The first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru emerged as a dominant leader during India’s struggle for independence. He was among the front-runners during the non-cooperation movement against the British and the home rule movement. Nehru played a leading role in the development of the internationalist outlook of the Indian independence struggle.

These vintage photos give us a glimpse into the life of India’s first Prime Minister as we remember him ahead of his 125th birth anniversary. From meeting the revolutionary Che Guevara to hosting a state reception in honour of His Holiness Dalai Lama, these rare pictures have captured some of the most important events of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s life.

Prime Minister Mr Jawaharlal Nehru welcoming Che Guevara in his Teen Moorti residential office on July 1, 1959). Photo by Kundan Lal of Photo Division, Government of India.

circa 1920: Indian statesman Jawaharlal Nehru (1869 – 1964) and his wife Kamala on their wedding day. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)’

The Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru arrived in Washington D.C., on December 16, 1956 on an official visit to the U.S.A. Photo shows Smt. Indira Gandhi with Mrs. Elsehower at white House, Washington.

Photograph taken at the banquet given in honour of the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, by H.E. Shukri Kuwatly, President of Syria, at Damascus during the Prime Minister’s visit to Syria in June, 1956. L to R:- H.E. Sabri Assali, Syrian Prime Minister, Miss Huda Kuwatly, the daughter of the Syrian President; the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru; H.E. Shukri Kwatly and Smt. Indira Gandhi.

Photo shows the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru and party crossing the Sikkim border via Tibet, while on their way to Bhutan on September 18, 1958.

State Reception in honour of Their Holiness the Dalai Lama and Panchen at Raj Bhavan, Calcutta in January, 1957. Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru photographed with the mother and brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the reception.

H.M. the king of Afghanistan shaking hands with the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, at the banquet held in his honour by the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, in New Delhi on February 12, 1958. Smt. Indira Gandhi and the Vice President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, are also seen in the picture.

January, 1958: A close up of the Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru wearing tribal dress of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Photo taken during the Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to the workshop and laboratories at the Camp site Hirakud Dam, in April 1948.

The Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru seen with H.E. Countess Mountbatten and Promila Mountbatten during their holiday in Simla in May 1948.

March, 1954: Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru with H.E. Sayid Nuri es-Said Pasha of Iraq when the latter called on the Prime Minister in New Delhi on March 22, 1954.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur showing Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant and others, on September 11, 1949, the models of prefabricated houses constructed on the grounds of the Irwin Hospital, New Delhi.

Greeting crowd at India House, New York city, are H.E. Shrimati Vijaya Lakshmi, Mr. Grover Whallen, Official Greeter of New York, Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (October 1949)

November, 1949: Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India inspecting the Kashmir Bal Sena during his visit to Srinagar in 1949.

January, 1957: Mr. Shukri Al-Kuwatly, President of Syria, replying to the address of welcome presented by the Corporation of the City of Bangalore during his visit in January, 1957.

May, 1957: The Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru being conducted around an irrigation tank of the ruins at the ancient city of Anuradhapura during his visit Ceylon on May 13, 1957.

October, 1958: The Prime Minister, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, who arrived in Paro on September 21, 1958 on a visit to Bhutan, being cheered by people who lined both sides of the routes on the border of the Himalayan Kingdom.

Oct. 1949: During his Canadian tour in October, 1949, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, had the opportunity to see the famous Niagara Falls site – one of Canada’s greatest hydro-electric power projects.

Photograph taken on the occasion of the visit of Their Excellencies Lord and Lady Mountbatten along with Jawaharlal Nehru at Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel at Dehra Dun – June 1948.

The Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru visited Workshops and laboratories at the Campsite Hirakud Dam during his visit to Orissa in April 1948.

August 1951: Photograph taken on arrival of the His Majesty the King of Nepal, at Wilingdon Aerodrome, New Delhi on August 13, 1951, shows from right to left:- Mr. B.P. Koirala, Home Minister of Nepal; Maj-Gen. Bijaya Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese Ambassador to India; the Hon ble Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister; Shrimati Indira Gandhi New Delhi the Royal Ladies of Nepal.

Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru (1889 – 1964, right) arrives at Downing Street in London with V. K. Krishna Menon (1896 – 1974), the High Commissioner for India, 21st April 1949. They are scheduled for talks with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee.

10th November 1961: The Indian nationalist leader and statesman, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) talking with Jacqueline Kennedy (1929 – 1994), wife of the American President, on arrival at the White House.

28th March 1942: Sir Stafford Cripps and Pandit Nehru (1869 – 1964) in New Delhi. Cripps had visited India to offer the country Dominion status.

14th March 1956: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) and Dr Radhakrishnan (1888 – 1975) welcoming Viscount Louis Mountbatten (1900 – 1979) and his wife to India at New Delhi Airport.

3rd July 1956: Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964), the Prime Minister of India with Louis, Earl Mountbatten (1900 – 1979) at the Mansion House, London,.

Lady Edwina Mountbatten (1901 – 1960) with Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) at a reception given for him by the Indian High Commissioner in London at Kensington Palace Gardens, 11th February 1955.