations, we get a clear
understanding about them and our judgment will not be wrong.

8.

History is not a magic show, but there is plenty of magic in it for those
who

have

eyes

to

see.

Explain.

Many historical events may appear to be unbelievable for people in the modern time
because there have always been heroes and heroism in the past. If we look upon past
history with the eye of sympathy, the dry bones will fill up with flesh and blood, and
we will see a mighty parade of living men and women and children in every age and
every zone, different from us and yet very like us, with much the same human
qualities good and bad. These historical wonders can be appreciated only by people
who have keen interest in history.
Answer in about 100 120 words.
1.

How, according to Nehru, is the present different from the past ?

2.

While it is important to understand the past, it is more important to value the

future. Why?

3.

Actions justify thoughts. Elaborate.

4.

History is not a magic show, but there is plenty of magic in it for those who have
eyes to see. Explain.

5.

History, it is said, has many lessons to teach us; and there is another saying that
history never repeats itself. Explain the message conveyed by the two sayings.

6.

As a historian, write a paragraph based on Nehrus views, on the path breaking

events of the 21st century that have significantly contributed to the growth and
progress of humanity.