ABSTRACT
Swarup Nehru, Motilal’s elder daughter, who later, at marriage, changed her name to Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, had been born in a great mansion called Anand Bhawan in the European quarter of Allahabad, a pleasant city with 26o,000 inhabitants in the United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh, some ten miles from her present less agreeable location. Swarup’s father had been a benevolent despot cast on noble lines who adored his family. His birthday fell on the same day, month and year as that of Rabindranath Tagore. He belonged to the Kashmiri Brahmins, aristocrats in the complex caste structure of Hindu society, who for centuries had lived lives dedicated to public responsibilities, and were thus naturally authoritative in outlook and manner. Motilal belonged to a generation of Indian intellectuals brought up to admire and even imitate the British Raj; he took Swamp to England when she was five and provided her with an English governess.
