Inherited truth, courage from Nehru: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) Jawaharlal Nehru's greatest legacy was giving Indians the courage to resist oppression and claim freedom, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday and added he inherited "truth and courage" from his great-grandfather -- the country's first prime minister.

In a free-wheeling conversation with party leader Sandeep Dikshit that was posted on the former Congress chief's X handle and YouTube channel, Gandhi talks about his pursuit of truth and his willingness to stand by it no matter what the cost.

"Nehru didn't teach us politics -- he taught us to confront fear and stand for the truth. He gave Indians the courage to resist oppression and ultimately claim freedom," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said in the post on X.

"His greatest legacy lies in his relentless pursuit of truth -- a principle that shaped everything he stood for," he added.

The video has been uploaded on Gandhi's YouTube channel with the caption "Truth and Courage - What I Inherited from Nehru".

"This one's personal. In this podcast-style conversation with Sandeep Dikshit, I speak about what drives me -- the pursuit of truth -- and how that pursuit is inspired by my great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru. He wasn't just a politician. He was a seeker, a thinker, someone who walked into danger with a smile and came out stronger," Gandhi wrote in the video description.

"His greatest legacy lies in his relentless pursuit of truth -- a principle that shaped everything he stood for. He didn’t teach us politics -- he taught us to confront fear and stand for the truth. That need to seek, to question, to stay rooted in curiosity -- it runs in my blood," the former Congress chief added.

Gandhi said his grandmother -- former prime minister Indira Gandhi -- told him stories of how Nehru nearly fell into a glacier in the mountains he loved, how animals were always part of the family, or how they never missed an hour of exercise.

"My mother still watches birds in the garden. I do judo. These aren't just hobbies -- they're windows into who we are. We observe. We stay connected to the world around us. And what we carry most deeply is the instinct to face challenges with quiet strength," he wrote.

"That's what Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar, Patel, and Bose were really teaching: how to befriend fear. Not socialism, not politics -- just courage. Gandhi stood up to an empire with nothing but truth. Nehru gave Indians the courage to resist oppression and ultimately claim freedom. Any great human endeavour -- science, art, resistance -- it all begins with confronting fear. And if you're committed to non-violence, then truth is your only weapon. No matter what was done to them, they didn't budge from it. That's what made them great leaders," he noted.

Whether he is speaking to Bill Gates or Chetram Mochi, he meets them with the same curiosity, Gandhi said.

"Because real leadership isn't about control. It's about compassion. And in today's India -- where truth is inconvenient -- I've made my choice. I'll stand for it. No matter the cost," he wrote.