There is a man in Chandini Chowk with memories of saving the life of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Harish Chand Mehra (80), the first recipient of the National Bravery Award, is full of recollections of his meeting with Nehru and the events that followed.
It was in October 1957 that Mehra turned Nehru's saviour. The then 14-year-old Harish Mehra was a student of Giridhari Lal School and a member of the school’s scouts team. Jawaharlal Nehru and some foreign guests arrived to enjoy the firework display and other festivities of the Ramleela celebration held at the Ramleela Maidan. As part of the scouts assisting the security team, Harish was stationed outside the tent where Nehru and his team were staying.
A spark from the fireworks fell on top of Nehru’s tent and the cloth caught fire. Harish, who did not lose his presence of mind, first took hold of Nehru’s hand and led him to a safe place. Then, he climbed up the 18-foot-high electricity pole nearby. Using the small scouts’ dagger, he cut off the burning fabric of the tent to prevent the spread of the fire. However, during the rescue operation, Harish’s hand hit a power line and he fell. The electrocuted boy was immediately taken to the nearby hospital. Harish recalls leaving the hospital after three days of treatment.
Harish was congratulated by the central government and three months later he was awarded the nation’s first-ever Bravery Award. Nehru himself presented Harish with the medal in the ceremony held at Teen Murti Bhavan on February 4, 1958. Nehru said during the ceremony that the boy needed no introduction.
On January 26, 1959, Harish became the first civilian to march in the Republic Day Parade. He took up a central government job and retired in February 2004.
This article first appeared in the Malayala Manorama, dated November 14, 2023.
