A prominent Indian nationalist leader. An early Indian independence activist and leader of the Indian National Congress. He was the founder patriarch of Indias most powerful political family.       Born in Agra, India is a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India.          The family of Motilal Nehru, who is seated in the centre. Standing (L to R) Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Krishna Hutheesingh, Indira Gandhi and Ranjit Pandit; Seated: Swaroop Rani, Motilal Nehru and Kamala Nehru (circa 1927)        Motilal Nehru has stated in an account that the records about his family were destroyed during the first war for Indian independence (1857) and history is silent about his family tree. But the legend has it that his ancestor was Raj Kaul. Raj Kaul, a Kashmiri Brahimin. Kaul was a chef and also a scholar of Sanskrit and Persian language.        His first marriage ended when his first wife died while delivering a premature baby. The baby too didn’t survive.