Nehru, Aug. 1 -- The Invention of India, a biography of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru by Shashi Tharoor, first published by Arcade Publishing in 2003 and later by Penguin India in 2018, has assumed renewed relevance given the ongoing informed and uninformed debates and bickering over the life and legacy of India's first Prime Minister (1947-1964). Tharoor offers a balanced assessment of Jawaharlal Nehru-the man and his work-without undue eulogy or unfounded criticism.

Born into an aristocratic family and supported by his resourceful and indulgent father, Motilal Nehru, a renowned lawyer based in Allahabad (today's Prayagraj), Jawaharlal Nehru was educated at the prestigious institutions of Harrow and Cambridge in England. Returning from Englan...