Suu Kyi Inspired By "Indian Freedom Struggle"


She said “Pandit-ji was a name known to me when I was little passed the toddler stage,” as reported by Niharika Mandhana for New York Times. Further, her father who was a prominent Burmese revolutionary and mother, a diplomat, had close relations with Nehru.

She added that “The thoughts and actions of the leaders of the Indian independence movement provided me with ideas and inspiration.” She also quoted from “The Discovery of India,” a book written by Nehru during his imprisonment under the British colonial rule and then cited what she learnt about “law and order” from Kalhan’s Rajtarangini, the 12th century historic chronicle of kings in Kashmir.

Suu Kyi was also awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial prize in 1995, the year that she was released from her first round of house arrest. At the lecture she said “Today I wish to thank you for the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial prize that was given to me in 1998.”

When she delivered the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial lecture, present in the audience were her teachers and students from the school and college she studied at. The Congress Party president, Sonia Gandhi; Hamid Ansari, and a host of senior politicians, including Rahul Gandhi and Kapil Sibal were also present.

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