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{{Short description|Indian civil servant and diplomat (1902–1981)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
[[File:Nasser receiving the Maharajah of Jaipur and the Indian Ambassador Ratan Kumar Nehru (01).jpg|thumb|R. K. Nehru (right) with Egyptian leader [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (center) and Rajpramukh [[Man Singh II]] of [[Rajasthan]] (left)]]
{{Infobox officeholder
'''Ratan Kumar Nehru''', or '''R.K. Nehru''', (10 October 1902 – 2 April 1981) was an Indian [[Civil Services of India|civil servant]] and diplomat. He served as India's [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary]] from 1952 to 1955.
| name = R. K. Nehru
| image = Ratan Kumar Nehru (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Nehru in 1959
| office = Minister (Legation) of India to Sweden
| term_start = January 1949
| term_end = September 1951
| predecessor = ''Office established''
| successor = M. J. Desai
| office1 = [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary]]
| term_start1 = 1952
| term_end1 = 1955
| predecessor1 = [[K. P. S. Menon]]
| successor1 = [[Subimal Dutt]]
| office2 = [[Ambassador of India to China]]
| term_start2 = 1955
| term_end2 = 1958
| predecessor2 = [[Nedyam Raghavan]]
| successor2 = [[Gopalaswami Parthasarathy (diplomat)|G. Parthasarathy]]
| office3 = [[List of ambassadors of India to Egypt|Ambassador of India to United Arab Republic]]
| term_start3 = 1958
| term_end3 = 1960
| predecessor3 =
| successor3 =
| office4 = [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Secretary-General]] of the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]]
| term_start4 = 1960
| term_end4 = 1963
| predecessor4 = [[N. R. Pillai]]
| successor4 = Position abolished
| birth_date = {{birth date|1902|10|10|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1981|04|02|1902|10|10|df=y}}
| alma_mater =
| spouse = Rajan Nehru
| children = Dr. Ajay Nehru and Vivek Nehru
}}


==Biography==
[[File:Nasser receiving the Maharajah of Jaipur and the Indian Ambassador Ratan Kumar Nehru (01).jpg|thumb|right|260px|R. K. Nehru (right) with Egyptian leader [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] (center) and Rajpramukh [[Man Singh II]] of [[Rajasthan]] (left)]]
Ratan Kumar Nehru was born in 1902 at a time when the [[Nehru–Gandhi family|Nehru family]] was yet unknown to the public and the surname had no social or political cache. However, the Nehrus were an educated, affluent and influential family belonging to the high-caste [[Kashmiri Brahmin]] community. Ratan Kumar's father, Mohanlal Nehru, was the son of [[Nandlal Nehru]], who was the ''[[Diwan (title)|Diwan]]'' ([[Prime Minister|First Minister]]) of the [[princely state]] of [[Khetri]] in present-day [[Rajasthan]]. Nandlal's younger brother, [[Motilal Nehru]], was at that time an affluent barrister with a well-established practise at the [[Allahabad High Court]]. Motilal had been a posthumous child, and has been raised by Nandlal at his expense in his household. Motilal's son [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Jawaharlal]], future prime minister of India, was therefore always deferential not only towards his much older uncle Nandlal but also towards his cousin Mohanlal, father of Ratan Kumar. Ratan Kumar Nehru was thus a first-cousin-once-removed of [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].


Ratan Kumar grew up in an extremely westernized and highly anglophile ambience, where British rule in India was in fact approbated and hailed as a providential blessing on India and a civilizing influence on her socially backward masses. He received an elite English education, rare in India at that time, which accentuated this outlook and prepared him for service in the higher levels of the colonial government. After finishing school, he travelled at vast expense to England to prepare for the [[Indian Civil Service]] examination, which was the pinnacle of elitism in those days. He passed the exam and duly joined the civil service, where he continued to rise in the ranks of the colonial administration during all the decades when his cousin [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] held a leadership role in the [[Indian freedom movement]].
'''Ratan Kumar Nehru''', or '''R.K. Nehru''', (10 October 1902 – 2 April 1981) was an Indian [[Civil Services of India|civil servant]] and diplomat. He served as the [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary]], 1952–1955, and later as India's ambassador to China and [[United Arab Republic]] (Egypt). During 1960–1963, he was appointed the [[Foreign Secretary (India)|Secretary-General]] of the [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]], a period in which India faced an [[Sino-Indian War|invasion from China]]. He retired in 1963, after which the position of Secretary-General was abolished, and the Foreign Secretary role became the head of the Ministry.{{sfnp|Benner, The Indian Foreign Policy Bureaucracy|2019|loc=Sec 4.2.1: "The last secretary-general was R.K. Nehru, cousin to Nehru... after them, Nehru's death brought the secretary-general tradition to a close."}}<ref>
{{Cite news |last=Noorani |first=A. G. |title=A Nehru's Dissent |newspaper=Frontline |date=13 July 2012 |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article30166351.ece}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite book|title=Encyclopaedia Indica |last=Sharma |first=Jagdish Saran  |publisher=S. Chand |date=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWtDAAAAYAAJ&q=Ratan+Kumar+}}
</ref>


India became independent in 1947 and Jawaharlal Nehru became its first Prime Minister. The country needed to develop a corps of diplomats to man its embassies across the globe and formulate a fresh foreign policy. Jawaharlal Nehru looked first and foremost to his own family (including his sister [[Vijayalakshmi Pandit]], his cousin [[Braj Kumar Nehru]] and his nephew Ratan Kumar Nehru) to help in this process, which was aimed at burnishing his own image abroad (in the west) in a way that would enhance his own personal image and prestige on the world stage, and make him look larger than life and indispensable. This exercise would also vastly enhance Jawaharlal's political cache within India, where the tendency still prevailed of accepting the judgment of the western world in all matters; if the west (especially England) approved of Nehru, well, he must be good.
He was son of Mohanlal Nehru, grandson of [[Nandlal Nehru]], older brother of [[Motilal Nehru]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tharoor |first=Shashi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3axLmUHCJ4cC&q=Nandlal&pg=PA1 |title=Nehru: The Invention of India |date=2003 |publisher=Arcade Publishing |isbn=978-1-55970-697-1 |language=en}}</ref> Ratan was married to Rajan Nehru (1909–1994), the daughter of Sir [[Kailash Narain Haksar|Kailas Narain Haskar]] (1878–1953), a prominent figure from [[Gwalior State]]. Couple had two sons, Dr. Ajay Nehru, a distinguished nuclear scientist, and [[Air commodore (India)|Air Commodore]] Vivek Nehru, [[Air Attaché]] to several countries. .<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitfield |first=David |date=2017-09-15 |title=A precious piece of Indian history is up for sale |url=https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/news-opinion/precious-piece-indian-history-up-465196 |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Nottinghamshire Live |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bassett |first=Ross |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1c84f2v |title=The Technological Indian |date=2016 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-50471-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rakshak |first=Bharat |title=Air Commodore Vivek Yeshvant Nehru |url=https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/indianairforce/database/3488 |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=Bharat Rakshak |language=en}}</ref>
 
Ratan Kumar Nehru, as a close relative of Jawaharlal, was entrusted with many important assignments in pursuance of these objectives. He was sent as ambassador to several countries in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=The Spirit of India: volumes presented to Shrimati Indira Gandhi by the Indira Gandhi Abhinandan Samiti|author1=Gandhi, I.|author2=Indira Gandhi Abhinandan Samiti|date=1975|publisher=Asia Pub. House|isbn=9780210405604|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTkKAQAAIAAJ|access-date=2015-11-09}}</ref> In 1952, just at the time when Jawaharlal Nehru won the very first election held in free India and took office as an elected Prime Minister (he had been an unelected, nominated Prime Minister since 1946), he appointed his cousin Ratan Kumar Nehru as secretary-general of the Indian Ministry of foreign affairs (a position now known as "[[Foreign Secretary (India)|Foreign Secretary of India]]"). He was only the second person to hold this position, and he remained in that office for three years, until 1955. During 1955-58, he was the Indian ambassador to [[China]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl2913/stories/20120713291304400.htm|title=A NEHRU'S DISSENT|website=frontline.thehindu.com|access-date=2019-04-14}}</ref> and to the [[United Arab Republic]] during 1958-60.<ref name="google2">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.co.in/search?q=Ratan+Kumar+Nehru&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbs=bks:1&ei=Hw9RTIL-JYmivQO2xvX8Bg&start=10&sa=N |title= Panditji: a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru |access-date=2015-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hWtDAAAAYAAJ&q=Ratan+Kumar+|title=Encyclopaedia Indica|last=Sharma|first=Jagdish Saran|date=1981|publisher=S. Chand|language=en}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |first=Jeffrey |last=Benner |date=2019 |title=The Indian Foreign Policy Bureaucracy |publisher=Routledge |pages=|isbn=978-1-00-030241-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgaiDwAAQBAJ |ref={{sfnref|Benner, The Indian Foreign Policy Bureaucracy|2019}}}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-dip}}
{{s-bef|before=[[K. P. S. Menon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Foreign Secretary of India]]|years=1952 - 1955}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Subimal Dutt]]}}
{{s-end}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehru, Ratan Kumar}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nehru, Ratan Kumar}}
[[Category:Indian diplomats]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:1981 deaths]]
[[Category:Nehru–Gandhi family]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the United Arab Republic]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to China]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to China]]
[[Category:Nehru–Gandhi family]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to Sweden]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the United Arab Emirates]]

Latest revision as of 21:58, 16 March 2026


R. K. Nehru
Nehru in 1959
Minister (Legation) of India to Sweden
In office
January 1949 – September 1951
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byM. J. Desai
Foreign Secretary
In office
1952–1955
Preceded byK. P. S. Menon
Succeeded bySubimal Dutt
Ambassador of India to China
In office
1955–1958
Preceded byNedyam Raghavan
Succeeded byG. Parthasarathy
Ambassador of India to United Arab Republic
In office
1958–1960
Secretary-General of the Ministry of External Affairs
In office
1960–1963
Preceded byN. R. Pillai
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born(1902-10-10)10 October 1902
Died2 April 1981(1981-04-02) (aged 78)
Spouse(s)Rajan Nehru
ChildrenDr. Ajay Nehru and Vivek Nehru
R. K. Nehru (right) with Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser (center) and Rajpramukh Man Singh II of Rajasthan (left)

Ratan Kumar Nehru, or R.K. Nehru, (10 October 1902 – 2 April 1981) was an Indian civil servant and diplomat. He served as the Foreign Secretary, 1952–1955, and later as India's ambassador to China and United Arab Republic (Egypt). During 1960–1963, he was appointed the Secretary-General of the Ministry of External Affairs, a period in which India faced an invasion from China. He retired in 1963, after which the position of Secretary-General was abolished, and the Foreign Secretary role became the head of the Ministry.[1][2][3]

He was son of Mohanlal Nehru, grandson of Nandlal Nehru, older brother of Motilal Nehru.[4] Ratan was married to Rajan Nehru (1909–1994), the daughter of Sir Kailas Narain Haskar (1878–1953), a prominent figure from Gwalior State. Couple had two sons, Dr. Ajay Nehru, a distinguished nuclear scientist, and Air Commodore Vivek Nehru, Air Attaché to several countries. .[5][6][7]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Benner, The Indian Foreign Policy Bureaucracy (2019), Sec 4.2.1: "The last secretary-general was R.K. Nehru, cousin to Nehru... after them, Nehru's death brought the secretary-general tradition to a close.".
  2. ↑ Noorani, A. G. (13 July 2012). "A Nehru's Dissent". Frontline.
  3. ↑ Sharma, Jagdish Saran (1981). Encyclopaedia Indica. S. Chand.
  4. ↑ Tharoor, Shashi (2003). Nehru: The Invention of India. Arcade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55970-697-1.
  5. ↑ Whitfield, David (15 September 2017). "A precious piece of Indian history is up for sale". Nottinghamshire Live. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  6. ↑ Bassett, Ross (2016). The Technological Indian. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-50471-4.
  7. ↑ Rakshak, Bharat. "Air Commodore Vivek Yeshvant Nehru". Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved 16 September 2025.

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
K. P. S. Menon 		Foreign Secretary of India
1952 - 1955 		Succeeded by
Subimal Dutt
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ratan_Kumar_Nehru&oldid=454741"
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