B K Nehru's widow dies at 109, cremated at Kasauli

Kasauli: Shobha Nehru, wife of Jawaharlal Nehru`s cousin B K Nehru, who died at her residence in Kasauli town of Himachal Pradesh due to age-related complications, was cremated here on Wednesday, her family said. She was 109.

The cremation was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and state Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dhani Ram Shandil.

Shobha Nehru, who is survived by three sons, died on early Tuesday. She was married to Jawaharlal Nehru`s cousin B.K. Nehru, an Indian diplomat, who nearly succeeded Dag Hammarskjold as the United Nations Secretary General.

Rahul Gandhi used to visit this picturesque hill station of Kasauli to meet her regularly. The last time he visited his great-grandaunt was in May last year.

Born in Budapest in Hungary Magdolna Friedman married into the Nehru family in 1935 after she met B K Nehru at the University of Oxford as a student. After marriage she was renamed Shobha. 

B.K. Nehru, one of India`s most distinguished civil servants of post-Independence India and former Chairman of The Tribune Trust of Publications, passed away on October 31, 2001 at the age of 92.

Justice (retd) S.S. Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court and currently the Tribune Trust Chairman, also attended her cremation.