View source for Jawaharlal Nehru

{{short description|Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964<!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->}}
{{redirect|Nehru}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Pandit]]
| name                = Jawaharlal Nehru
| honorific_suffix    = <!-- Bharat Ratna cannot be used as a suffix -->
| image               = Jawaharlal Nehru, 1947.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait {{c.}} 1947
| office              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Prime Minister of India]]
| term_start          = 15 August 1947
| term_end            = 27 May 1964
| monarch             = [[George VI]] {{nowrap|(until 1950)}}
| president           = {{ubl|[[Rajendra Prasad]] (from 1950)|[[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]]}}
| governor_general    = {{ubl|[[Lord Mountbatten]]|[[C. Rajagopalachari]] {{awrap|(until 1950)}}}}
| deputy              = [[Vallabhbhai Patel]] {{nowrap|(until 1950)}}
| predecessor         = ''Office established''<!-- hence no predecessor -->
| successor           = [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]{{efn|[[Gulzarilal Nanda]] served as interim prime minister for 13 days.}}
| office2             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister of External Affairs]]
| term_start2         = 2 September 1946
| term_end2           = 27 May 1964
| primeminister2      = ''Himself''
| predecessor2        = ''Office established''
| successor2          = [[Gulzarilal Nanda]]
| office3             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->Head of the [[Interim Government of India]]
| governor_general3   = {{ubl|[[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Earl Wavell]] <!-- until 20 February 1947; -->|Lord Mountbatten <!-- thereafter -->}}
| term_start3         = 2 September 1946
| term_end3           = 15 August 1947
| office4             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]
| term_start4         = 17 April 1952
| term_end4           = 27 May 1964
| constituency4       = [[Phulpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh]]
| predecessor4        = ''Constituency established''
| successor4          = [[Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1889|11|14}}
| birth_place         = [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]], [[North-Western Provinces]], India
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1964|05|27|1889|11|14}}
| death_place         = New Delhi, India
| death_cause         = <!-- should only be included when the cause of death has significance for the subject's notability -->
| resting_place       = [[Shantivan]]
| party               = [[Indian National Congress]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Kamala Kaul]]|1916|1936|end=died}}
| children            = [[Indira Gandhi]]
| parents             = {{ubl|[[Motilal Nehru]] (father)|[[Swarup Rani Nehru]] (mother)}}
| relatives           = <!-- See --> [[Nehru–Gandhi family]]
| education           = {{ubl|[[Harrow School]]|[[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]]|[[Inner Temple]]}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|[[Lawyer]]|[[Politician]]}}
| awards              = [[#Awards and honours|See below]]
| signature           = Jawaharlal Nehru Signature.svg
| module              = {{listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Tryst with Destiny- Speech by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.ogg|title=Jawaharlal Nehru's voice|type=speech|description=[[Tryst with Destiny]] speech delivered on the eve of [[India's independence]]<br />Recorded 14 August 1947}}
| vicepresident       = Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan<br />
[[Zakir Husain]]
| order               = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
| order2              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
| order1              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
}}
{{Jawaharlal Nehru series}}
'''Jawaharlal Nehru{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|eɪ|r|u}} {{respell|NAY|roo}} {{small|or}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɛ|r|u}} {{respell|NERR|oo}},<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nehru "Nehru"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''. 2020. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014207/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nehru|date=5 March 2016}}</ref> {{IPA|hi|dʒəˌʋaːɦəɾˈlaːl ˈneːɦɾuː|lang|Hi-JawaharlalNehru.ogg}}}}''' (14&nbsp;November 1889 – 27&nbsp;May 1964) was an Indian [[Anti-colonial nationalism|anti-colonial nationalist]], [[secular humanist]], [[social democrat]],<ref>—

* {{cite book |last1=Ganguly|first1=Sumit|title=India Since 1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UpK7oyb0kvkC&pg=PA64|page=64|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49866-1|quote=Nehru was a social democrat who believed that liberal political and economic institutions could deliver economic growth with redistribution. The 1950s witnessed greater state control over industrial activity and the birth of the industrial licensing system, which made it necessary for companies to seek the permission of the government before initiating business in permitted areas.|last2=Mukherji|first2=Rahul}}
* {{cite book |last=Schenk|first=Hans|title=Housing India's Urban Poor 1800–1965: Colonial and Post-colonial Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-XkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT67|year=2020|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-00-019185-1|quote=The idea that the state should actively and in a planned and 'rational' and 'modern' manner promote development originated abroad. Inspiration came to some extent from the Soviet Russian planned economic development, and for some, including Nehru, from the—at that time still a bit remote—concept of the West European and largely social-democrat idea of the 'Welfare' state.}}
* {{cite book |last=Winiecki|first=Jan|title=Shortcut or Piecemeal: Economic Development Strategies and Structural Change |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEISDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|page=41|year=2016|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=9789633860632|quote=Nehru, a Fabian socialist, or social-democrat in modern parlance, either did not read Mill or disregarded the (minimal) institutional requirements outlined by that classical writer. In Nehru's view, it was the state that should direct the economy from the center, as well as decide about the allocation of scarce resources.}}
* {{cite book |last=Chalam|first=K. S.|title=Social Economy of Development in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XumoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA325|page=325|year=2017|publisher=Sage|isbn=9789385985126|quote=Social democrats advocate peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism. While Jawaharlal Nehru was considered as a social democrat, his colleague in the Constituent Assembly, B. R. Ambedkar, was emphatic about state socialism. It appears that the compromise between these two ideas has been reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy. The principles of social democracy and/or democratic socialism can be interrogated in the context of the present situation in India.}}</ref> and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the [[Indian nationalist movement]] in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as the country's first [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]] for 16 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inc.in/our-inspiration/pandit-jawaharlal-nehru|title=PANDIT JAWAHARLAL NEHRU|publisher=Indian National Congress}}</ref> Nehru promoted parliamentary [[Democracy in India|democracy]], [[Secularism in India|secularism]], and [[Science and technology in India|science and technology]] during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the [[Cold War]].  A well-regarded author, he wrote books such as ''[[Letters from a Father to His Daughter]]'' (1929), ''[[An Autobiography (Nehru)|An Autobiography]]'' (1936) and ''[[The Discovery of India]]'' (1946), that have been read around the world.

The son of [[Motilal Nehru]], a prominent lawyer and [[Indian nationalist]], Jawaharlal Nehru was educated in England—at [[Harrow School]] and [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], and trained in the law at the [[Inner Temple]]. He became a [[barrister]], returned to India, enrolled at the [[Allahabad High Court]] and gradually became interested in national politics, which eventually became a full-time occupation. He joined the [[Indian National Congress]], rose to become the leader of a progressive faction during the 1920s, and eventually of the Congress, receiving the support of [[Mahatma Gandhi]], who was to designate Nehru as his political heir. As [[Congress president]] in 1929, Nehru called for [[Purna Swaraj|complete independence]] from the [[British Raj]].

Nehru and the Congress dominated Indian politics during the 1930s. Nehru promoted the idea of the [[Secular state|secular nation-state]] in the [[1937 Indian provincial elections|1937 provincial elections]], allowing the Congress to sweep the elections and form governments in several provinces. In September 1939, the Congress ministries resigned to protest Viceroy [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Lord Linlithgow]]'s decision to join the war without consulting them. After the [[All India Congress Committee]]'s [[Quit India Resolution]] of 8 August 1942, senior Congress leaders were imprisoned, and for a time, the organisation was suppressed. Nehru, who had reluctantly heeded Gandhi's call for immediate independence, and had desired instead to support the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] war effort during [[World War&nbsp;II]], came out of a lengthy prison term to a much altered political landscape. Under [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], the Muslim League had come to dominate Muslim politics in the interim. In the [[1946 Indian provincial elections|1946 provincial elections]], Congress won the elections, but the League won all the seats reserved for Muslims, which the British interpreted as a clear mandate for Pakistan in some form. Nehru became the interim prime minister of India in September 1946 and the League joined his government with some hesitancy in October 1946.

Upon India's independence on 15 August 1947, Nehru gave a critically acclaimed speech, "[[Tryst with Destiny]]"; he was sworn in as the [[Dominion of India]]'s prime minister and raised the Indian flag at the [[Red Fort]] in Delhi. On 26 January 1950, when India became a republic within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], Nehru became the [[Republic of India]]'s first prime minister. He embarked on an ambitious economic, social, and political reform programme. Nehru promoted a pluralistic [[multi-party]] democracy. In foreign affairs, he led the establishment the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], a group of nations that did not seek membership in the two main ideological blocs of the Cold War. Under Nehru's leadership, the Congress dominated national and state-level politics and won elections in [[1951–52 Indian general election|1951]], [[1957 Indian general election|1957]] and [[1962 Indian general election|1962]]. He [[Death and state funeral of Jawaharlal Nehru|died in office]] from a heart attack in 1964. His birthday is celebrated as [[Children's Day (India)|Children's Day]] in India.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/inspiring-lives/jawaharlal-nehru-architect-of-modern-india/story-Ch4DgrerxtY448l0yxulTO.html|title=Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of modern India|date=14 November 2019|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref><!-- PER WP:LEADCITE, INFO IN THE LEAD IS CITED IN THE BODY -->
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== Early life and career (1889–1912) ==

=== Birth and family background ===
[[File:Anand Bhawan, Allahabad.jpg|thumb|[[Anand Bhawan]] the Nehru family home in [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]]]]
Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November 1889 in [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]] in [[British Raj|British India]] to mother [[Swarup Rani Nehru|Swarup Rani]] [[née]] Thussu (1868–1938) and father [[Motilal Nehru]] (1861–1931).{{sfn|Zachariah|2004|p=11}} Both parents belonged to the community of [[Kashmiri Pandits]], or [[Brahmins]] originally from the [[Kashmir valley]]. Motilal, a self-made [[barrister]] of wealth, served as [[president of the Indian National Congress]] in 1919 and 1928.<ref>{{cite news |last=Babu |first=D. Shyam |title=Nehru and the Kashmir quandary |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/nehru-and-the-kashmir-quandary/article28362589.ece |url-status=live |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=11 July 2019 |access-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202142950/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/nehru-and-the-kashmir-quandary/article28362589.ece |archive-date=2 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Nanda |first=B.R. |url= |title=The Nehrus: Motilal and Jawaharlal |date=1963 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= |location= |pages=38–40 |author-link=}}</ref> Swarup Rani, raised in a family settled in [[Lahore]],{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=21}} was Motilal's second wife, the first having died in [[childbirth]]. Jawaharlal was the firstborn.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=25}} Two sisters followed, the elder of which, [[Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit|Vijaya Lakshmi]], became the first female president of the [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref>[[Smith, Bonnie G.]] ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History''. Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-19-514890-9}}. pp. 406–407.</ref> The younger, [[Krishna Hutheesing]], became a noted writer, authoring several books on her brother.<ref name="Hindustan Times-2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-school/jawaharlal-nehru-freedom-struggle-icon-maker-of-modern-india/story-VdEiIZ6OtVV2NFtTuToL2I.html|title=Jawaharlal Nehru: Freedom struggle icon, maker of modern India|date=2 December 2020|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=15 November 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115110906/https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-school/jawaharlal-nehru-freedom-struggle-icon-maker-of-modern-india/story-VdEiIZ6OtVV2NFtTuToL2I.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Mrs. Krishna Hutheesing, an Author and a Sister of Nehru, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/10/archives/mrs-krishna-hutheesing-an-author-and-a-sister-of-nehru-dies.html |access-date=2 July 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=10 November 1967 |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709213838/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/10/archives/mrs-krishna-hutheesing-an-author-and-a-sister-of-nehru-dies.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Childhood ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with his mother Swarup Rani and father Motilal Nehru, 1894.jpg|thumb|right|Jawaharlal Nehru as a child with his mother [[Swarup Rani]] and father [[Motilal Nehru]], 1894.jpg]]
Nehru described his childhood as "sheltered and uneventful". He grew up in an atmosphere of privilege, which included life in the mansion [[Anand Bhavan]] in [[Allahabad]]. He was educated at home by private [[governess]]es and tutors.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=22}} One of these was an Irishman, Ferdinand T. Brooks, who was interested in [[theosophy]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=[[Balkrishna Govind Gokhale|Gokhale, Balkrishna Govind]] |title=Nehru and History |journal=History and Theory |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=311–322 |year=1978 |jstor=2504742 |issn=0018-2656 |doi=10.2307/2504742}}</ref> The [[Irish Home Rule]] and [[Indian Home Rule]] leaguer [[Annie Besant]] initiated Jawaharlal into the [[Theosophical Society]] when he was thirteen. However, his interest in theosophy was not enduring, and he left the society shortly after Brooks departed as his tutor.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=23}} Nehru was to write: "For nearly three years [Brooks] was with me and in many ways, he influenced me greatly".<ref name="OPM">Misra, Om Prakash. 1995. ''Economic Thought of Gandhi and Nehru: A Comparative Analysis''. M.D. Publications. {{ISBN|978-81-85880-71-6}}. pp. 49–65.</ref>

Nehru's theosophical interests led him to study the [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist]] and [[Hindu scriptures]].{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=88}} According to [[B. R. Nanda]], these scriptures were Nehru's "first introduction to the religious and cultural heritage of [India]....[They] provided Nehru the initial impulse for [his] long intellectual quest which culminated...in ''[[The Discovery of India]]''."{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=88}}

=== Youth ===
[[File:Nehru at Harrow.png|thumb|upright=0.9|alt= Photograph of Nehru dressed in a cadet uniform |A young Nehru dressed in a cadet's uniform at [[Harrow School]] in England]]
Nehru became an ardent nationalist during his youth.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enmjrZiAe9EC&pg=PA12 |title=Encyclopaedia of eminent thinkers |last=Bharathi |first=K.S. |year=1998 |isbn=978-81-7022-684-0|publisher=Concept Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd}}</ref> The [[Second Boer War]] and the [[Russo-Japanese War]] intensified his feelings. Of the latter he wrote, "[The] Japanese victories [had] stirred up my enthusiasm.&nbsp;...[[Nationalistic]] ideas filled my mind.&nbsp;... I mused of Indian freedom and Asiatic freedom from the [[thraldom]] of Europe."<ref name="OPM" /> Later, in 1905, when he had begun his institutional schooling at [[Harrow School|Harrow]], a leading school in England where he was nicknamed "Joe",<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tharoor|first=Shashi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_R5DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22joe%22+%22nehru%22&pg=PT32|title=Nehru: The Invention of India|date=27 November 2018|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-5305-355-0}}</ref> [[G. M. Trevelyan]]'s [[Garibaldi]] books, which he had received as prizes for academic merit, influenced him greatly.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=36}} He viewed Garibaldi as a revolutionary hero. He wrote: "Visions of similar deeds in India came before, of [my] gallant fight for [Indian] freedom and in my mind, India and Italy got strangely mixed together."<ref name="OPM" />

=== Graduation ===
Nehru went to [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], in October 1907 and graduated with an honours degree in [[natural science]] in 1910.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=43}} During this period, he studied politics, economics, history and literature with interest. The writings of [[Bernard Shaw]], [[H. G. Wells]], [[John Maynard Keynes]], [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson|Lowes Dickinson]] and [[Meredith Townsend]] moulded much of his political and economic thinking.<ref name="OPM" />

After completing his degree in 1910, Nehru moved to London and studied law at the [[Inner Temple]] (one of the four [[Inns of Court]] to which English barristers must belong).<ref name="Sen-1964">Sen, Zoë Keshap C. 1964. "Jawaharlal Nehru." ''Civilisations'' 14(1/2):25–39. {{JSTOR|41230788}}.</ref> During this time, he continued to study [[Fabian Society]] scholars including [[Beatrice Webb]].<ref name="OPM" /> He was [[called to the Bar]] in 1912.<ref name="Sen-1964" />{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=47}}

=== Legal practice ===
[[File:Nehru barrister.png|thumb|upright=0.9|right|alt= Photograph if Nehru in his barrister's attire |Jawaharlal Nehru, Barrister-at-Law]]
After returning to India in August 1912, Nehru enrolled at the [[Allahabad High Court]] and tried to settle down as a barrister. His father was one of the wealthiest barristers in British India, with a monthly income exceeding Rs. 10,000 (£850).{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=34}}<ref>{{cite book | last=Pandey | first=B.N. | title=Nehru | publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK | year=1976 | isbn=978-1-349-00792-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PO-wCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 | page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bhagavan | first=Manu | title=Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit| publisher=Penguin Random House India | year=2023 | isbn=9789357086462 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N4DyEAAAQBAJ | page=23}}</ref> Although Nehru was expected to inherit the family's lucrative practice,{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=167}} he had little interest in his profession, and relished neither the practice of law nor the company of lawyers. His involvement in nationalist politics was to gradually replace his legal practice. In 1945-46, he was a member of the [[INA Defence Committee]] during the [[INA Trials]], putting on a barrister's gown and appearing in court after over twenty-five years.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=308}}

== Nationalist movement (1912–1939) ==

=== Civil rights and home rule: 1912–1919 ===
[[File:Kamala and Jawaharlal Nehru 1916.jpg|thumb|200px|alt=See captionKamala and Jawaharlal Nehru marriage ceremony|Nehru and Kamala Kaul at their wedding in Delhi, 1916]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru and his family in 1918.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|right|alt=Family portrait of Nehru, his wife and daughter |Nehru in 1919 with wife [[Kamala Nehru|Kamala]] and daughter [[Indira Gandhi|Indira]]]]
Nehru's father, Motilal, was an important [[Early Nationalists|moderate]] leader of the Indian National Congress. The moderates believed [[British rule]] was modernising, and sought reform and more participation in government in cooperation with British authorities.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nanda|first=B.R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pI19BgAAQBAJ|title=Gokhale: The Indian Moderates and the British Raj|date=2015|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=9781400870493|language=en|pages=484–486}}</ref> However, Nehru sympathised with the Congress radicals,{{sfn| Zachariah|2004|pp=20–21}} who promoted [[Swaraj]], [[Swadeshi movement|Swadesh]], and boycott. The two factions had [[Surat Split|split]] in 1907. After returning to India in 1912, Nehru attended the annual session of the Congress at [[Patna]].{{sfn|Ghose|1993|p=25}} The Congress was then considered a party of moderates and elites dominated by [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]],{{sfn|Ghose|1993|p=25}}{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=50}} and Nehru was disconcerted by what he saw as "very much an English-knowing [[upper-class]] affair".{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=49}} However, Nehru agreed to raise funds for the ongoing [[Satyagraha|Indian civil rights movement]] led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in South Africa.{{sfn|Ghose|1993|p=25}}{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=50}} In 1916, Nehru married [[Kamala Kaul]], who came from a Kashmiri Pandit family settled in Delhi.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=173}} Their only daughter, [[Indira Gandhi|Indira]], was born in 1917. Kamala gave birth to a son in 1924, but the baby lived for only a few days.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=330}}

The influence of moderates declined after Gokhale died in 1915.{{sfn|Ghose|1993|p=25}} Several nationalist leaders banded together in 1916 under the leadership of [[Annie Besant]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]] to voice a demand for Swaraj or [[self-governance]]. Besant and Tilak formed separate [[Indian Home Rule movement|Home Rule League]]s. Nehru joined both groups, but he worked primarily with Besant, with whom he had a close relationship since childhood.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=55}} He became the secretary of Besant's Home Rule League.<ref name="JNACA">{{Cite web |url=http://www.jnmf.in/chrono.html |title=Jawaharlal Nehru – a chronological account |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604220450/http://www.jnmf.in/chrono.html |archive-date=4 June 2012 |access-date=23 June 2012|website=Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF)}}</ref> In June 1917, the British government arrested Besant. The Congress and other organisations threatened to launch protests if she was not freed. The government was forced to release Besant in September, but the protestors successfully negotiated further [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms|concession]]s.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=58}}

=== Non-cooperation and afterwards: 1919–1929 ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru, circa 1925.jpg|alt=|thumb|281x281px|Jawaharlal Nehru, circa 1925]]

Nehru met Gandhi for the first time in 1916 at the [[Lucknow]] session of the Congress,{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=55}} but he had been then dissuaded by his father from being drawn into Gandhi's satyagraha politics.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=214}} 1919 marked the beginning of a strong wave of nationalist activity and subsequent government repression that included the [[Jallianwala Bagh massacre|Jallianwala Bagh killings]]. Motilal Nehru lost his belief in constitutional reform, and joined his son in accepting Gandhi's methods and paramount leadership of the Congress.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=228}} In December 1919, Nehru's father was elected president of the Indian National Congress in what is regarded as "the first Gandhi Congress".{{sfn| Zachariah|2004|p=39}} During the [[Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922)|non-cooperation movement]] launched by Gandhi in 1920, Nehru played an influential role in directing political activities in the United Provinces (now [[Uttar Pradesh]]) as provincial Congress secretary.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=325}} He was imprisoned on 6 December 1921 on charges of anti-governmental activities,{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=259}} marking the first of eight periods of detention between 1921 and 1945, lasting over nine years in all. In 1923, Nehru was imprisoned in [[Nabha State|Nabha]], a [[princely state]], when he went there to see the struggle that was being waged by the [[Sikhs]] against the corrupt [[Mahant]]s. He was released after his sentence was unconditionally suspended by the British administration under the criminal procedure code.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=106}} By 1923, Nehru had emerged as a national figure of some stature. He was elected general secretary of the Congress,{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=323}} president of the United Provinces Congress,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leoene|first=Fabio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itS-DwAAQBAJ|title=Prophet and Statesmen in Crafting Democracy in India: Political Leadership, Ideas, and Compromises|date=2019|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=9781498569378|language=en|page=105}}</ref> and mayor of Allahabad all in the same year.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=325}}

The non-cooperation movement was halted in 1922 as a result of the [[Chauri Chaura incident]].{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=267}} Nehru's two-year term as general secretary ended after 1925,{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=323}} and earlier that year he resigned as mayor of Allahabad due to his disillusionment with municipal politics.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=327}} In 1926, Nehru left for Europe with his wife and daughter to seek treatment for his wife's tuberculosis diagnosis.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=331}} While in Europe, he was invited to attend the Congress of oppressed nationalities in Brussels, Belgium.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=334}} The meeting was called to coordinate and plan a common struggle against [[imperialism]]. Nehru represented India and was elected to the Executive Council of the [[League against Imperialism]] which was born at this meeting.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 45071841|title = The Indian Nationalist Movement and the League of Nations: Prologue to the United Nations|last1 = Keenleyside|first1 = T.A.|journal = [[India Quarterly]]|year = 1983|volume = 39|issue = 3|pages = 281–298|doi = 10.1177/097492848303900303|s2cid = 150520531}}</ref> He made a statement in favour of complete independence for India.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=335}} Nehru's stay in Europe included a visit to the Soviet Union, which sparked his interest in [[Marxism]] and socialism. Appealed by its ideas but repelled by some of its tactics, he never completely agreed with [[Karl Marx]]'s ideas. However, from that time on, the benchmark of his [[Marxian economics|economic]] view remained Marxist, adapted, where necessary, to Indian circumstances.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|url=https://archive.org/details/studentsbritanni04hoib/page/108/mode/2up|title=Students' Britannica India|publisher=[[Popular Prakashan]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-85229-760-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/studentsbritanni03hoib/page/107 107]|url-access=registration}}</ref> After returning to India in December 1927, Nehru was elected to another two-year term as Congress general secretary.{{sfn|Nanda|2007|p=391}}

=== Declaration of independence ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru and Motilal Nehru in 1929.jpg|thumb|Nehru, President-elect of the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress in 1929, with the outgoing President, his father Motilal]]
[[File:Gandhi Nehru 1929.jpg|thumb|Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi in 1929]]
Nehru was one of the first leaders to demand that the Congress Party should resolve to make a complete and explicit break from all ties with the British Empire. The Madras session of Congress in 1927, approved his resolution for independence despite Gandhi's criticism. At that time, he formed the Independence for India League, a pressure group within the Congress.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dutt|first=R.C.|url={{Google books|2WI31XdK8pkC|page=PR9|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Socialism of Jawaharlal Nehru|date=1981|publisher=Shakti Malik, Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-128-7|location=New Delhi|pages=54–55|access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi-1991">{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/patellife00rajm|title=Patel: A Life|date=28 November 1991|publisher=Navajivan Publishing House|via=Internet Archive|pages=171|first=Rajmohan|last=Gandhi|author-link=Rajmohan Gandhi}}</ref> In 1928, Gandhi agreed to Nehru's demands and proposed a resolution that called for the British to grant Dominion status to India within two years.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nag|first=Kingshuk|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=duHwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT61|title=Netaji: Living Dangerously|year=2015|isbn=978-93-84439-70-5|publisher=Paranjoy Guha Thakurta}}</ref> If the British failed to meet the deadline, the Congress would call upon all Indians to fight for complete independence. Nehru was one of the leaders who objected to the time given to the British—he pressed Gandhi to demand immediate actions from the British. Gandhi brokered a further compromise by reducing the time given from two years to one.<ref name="Gandhi-1991" /> The British rejected demands for Dominion status in 1929.<ref name="Gandhi-1991" /> Nehru assumed the presidency of the Congress party during the Lahore session on 29 December 1929 and introduced a successful resolution calling for [[Purna Swaraj|complete independence]].<ref name="Gandhi-1991" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Purna Swaraj: The Demand for Full Independence 26 January 1930|url=http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/major-events-pre-1950/283-purna-swaraj-the-demand-for-full-independence-26-january-1930-|access-date=6 July 2015|publisher=indiaofthepast.org|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108144457/http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/major-events-pre-1950/283-purna-swaraj-the-demand-for-full-independence-26-january-1930-|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nehru drafted the Indian Declaration of Independence, which stated:

<blockquote>We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full opportunities for growth. We believe also that if any government deprives a people of these rights and oppresses them the people have a further right to alter it or abolish it. The British government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually. We believe, therefore, that India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj or complete independence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/transcript/g3cs3s2t.htm|title=Learning Curve British Empire|first=Public Record|last=Office|website=Public Record Office, The National Archives|access-date=28 November 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128132706/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/transcript/g3cs3s2t.htm|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

At midnight on New Year's Eve 1929, Nehru hoisted the [[tricolour]] [[flag of India]] upon the banks of the [[Ravi River|Ravi]] in Lahore.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Haroon|last=Khalid|url=https://scroll.in/article/866428/republic-day-story-on-ravis-banks-a-pledge-that-shaped-the-course-of-modern-india-88-years-ago|title=Republic Day story: On Ravi's banks, a pledge that shaped the course of modern India 88 years ago|website=[[Scroll.in]]|date=26 January 2018|access-date=16 August 2021|archive-date=30 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730202934/https://scroll.in/article/866428/republic-day-story-on-ravis-banks-a-pledge-that-shaped-the-course-of-modern-india-88-years-ago|url-status=live}}</ref> A pledge of independence was read out, which included a readiness to withhold taxes. The massive gathering of the public attending the ceremony was asked if they agreed with it, and the majority of people were witnessed raising their hands in approval. 172 Indian members of central and provincial legislatures resigned in support of the resolution and in accordance with Indian public sentiment. The Congress asked the people of India to observe 26&nbsp;January as Independence Day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-january-26-is-celebrated-as-republic-day-6230037/|title=Explained: Why India celebrates January 26 as Republic Day|date=30 January 2021|access-date=21 November 2021|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121012116/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-january-26-is-celebrated-as-republic-day-6230037/|url-status=live}}</ref> Congress volunteers, nationalists, and the public hoisted the flag of India publicly across India. Plans for mass civil disobedience were also underway.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Education|first=Pearson|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADFpDwAAQBAJ&pg=SA1-PA145|title=SSC topic-wise Previous Years Solved Papers General Awareness|isbn=978-93-5286-640-3|publisher=Pearson Education India}}</ref>

After the Lahore session of the Congress in 1929, Nehru gradually emerged as the paramount leader of the Indian independence movement. Gandhi stepped back into a more spiritual role. Although Gandhi did not explicitly designate Nehru as his political heir until 1942, as early as the mid-1930s, the country saw Nehru as the natural successor to Gandhi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/151118/the-greatest-indian-after-the-mahatma-why-gandhi-chose-nehru-to-lead.html|title=The greatest Indian after the Mahatma? Why Gandhi chose Nehru to lead India|first=Praveen|last=Davar|date=15 November 2018|website=Deccan Chronicle|access-date=21 November 2021|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121011350/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/opinion/op-ed/151118/the-greatest-indian-after-the-mahatma-why-gandhi-chose-nehru-to-lead.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1929, Nehru had already drafted the "Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy" resolution that set the government agenda for an independent India.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maheshwari|first=Neerja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okUSbReaevUC&pg=PA41|title=Economic Policy of Jawaharlal Nehru|date=1997|publisher=Deep & Deep|isbn=978-81-7100-850-6|pages=41|access-date=9 November 2018}}</ref> The resolution was ratified in 1931 at the [[Karachi]] session chaired by [[Vallabhbhai Patel]].<ref>{{Cite book |editor-last=Pandey |editor-first=BN |title=The Indian Nationalist Movement 1885–1947: Select Documents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KauwCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR7 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-349-86215-3 |page=45}}</ref>

=== Salt March: 1930 ===
Nehru and most of the Congress leaders were ambivalent initially to Gandhi's plan to begin [[civil disobedience]] with a ''satyagraha'' aimed at the British [[salt tax]]. After the protest had gathered steam, they realised the power of salt as a symbol. Nehru remarked about the unprecedented popular response, "It seemed as though a spring had been suddenly released".<ref>[[Gopalkrishna Gandhi|Gandhi, Gopalkrishna]]. [http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article388858.ece "The Great Dandi March – eighty years after"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717030642/http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article388858.ece|date=17 July 2012}}, ''[[The Hindu]]'', 5 April 2010.</ref> He was arrested on 14&nbsp;April 1930 while on a train from Allahabad to [[Raipur]]. Earlier, after addressing a huge meeting and leading a vast procession, he had ceremoniously manufactured some contraband salt. He was charged with breach of the salt law and sentenced to six months of imprisonment at Central Jail.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Vinod|last=Khanal|title=Mahatma Gandhi describes Nehru's arrest in 1930 as 'rest'|website=[[Times of India]]|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Mahatma-Gandhi-describes-Nehrus-arrest-in-1930-as-rest/articleshow/45140212.cms|date=13 November 2014|access-date=16 August 2021|archive-date=28 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128191124/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/allahabad/Mahatma-Gandhi-describes-Nehrus-arrest-in-1930-as-rest/articleshow/45140212.cms|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2754199?searchWord=nehru&backquery=&#91;query=nehru+liaquat+pact&originalquery=&sort_by=dc.date.accessioned_dt&order=desc&rpp=20&etal=0&start=100 |title=Civil Disobedience Movement in the United Provinces. Arrest of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru |publisher=United Provinces Government |year=1930 |location=New Delhi |pages=71 |chapter=Telegram Post No. 90, dated (and read) 14th April, 1930 |quote="For breaking Salt Law Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested at Allahabad this morning." |access-date=9 September 2022 |url-access=registration |via=[[National Archives of India]] |archive-date=10 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221010075306/https://www.abhilekh-patal.in/jspui/handle/123456789/2754199?searchWord=nehru&backquery=%5Bquery=nehru+liaquat+pact&originalquery=&sort_by=dc.date.accessioned_dt&order=desc&rpp=20&etal=0&start=100 |url-status=live }}</ref>

He nominated Gandhi to succeed him as the Congress president during his absence in jail, but Gandhi declined, and Nehru nominated his father as his successor.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=167}} With Nehru's arrest, the civil disobedience acquired a new tempo, and arrests, firing on crowds and [[Baton charge|lathi charges]] grew to be ordinary occurrences.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=168}}

==== Salt satyagraha success ====
The [[salt satyagraha]] ("pressure for reform through passive resistance") succeeded in attracting world attention. Indian, British, and world opinion increasingly recognised the legitimacy of the claims by the [[Congress party]] for independence. Nehru considered the salt satyagraha the high-water mark of his association with Gandhi,<ref>Fisher, Margaret W. June 1967. "India's Jawaharlal Nehru." ''[[Asian Survey]]'' 7(6):363–373 [368]. {{doi|10.2307/2642611}}. {{JSTOR|2642611}}</ref> and felt its lasting importance was in changing the attitudes of Indians:<ref>Johnson, Richard L. 2005. ''Gandhi's Experiments With Truth: Essential Writings By And About Mahatma Gandhi''. [[Lexington Books]]. {{ISBN|978-0-7391-1142-0}}. p. 37.</ref>

<blockquote>Of course these movements exercised tremendous pressure on the British Government and shook the government machinery. But the real importance, to my mind, lay in the effect they had on our own people, and especially the village masses.&nbsp;... Non-cooperation dragged them out of the mire and gave them self-respect and self-reliance.&nbsp;... They acted courageously and did not submit so easily to unjust oppression; their outlook widened and they began to think a little in terms of India as a whole.&nbsp;... It was a remarkable transformation and the Congress, under Gandhi's leadership, must have the credit for it.</blockquote>

=== In prison 1930–1935 ===
On 11 October 1930, Nehru's detention ended, but he was back in jail in less than ten days for resuming the presidency of the banned Congress.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=147}} On 26 January 1931, Nehru and other prisoners were released early by [[Lord Irwin]], who was negotiating with Gandhi.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|p=181}} His father died on 6 February 1931. Nehru was back in jail on 26 December 1931 after violating court orders not to leave Allahabad while leading a "no-rent" campaign to alleviate peasant distress.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=170}} On 30 August 1933, Nehru was released from prison, but the government soon moved to detain him again. On 22 December 1933, the [[Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet|Home Secretary]] sent a memo to all local governments in India:

<blockquote>The Government of India regard him [Nehru] as by far the most dangerous element at large in India, and their view is that the time has come, in accordance with their general policy of taking steps at an early stage to prevent attempts to work up mass agitation, to take action against him.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=185}}</blockquote>

He was arrested in Allahabad on 12 January 1934.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=185}} In August 1934, he was briefly released for eleven days to attend to his wife's ailing health. In October, he was allowed to see her again, but he turned down an early release conditional on withdrawing from politics for the duration of his sentence.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|pp=255–256}}

=== Congress president, provincial elections: 1935–1939 ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru at Karachi on return from Lausanne with Kamala Nehru’s ashes.jpg|thumb|Nehru in [[Karachi]] after returning from [[Lausanne]], [[Switzerland]] with the ashes of his wife [[Kamala Nehru]] in March 1936]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with Rabindranath Tagore,1936.jpg|thumb|Nehru with Indian Nobel Prize-winning poet [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in 1936]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru in a procession at Peshawar,North West Frontier Province, 14 October 1937.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of 1000s of people in a procession |Nehru in a procession at [[Peshawar]], [[North-West Frontier Province]], 14 October 1937]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru on visit to Egypt, June 1938.jpg|thumb|right|Nehru on a visit to Egypt in June 1938]]

In September 1935, Nehru's wife, Kamala, became terminally ill while receiving medical treatment in [[Badenweiler]], Germany.{{sfn|Zachariah|2004|pp=76–77}} Nehru was released from prison early on compassionate grounds, and moved his wife to a sanatorium in [[Lausanne]], Switzerland, where she died on 28 February 1936.{{sfn|Moraes|2007|pp=245–248}} While in Europe, Nehru learned that he was elected as Congress president for the coming year. He returned to India in March 1936 and led the Congress response to the [[Government of India Act 1935]]. He condemned the Act as a "new charter of bondage" and a "machine with strong brakes but no engine".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=R.L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/651637|title=Conflict and harmony: Indo-British relations; a new perspective|year=1976|publisher=Trimurti Publications|isbn=|page=18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sethi|first=R.R.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/6068755|title=The last phase of British sovereignty in India (1919–1947): being the concluding chapters of the Cambridge history of India, vol. VI. and the Cambridge shorter history of India|year=1958|publisher=S. Chand|isbn=|pages=34}}</ref> He initially wanted to boycott the [[1937 Indian provincial elections|1937 provincial elections]], but agreed to lead the election campaign after receiving vague assurances about [[abstentionism]] from the party leaders who wished to contest.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=214}} Nehru hoped to treat the election campaign as a mass outreach programme.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Möller|first1=U.|last2=Schierenbeck|first2=I.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uKbAAwAAQBAJ|title=Political Leadership, Nascent Statehood and Democracy: A Comparative Study|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781317673101|pages=52}}</ref>

During the campaign, Nehru was elected to another term as Congress president.{{sfn|Mukherjee|2018|p=41}} The election manifesto, drafted largely by Nehru, attacked both the Act and the [[Communal Award]] that went with it.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=214}} He campaigned against the [[All India Muslim League|Muslim League]], and argued that Muslims could not be regarded as a separate nation. The Congress won most general seats, and the Muslim League fared poorly with Muslim electorates.<ref name="Schöttli">Schöttli, J., 2012. ''Vision and Strategy in Indian Politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's Policy Choices and the Designing of Political Institutions'', p. 54. Milton Park: Taylor & Francis.</ref> After the elections, Nehru drafted a resolution against taking office, but there were many Congress leaders who wanted to assume power under the 1935 Act. The [[Congress Working Committee]] (CWC) under Gandhi passed a compromise resolution that authorised office acceptance, but reiterated that the fundamental objective of the Congress was the destruction of the 1935 Act.{{sfn|Mukherjee|2018|p=43}}

Nehru was more popular than before with the public,{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=214}} but he found himself isolated at the CWC meetings due to the anti-socialist orientation of its membership. Gandhi had to personally intervene when a group of CWC members and Nehru threatened to resign and counter-resign their posts over disagreements.{{sfn|Möller|Schierenbeck|2014|p=52}} He became discontented with his role, especially after the death of his mother in January 1938.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=233}} In February 1938, he did not stand for re-election as president, and was succeeded by [[Subash Chandra Bose]]. He left for Europe in June, stopping on the way at [[Alexandria]], Egypt.{{sfn|Gopal|1976|p=233}} While in Europe, Nehru became concerned with the possibility of another world war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/studentsbritanni04hoib/page/108/mode/2up|title=Students' Britannica India|first1=Dale|last1=Hoiberg|first2=Indu|last2=Ramchandani|date=21 November 2000|publisher=New Delhi : Encyclopaedia Britannica (India)|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> At that time, he emphasised that, in the event of war, India's place was alongside the democracies, though he insisted India could only fight in support of Great Britain and France as a free country.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoiberg, Dale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&pg=PA108|title=Students' Britannica India|publisher=[[Popular Prakashan]]|year=2000|isbn=978-0-85229-760-5|pages=108–}}</ref> After returning to India in December 1938, Nehru accepted Bose's offer to head the [[Planning Commission (India)|Planning Commission]].<ref name="SugataBose2012">{{Cite book|last=Bose|first=Sugata|url=|title=His Majesty's Opponent: Subhas Chandra Bose and India's Struggle Against Empire|date=2012|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=9780674065963|language=en|page=146}}</ref> In February 1939, he became president of the [[All India States Peoples Conference]] (AISPC), which was leading popular agitations in princely states.<ref name="Bandyopadhyay2004">{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-EpNz0U8VEQC|title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India|publisher=[[Orient Blackswan]]|year=2004|isbn=978-81-250-2596-2|pages=409–410}}</ref> Nehru was not directly involved in the events that split the Congress during the Bose presidency, and unsuccessfully attempted to mediate.{{sfn|Mukherjee|2018|p=44}}

== Nationalist movement (1939–1947) ==
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with Mahatma Gandhi during a meeting of Working Committee of the Congress at Wardha.jpg|thumb|[[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]], Nehru, and [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan]] at the Congress Working Committee meeting in Wardha in September 1939]]
When [[World War&nbsp;II]] began, [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Viceroy Linlithgow]] unilaterally declared India a [[belligerent]] on the side of Britain, without consulting the elected Indian representatives.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saraf|first=Nandini|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5YkBQAAQBAJ|date=2012|title=The Life and Times of Lokmanya Tilak|isbn=978-81-84301-52-6|publisher=Ocean Books|pages=119}}</ref> Nehru hurried back from a visit to China, announcing that, in a conflict between democracy and [[fascism]], "our sympathies must inevitably be on the side of democracy,&nbsp;... I should like India to play its full part and throw all her resources into the struggle for a new order".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gk3WCgAAQBAJ&q=In+a+conflict+between+democracy+and+fascism%2C+that+%22our+sympathies+must+inevitably+be+on+the+side+of+democracy.%E2%80%A6+i+should+like+india+to+play+its+full+part+and+throw+all+her+resources+into+the+struggle+for+a+new+order.+Jawaharlal+Nehru&pg=PA60|title=Transfer of Power in India|first=Vapal Pangunni|last=Menon|author-link=V. P. Menon|date=8 December 2015|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-1-4008-7937-3|pages=60}}</ref>

After much deliberation, the Congress under Nehru informed the government that it would co-operate with the British but on certain conditions. First, Britain must give an assurance of full independence for India after the war and allow the election of a [[Constituent Assembly of India|constituent assembly]] to frame a new constitution; second, although the Indian armed forces would remain under the [[British Commander-in-chief]], Indians must be included immediately in the central government and given a chance to share power and responsibility.<ref name="plassey-to-partition">{{Cite book|last=Bandyopadhyay|first=Sekhara|url={{Google books|-EpNz0U8VEQC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India|date=2004|publisher=[[Orient Longman]]|isbn=978-81-250-2596-2|location=India|page=412}}</ref> When Nehru presented Lord Linlithgow with these demands, he chose to reject them. A [[Political deadlock|deadlock]] was reached: "The same old game is played again," Nehru wrote bitterly to Gandhi, "the background is the same, the various epithets are the same and the actors are the same and the results must be the same".<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Jawaharlal Nehru|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jawaharlal-Nehru|last=Moraes|first=Frank R.|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=28 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628090335/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jawaharlal-Nehru|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=W. Sears|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen W. Sears|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABQqAAAAYAAJ|title=The Horizon History of the British Empire Volume 2|date=1973|publisher=American Heritage Publishing Company|pages=465|isbn=978-0-07-030354-6|via=Google Books}}</ref>

On 23 October 1939, the Congress condemned the Viceroy's attitude and called upon the Congress ministries in the various provinces to resign in protest.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi |last=Wolpert |first=Stanley |year=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-515634-X |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp/page/192 192]–193|url=https://archive.org/details/gandhispassionli00wolp |url-access=registration |access-date=4 December 2007}}</ref> Before this crucial announcement, Nehru urged Jinnah and the Muslim League to join the protest, but Jinnah declined.<ref name="plassey-to-partition" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histempsequel/page5.html |title=Gandhi – The Great Soul |access-date=4 December 2007 |last=Anderson |first=Ken |work=The British Empire: Fall of the Empire |archive-date=23 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723053926/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histempsequel/page5.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Civil disobedience, Lahore Resolution, August Offer: 1940 ===
[[File:Seva Dal.jpg|right|260px|thumb|Nehru with the Seva Dal volunteer corps in Allahabad, 1940]]
In March 1940, Muhammad Ali Jinnah passed what came to be known as the [[Pakistan Resolution]], declaring that, "Muslims are a nation according to any definition of a nation, and they must have their [[homeland]]s, their territory and their State." This state was to be known as Pakistan, meaning 'Land of the Pure'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40961603|title=How Jinnah's ideology shapes Pakistan's identity|first=Secunder|last=Kermani|date=18 August 2017|website=BBC|access-date=21 November 2021|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121151418/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40961603|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru angrily declared that "all the old problems&nbsp;... pale into insignificance before the latest stand taken by the Muslim League leader in Lahore".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chand|first=Attar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgUJAQAAMAAJ|title=India and Asia-Pacific Security Volume 2|pages=223|date=2010|publisher=Amar Prakashan|isbn=978-81-8542-031-8|via=Google Books}}</ref> Linlithgow made Nehru an [[August Offer|offer]] on 8&nbsp;October 1940, which stated that [[Dominion of India|Dominion status for India]] was the objective of the British government.<ref>Radhey Shyam Chaurasia (2002). ''History of Modern India, 1707 A. D. to 2000 A.'' Atlantic Publishers. pp. 281–283</ref> However, it referred neither to a date nor a method to accomplish this. Only Jinnah received something more precise: "The British would not contemplate transferring power to a Congress-dominated national government, the authority of which was denied by various elements in India's national life".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sears|first=Stephen W.|author-link=Stephen W. Sears|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xt6BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT616|title=The British Empire|date=2014|publisher=New Word City|isbn=978-1-61230-809-8|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In October 1940, Gandhi and Nehru, abandoning their original stand of supporting Britain, decided to launch a limited civil disobedience campaign in which leading advocates of Indian independence were selected to participate one by one. Nehru was arrested and sentenced to four years imprisonment.<ref name="Hindustan Times-2020"/> On 15&nbsp;January 1941, Gandhi stated:

<blockquote>Some say Jawaharlal and I were estranged. It will require much more than a difference of opinion to estrange us. We had differences from the time we became co-workers and yet I have said for some years and say so now that not Rajaji but Jawaharlal will be my successor.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Science & culture, Volume 30|publisher=Indian Science News Association|year=1964}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Aditit De|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AcQDAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT91|title=Jawaharlal Nehruh – The Jewel of India|date=8 September 2009|publisher=[[Puffin Books]]|isbn=978-81-8475-866-5|via=Google Books}}</ref></blockquote> After spending a little more than a year in jail, Nehru was released, along with other Congress prisoners, three days before the [[bombing of Pearl Harbor]] in Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&pg=PA109|title=Students' Britannica India|date=2018|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-85229-760-5|via=Google Books|author-link=Dale Hoiberg}}</ref>

=== Japan attacks India, Cripps' mission, Quit India: 1942 ===
[[File:Gandhi and Nehru 1942.jpg|thumb|Gandhi and Nehru during the drafting of [[Quit India Resolution]] in Bombay, August 1942 ]]
When the Japanese [[Burma campaign|carried their attack through Burma]] (now [[Myanmar]]) to the borders of India in the spring of 1942, the British government, faced with this new military threat, decided to make some overtures to India, as Nehru had originally desired.<ref>{{Cite book|editor=Amy McKenna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3Lc8XRHz7kC&pg=PA223|title=The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time|date=2009|publisher=[[Rosen Publishing|The Rosen Publishing Group|pages=223]], Inc|isbn=978-1-61530-015-0|via=Google Books}}</ref> Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] dispatched Sir [[Stafford Cripps]], a member of the [[War Cabinet]] who was known to be politically close to Nehru and knew Jinnah, with proposals for a settlement of the constitutional problem.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoiberg|first=Dale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&pg=PA109|title=Students' Britannica India|date=2018|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-85229-760-5|pages=108–109|volume=4|via=Google Books}}</ref> As soon as he arrived, he discovered that India was more deeply divided than he had imagined. Nehru, eager for a compromise, was hopeful; Gandhi was not. Jinnah had continued opposing the Congress: "Pakistan is our only demand, and by God, we will have it," he declared in the Muslim League newspaper [[Dawn (newspaper)|''Dawn'']].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mansergh|first=Nicholas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tZiAAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|title=Survey of British Commonwealth Affairs: Problems of Wartime Cooperation and Post-War Change 1939–1952|date= 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-24289-2|pages=145|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Cripps' mission]] failed as Gandhi would accept nothing less than independence. Relations between Nehru and Gandhi cooled over the latter's refusal to co-operate with Cripps, but the two later reconciled.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The National Archives – Homepage|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-road-to-partition/cripps-nehru-gandhi/|work=[[nationalarchives.gov.uk]]|access-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201235944/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-road-to-partition/cripps-nehru-gandhi/|archive-date=1 December 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1942, Gandhi called on the British to leave India; Nehru, though reluctant to embarrass the allied war effort, had no alternative but to join Gandhi. Following the [[Quit India Movement|Quit India resolution]] passed by the Congress party in Bombay on 8&nbsp;August 1942, the entire Congress working committee, including Gandhi and Nehru, was arrested and imprisoned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/1942-quit-india-movement|title=1942 Quit India Movement|website=[[Open University|open.ac.uk]]|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213225/https://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/1942-quit-india-movement|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the Congress working committee including Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad, and Sardar Patel were incarcerated at the [[Ahmednagar Fort]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aamir R. Mufti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5C1uRIotD4C&pg=PA129|title=Enlightenment in the Colony: The Jewish Question and the Crisis of Postcolonial Culture|date=2009|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-1-4008-2766-4|pages=129–131}}</ref> until 15 June 1945.<ref>{{Cite book|editor=Amy McKenna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3Lc8XRHz7kC&pg=PA224|title=The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time|date=2009|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=978-1-61530-015-0|pages=224|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== In prison 1943–1945 ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru's room at Ahmednagar fort - 20151226 031536.jpg|thumb|right|alt=See caption |Nehru's room at Ahmednagar fort where he was incarcerated from 1942 to 1945, and where he wrote ''[[The Discovery of India]]'']]
During the period when all the Congress leaders were in jail, the Muslim League under Jinnah grew in power.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lS1LuJbhl9YC&pg=PA228|title=Civics & History|publisher=Pitambar Publishing|isbn=978-81-209-1088-1|first=N.N|last=Kher|via=Google Books}}</ref> In April 1943, the League captured the governments of Bengal and, a month later, that of the [[North-West Frontier Province]]. In none of these provinces had the League previously had a majority—only the arrest of Congress members made it possible. With all the Muslim-dominated provinces except Punjab under Jinnah's control, the concept of a separate Muslim State was turning into a reality.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7xt6BAAAQBAJ&q=In+April+1943%2C+the+League+captured+the+government+of+Bengal+and%2C+a+month+later%2C+that+of+the+North+West+Frontier+Province.&pg=PT619|title=The British Empire|first=Stephen W.|last=Sears|date= 2014|publisher=New Word City|isbn=978-1-61230-809-8|via=Google Books}}</ref> However, by 1944, Jinnah's power and prestige were waning.<ref name="B. N-1969">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajxdDwAAQBAJ|title=Break Up of British India|first=Pandey|last=B. N|pages=169|date=1969|publisher=Macmillan Education UK|isbn=978-1-349-15307-7|via=Google Books}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

A general sympathy towards the jailed Congress leaders was developing among Muslims, and much of the blame for the disastrous [[Bengal famine of 1943]]–44 during which two million died had been laid on the shoulders of the province's Muslim League government. The numbers at Jinnah's meetings, once counted in thousands, soon numbered only a few hundred. In despair, Jinnah left the political scene for a stay in Kashmir. His prestige was restored unwittingly by Gandhi, who had been released from prison on medical grounds in May 1944 and had met Jinnah in Bombay in September.<ref name="B. N-1969" /> There, he offered the Muslim leader a plebiscite in the Muslim areas after the war to see whether they wanted to separate from the rest of India. Essentially, it was an acceptance of the principle of Pakistan—but not in so many words. Jinnah demanded that the exact words be used. Gandhi refused and the talks broke down. Jinnah, however, had greatly strengthened his own position and that of the League. The most influential member of the Congress had been seen to negotiate with him on equal terms.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sears|first=Stephen W.|url={{Google books|7xt6BAAAQBAJ|page=PT619|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=The British Empire|date=2014|isbn=978-1-61230-809-8|publisher=NewWord City}}</ref>

=== Cabinet mission, Interim government 1946–1947 ===
[[File:Nehru with members of Interim gov't faction leaving Viceroy's home after Swearing in.jpg|thumb|left|Nehru and the Congress party members of his interim government after being sworn in by the Viceroy, [[Lord Wavell]], 2 September 1946]]
Nehru and his colleagues were released prior to the arrival of the British [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India]] to propose plans for the transfer of power.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/nehru-s-belongings-still-intact-in-almora-jail-157835|title=Nehru's belongings still intact in Almora jail|first=B.D.|last=Kasniyal|website=Tribuneindia News Service|date=13 November 2015|access-date=6 December 2021|archive-date=6 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206134810/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/nehru-s-belongings-still-intact-in-almora-jail-157835|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mukhopadhyay-2018">{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/history/past-continuous-nehru-independence|title=Past Continuous: Those Who Think Nehru Was Power Hungry Should Review Events Leading to Independence|website=The Wire|first=Nilanjan|last=Mukhopadhyay|date=14 November 2018|access-date=9 November 2018|archive-date=9 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109070909/https://thewire.in/history/past-continuous-nehru-independence|url-status=live}}</ref> The agreed plan in 1946 led to elections to the provincial assemblies. In turn, the members of the assemblies elected members of the Constituent Assembly. Congress won the majority of seats in the assembly and headed the [[Interim Government of India|interim government]], with Nehru as the prime minister. The Muslim League joined the government later with [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] as the Finance member.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/september-2-when-indias-interim-govt-was-formed-in-1946-5959889/|title=Explained: When India's interim government was formed in 1946|date=3 September 2019|first=Om|last=Marathe|website=The Indian Express|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212412/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/september-2-when-indias-interim-govt-was-formed-in-1946-5959889/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>V. Krishna Ananth. [https://books.google.com/books?id=X62Sc3muOyQC ''India Since Independence: Making Sense of Indian Politics'']. Pearson Education India. 2010. pp 28–30.</ref>

== Prime Minister of India (1947–1964) ==
[[File:Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |[[Teen Murti Bhavan]], Nehru's official residence as prime minister, is now a museum.]]
Nehru served as prime minister for 16 years, initially as the interim prime minister, then from 1947 as the prime minister of the Dominion of India and then from 1950 as the prime minister of the Republic of India.

=== Republicanism ===

Nehru showed his concern for the princely states of South Asia since 1920s. During his Presidential Address at the Lahore session in 1929, Nehru had declared that, "The Indian States cannot live apart from the rest of India and their rulers must, unless they accept their inevitable limitations, go the way of others like them."<ref>{{cite book | last=Bombwall | first=K.R. | title=The Foundations of Indian Federalism | publisher=Asia Publishing House | year=1967 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFYLAQAAIAAJ| page=151}}</ref>

In July 1946, Nehru pointedly observed that no princely state could prevail militarily against the army of independent India.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Menon|first1=Shivshankar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eaWWDwAAQBAJ|title=India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present|date=2021|isbn=978-0-670-09129-4|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|pages=34}}</ref> In January 1947, he said that independent India would not accept the [[divine right of kings]].<ref>Lumby, E. W. R. 1954. ''The Transfer of Power in India, 1945–1947''. London: [[George Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]]. p. 228</ref> In May 1947, he declared that any [[princely state]] which refused to join the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] would be treated as an enemy state.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=172053|title=Sardar Patel – Man who United India|date=30 October 2017|first=Aaditya|last=Tiwari|website=Press Information Bureau |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327011611/https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=172053 |archive-date= 27 March 2023}}</ref> Vallabhbhai Patel and V. P. Menon were more conciliatory towards the princes, and as the men charged with integrating the states, were successful in the task.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/how-vallabhbhai-patel-v-p-menon-and-mountbatten-unified-india-4915468/|title=How Vallabhbhai Patel, V P Menon and Mountbatten unified India|date=31 October 2017 |website=The Indian Express |url-access=subscription |first1= Adrija |last1=Roychowdhury |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327134148/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/how-vallabhbhai-patel-v-p-menon-and-mountbatten-unified-india-4915468/ |archive-date= 27 March 2023}}</ref> During the drafting of the Indian constitution, many Indian leaders (except Nehru) were in favour of allowing each princely state or covenanting state to be independent as a federal state along the lines suggested originally by the Government of India Act 1935. But as the drafting of the constitution progressed, and the idea of forming a republic took concrete shape, it was decided that all the princely states/covenanting states would merge with the Indian republic.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Unification of India, 1947–1951|author=Furber, Holden|year=1951|journal=[[Pacific Affairs]]|volume=24|issue=4|pages=352–371|doi=10.2307/2753451|jstor=2753451|author-link=Holden Furber}}</ref>

In 1963, Nehru brought in legislation making it illegal to demand secession and introduced the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution which makes it necessary for those running for office to take an oath that says "I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India".<ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Lanka, the Years of Terror: The J.V.P. Insurrection, 1987–1989|author=C.A. Chandraprema|year=1991|page=81|publisher=Lake House Bookshop|isbn=9789559029038 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GmRuAAAAMAAJ|quote=Nehru brought in legislation making illegal the demand for secession in 1963. Thereafter, the DMK dropped its demand for a "Dravida Nadu".}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lw7z_JOnv0sC|title=Small Arms Control: Old Weapons, New Issues|quote=Although the campaign for secession has reached its apex in Kashmir, the first Indian state to agitate for separatism was Tamil Nadu. In 1963, in response to the vociferous campaign for a Dravidastan, Premier Nehru introduced the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution, making it mandatory for those running for office to take an oath stating, "I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India".|author= Jayantha Dhanapala, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research|publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]]|year=1999|isbn=9780754620761}}</ref>

=== Independence, Dominion of India: 1947–1950 ===
[[File:Lord Mountbatten swears in Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of free India on Aug 15, 1947.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=See caption |[[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten]] swears in Nehru as the first Prime Minister of independent India on 15 August 1947]]

The period before independence in early 1947 was impaired by outbreaks of communal violence and political disorder, and the opposition of the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who were demanding a separate Muslim state of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lfcvAQAAIAAJ&q=After+failed+bid+to+form+coalition,+Nehru+reluctantly+supported+the+partition+of+India,+according+to+a+plan+released+by+the+British+on+3+June+1947.|isbn = 978-81-7041-859-7|title = Encyclopaedia Indica: Independent India and wars – I|year = 1996|publisher = Anmol Publications}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x1MwAQAAIAAJ&q=After+failed+bid+to+form+coalition,+Nehru+reluctantly+supported+the+partition+of+India,+according+to+a+plan+released+by+the+British+on+3+June+1947.|isbn = 978-81-261-3745-9|title = Encyclopaedia of Indian War of Independence, 1857–1947: Gandhi era : Jawahar Lal Nehru and Sardar Patel|year = 2009|publisher = Anmol Publications}}</ref>

==== Independence ====
{{main|Tryst with Destiny}}

He took office as the [[prime minister of India]] on 15&nbsp;August and delivered his inaugural address titled "[[Tryst with Destiny]]".

<blockquote>Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to the new when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Jawaharlal|last=Nehru|date=30 April 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/may/01/greatspeeches|title=A Tryst with Destiny|access-date=16 August 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524211546/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/may/01/greatspeeches |archive-date=24 May 2014|work=[[TheGuardian.com]]}}</ref></blockquote>

==== Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: 1948 ====
{{Main|Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi|The light has gone out of our lives|l2 = Nehru's address on Gandhi}}

[[File:Nehru visiting Srinagar Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital in May 1948.jpg|thumb|right|Nehru visiting an Indian soldier recovering from injuries at the Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital in Srinagar, Kashmir]]

On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was shot while he was walking in the garden of Birla House on his way to address a prayer meeting. The assassin, [[Nathuram Godse]], was a [[Hindu nationalist]] with links to the extremist [[Hindu Mahasabha]] party, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by insisting upon a payment to Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/the-politics-of-an-assassination-who-killed-gandhi-and-why/story-iUJqKjuw0sP9nAfc5KcOII.html|title=The politics of an assassination: Who killed Gandhi and why?|date=15 August 2015|first=Abhishek|last=Saha|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=13 December 2021|archive-date=13 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213151236/https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/the-politics-of-an-assassination-who-killed-gandhi-and-why/story-iUJqKjuw0sP9nAfc5KcOII.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru addressed the nation by radio:

<blockquote>Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the father of the nation, is no more. Perhaps I am wrong to say that; nevertheless, we will not see him again, as we have seen him for these many years, we will not run to him for advice or seek solace from him, and that is a terrible blow, not only for me but for millions and millions in this country.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Janak Raj Jai|url={{Google books|5Wrc1K0uJTgC|page=PA45|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=1947–1980|publisher=Regency Publications|year=1996|isbn=978-81-86030-23-3|pages=45–47}}</ref></blockquote>

[[Yasmin Khan]] argued that Gandhi's death and funeral helped consolidate the authority of the new Indian state under Nehru and Patel. The Congress tightly controlled the epic public displays of grief over a two-week period—the funeral, mortuary rituals and distribution of the martyr's ashes with millions participating in different events.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/boundaries-of-belonging/performing-the-state-in-post1947-india-and-pakistan/51E29D5CE278C3362B5D10B45D35C71F/core-reader|title=Boundaries of Belonging|chapter='Performing the State' in Post-1947 India and Pakistan|date=2019|publisher=Cambridge University Press|first1=Sarah|last1=Ansari|first2=William|last2=Gould|pages=23–66|doi=10.1017/9781108164511.003|isbn=978-1-107-19605-6|s2cid=211394653|access-date=11 September 2021|archive-date=11 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911043326/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/boundaries-of-belonging/performing-the-state-in-post1947-india-and-pakistan/51E29D5CE278C3362B5D10B45D35C71F/core-reader|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/78902926.pdf|title=Performing Peace: Gandhi's assassination as a critical moment in the consolidation of the Nehruvian state|first=Yasmin|last=Khan|website=[[core.ac.uk]]|access-date=11 September 2021|archive-date=11 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911043329/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/78902926.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The goal was to assert the power of the government, legitimise the Congress party's control and suppress all religious paramilitary groups. Nehru and Patel suppressed the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS), the Muslim National Guards, and the [[Khaksars]], with some 200,000 arrests.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Yasmin |year=2011|title=Performing Peace: Gandhi's assassination as a critical moment in the consolidation of the Nehruvian state |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=57–80 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X10000223|s2cid=144894540 |doi-access=free}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Gandhi's death and funeral linked the distant state with the Indian people and helped them to understand the need to suppress religious parties during the transition to independence for the Indian people.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Performing Peace: Gandhi's assassination as a critical moment in the consolidation of the Nehruvian state|first=Yasmin|last=Khan|date=12 January 2011|journal=Modern Asian Studies|volume=45|issue=1|pages=57–80|doi=10.1017/S0026749X10000223|s2cid=144894540|doi-access=free}}</ref> In later years, there emerged a revisionist school of history which sought to blame Nehru for the partition of India, mostly referring to his highly [[centralised]] policies for an independent India in 1947, which Jinnah opposed in favour of a more [[decentralised]] India.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gandhi-jinnah-both-failed-jaswant/99323-37.html |title=Gandhi, Jinnah both failed: Jaswant |last=Thapar |first=Karan |date=17 August 2009 |author-link=Karan Thapar |publisher=ibnlive.in.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703195004/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/gandhi-jinnah-both-failed-jaswant/99323-37.html |archive-date=3 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/After-Advani-Jaswant-turns-Jinnah-admirer/articleshow/4900326.cms |title=After Advani, Jaswant turns Jinnah admirer |date=17 August 2009 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[The Economic Times]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020021442/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/After-Advani-Jaswant-turns-Jinnah-admirer/articleshow/4900326.cms |archive-date=20 October 2017 |location=India}}</ref>

==== Integration of states and Adoption of New Constitution: 1947–1950 ====
{{See also|Political integration of India|States Reorganisation Act, 1956}}
[[File:Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |[[Indira Gandhi]], Nehru, [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and [[Sanjay Gandhi]] in June 1949]]
The British Indian Empire, which included present-day India, Pakistan, and [[Bangladesh]], was divided into two types of territories: the provinces of British India, which were governed directly by British officials responsible to the [[Viceroy]] of India; and princely states, under the rule of local hereditary rulers who recognised British [[suzerainty]] in return for local autonomy, in most cases as established by a treaty.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/thread/politics-and-policy/article8366115.ece |title=Maps are malleable. Even Bharat Mata's |last=Ghosh |first=Bishwanath |date=17 March 2016 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302163809/https://www.thehindu.com/thread/politics-and-policy/article8366115.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 1947 and about 1950, the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian Union under Nehru and Sardar Patel. Most were merged into existing provinces; others were organised into new provinces, such as [[Rajputana]], Himachal Pradesh, [[Madhya Bharat]], and [[Vindhya Pradesh]], made up of multiple princely states; a few, including Mysore, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Bilaspur, became separate provinces.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Adrija|last=Roychowdhury|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/five-states-that-refused-to-join-india-after-independence/|title=Five states that refused to join India after Independence|date=17 August 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[The Indian Express]]|archive-date=13 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113171155/https://indianexpress.com/article/research/five-states-that-refused-to-join-india-after-independence/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Government of India Act 1935 remained the constitutional law of India the pending adoption of a new Constitution.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/time-to-recall-efforts-made-to-create-the-constitution/article8177274.ece|title=Time to recall efforts made to create the Constitution|first=Mohamed Imranullah|last=S.|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=1 February 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603213805/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/time-to-recall-efforts-made-to-create-the-constitution/article8177274.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Nehrucon.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |Nehru signing the [[Indian Constitution]] c.1950]]
In December 1946, Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution. This resolution, upon Nehru's suggestion, ultimately turned into the [[Preamble to the Constitution of India]]. The preamble is considered to be the spirit of the Constitution.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/preamble-embodies-constitution-s-vision/story-vLbo5CoBlXdmCgtSWb7v2K.html|title=Republic at 70: Preamble embodies Constitution's vision|first=Anurag|last=Bhaskar|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=25 November 2022|access-date=12 March 2024|archive-date=11 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311200233/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/preamble-embodies-constitution-s-vision/story-vLbo5CoBlXdmCgtSWb7v2K.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1682-preamble-the-spirit-of-constitution-of-india.html#google_vignette|title=Preamble the Spirit of Constitution of India|first=Dinesh|last=Chauhan|access-date=12 March 2024|archive-date=11 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311200600/https://legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-1682-preamble-the-spirit-of-constitution-of-india.html#google_vignette|url-status=live}}</ref> The new [[Constitution of India]], which came into force on [[Republic Day (India)|26&nbsp;January 1950]] (Republic Day), made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was declared to be a "Union of States".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VWJ2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT167 |title=Patel: Political Ideas and Policies |last1=Sinha |first1=Shakti |last2=Roy |first2=Himanshu |date=2018 |isbn=978-93-5280-854-0|publisher=Sage Publications}}</ref>

=== Election of 1952 ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru 1951-52 election poster.jpg|thumb|232x232px|Nehru as the main campaigner of the Indian National Congress, 1951–52 elections]]
After the adoption of the constitution on 26&nbsp;November 1949, the Constituent Assembly continued to act as the interim parliament until new elections. Nehru's interim cabinet consisted of 15 members from diverse communities and parties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/september-2-when-indias-interim-govt-was-formed-in-1946-5959889/|title=Explained: When India's interim government was formed in 1946|first=Om|last=Marathe|date=3 September 2019|access-date=15 August 2021|website=The Indian Express|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212412/https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/september-2-when-indias-interim-govt-was-formed-in-1946-5959889/|url-status=live}}</ref> The first elections to Indian legislative bodies (National parliament and State assemblies) under the new constitution of India were held in [[1951–52 Indian general election|1952]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=India's General Elections|author=Park, Richard Leonard|year=1952|journal=[[Far Eastern Survey]]|volume=21|issue=1|pages=1–8|doi=10.2307/3024683|jstor=3024683}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kNnAAAAMAAJ&q=The+first+elections+to+Indian+legislative+bodies+(National+parliament+and+State+assemblies+)+under+the+new+constitution+of+India+were+held+in+%5B%5B1951%E2%80%9352+Indian+general+election%7C1952%5D%5D.|title = Indian and Foreign Review|year = 1969|publisher = Publications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> The Congress party under Nehru's leadership won a large majority at both state and national levels.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40209795|title=Democracy's Biggest Gamble: India's First Free Elections in 1952|author=Guha, Ramachandra|author-link=Ramachandra Guha|year=2002|journal=[[World Policy Journal]]|volume=19|issue=1|pages=95–103|doi=10.1215/07402775-2002-2005|jstor=40209795|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=3 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603213921/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40209795|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Tenure: 1952–1957===
In December 1953, Nehru appointed the [[States Reorganisation Commission]] to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. Headed by Justice [[Fazal Ali]], the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission.<ref name="Koshi">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/explainer-reorganization-states-india-and-why-it-happened-52273 |title=Explainer: The reorganization of states in India and why it happened |last=Koshi |first=Luke |date=2 November 2016 |website=[[The News Minute]] |access-date=3 April 2019 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403133426/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/explainer-reorganization-states-india-and-why-it-happened-52273 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Govind Ballabh Pant]], who served as Nehru's [[home minister]] from December 1954, oversaw the commission's efforts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/govind-ballabh-pants-death-anniversary-remembering-the-first-chief-minister-of-uttar-pradesh-3507449.html|title=Govind Ballabh Pant's Death Anniversary: Remembering the First Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh|date=7 March 2021|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[News18]]|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214429/https://www.news18.com/news/india/govind-ballabh-pants-death-anniversary-remembering-the-first-chief-minister-of-uttar-pradesh-3507449.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India's states.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/state-of-the-nation/307830/0|title=State of the Nation|date=11 May 2008|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Indian Express]]|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319080002/http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/state-of-the-nation/307830/0|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under the [[Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of India|Seventh Amendment]], the existing distinction between Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D states was abolished. The distinction between Part A and Part B states was removed, becoming known simply as [[States of india|''states'']].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Suraj Surjit|last=Chaudhary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nj8jEAAAQBAJ|isbn=978-93-90252-05-3|title=Critical Commentary on the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 and Allied Laws|date=2021|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]}}</ref> A new type of entity, the ''[[union territory]]'', replaced the classification as a Part C or Part D state. Nehru stressed commonality among Indians and promoted pan-Indianism, refusing to reorganise states on either religious or ethnic lines.<ref name="Koshi" />

=== Subsequent elections: 1957, 1962 ===
In the [[1957 Indian general election|1957 elections]], under Nehru's leadership, the [[Indian National Congress]] easily won a second term in power, taking 371 of the 494 seats. They gained an extra seven seats (the size of the Lok Sabha had been increased by five) and their vote share increased from 45.0% to 47.8%. The INC won nearly five times more votes than the [[Communist Party of India|Communist Party]], the second-largest party.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1957 India General (2nd Lok Sabha) Elections Results|url=https://www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1957-election-results.html|access-date=31 August 2020|website=www.elections.in|archive-date=27 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727170609/https://www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1957-election-results.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[1962 Indian general election|1962]], Nehru led the Congress to victory with a diminished majority. The numbers who voted for the [[Indian Communist Party|Communist]] and socialist parties grew, although some right-wing groups like [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]] also did well.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zeenews.india.com/lok-sabha-general-elections-2019/the-story-of-1962-lok-sabha-election-all-you-need-to-know-2185457.html|title=INKredible India: The story of 1962 Lok Sabha election – All you need to know|date=6 March 2019|first=Shubhodeep|last=Chakravarty|website=Zee News|access-date=21 December 2021|archive-date=21 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221165502/https://zeenews.india.com/lok-sabha-general-elections-2019/the-story-of-1962-lok-sabha-election-all-you-need-to-know-2185457.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1961 annexation of Goa ===
{{See also|Annexation of Goa}}
After years of failed negotiations, Krishna Menon ordered the [[Indian Army]] to invade Portuguese-controlled [[Portuguese India]] (Goa) in 1961, after which Nehru formally annexed it to India. It increased the popularity of both in India, but he was criticised by the communist opposition in India for the use of military force.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-liberation-of-goa/article22339624.ece |title=The liberation of Goa |last=Davar |first=Praveen |date=31 December 2017 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201055746/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-liberation-of-goa/article22339624.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Sino-Indian War of 1962 ===
{{See also|Sino-Indian War}}
[[File:India disputed areas map.svg|thumb|alt=See caption |Map showing [[List of disputed territories of India|disputed territories of India]]]]

From 1959, in a process that accelerated in 1961, Nehru adopted the "[[Forward policy (Sino-Indian conflict)|Forward Policy]]" of setting up military outposts in disputed areas of the Sino-Indian border, including 43 outposts in territory not previously controlled by India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Noorani |first=A.G. |title=Perseverance in the peace process |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2017/stories/20030829001604900.htm |date=29 August 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050326174852/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2017/stories/20030829001604900.htm |archive-date=26 March 2005 |work=[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]] |publisher=hinduonnet.com |access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref> China attacked some of these outposts, and the [[Sino-Indian War]] began, which India lost. The war ended with China announcing a unilateral ceasefire and with its forces withdrawing to 20 kilometres behind the [[line of actual control]] of 1959.<ref>{{cite book | last=Klintworth | first=G. | title=China's India War: A Question of Confidence | publisher=Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University | series=Working paper (Australian National University. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre) | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-7315-0087-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nt65AAAAIAAJ| page=10|quote=China declared a unilateral ceasefire and by December it had withdrawn its forces to positions 20 km behind the line of actual control that had existed in 1959}}</ref>

The war exposed the unpreparedness of India's military, which could send only 14,000 troops to the war zone in opposition to the much larger [[Chinese Army]], and Nehru was widely criticised for his government's insufficient attention to defence. In response, defence minister V. K. Krishna Menon resigned and Nehru sought [[US military aid]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4JIDwAAQBAJ|title=Comrades against Imperialism: Nehru, India, and Interwar Internationalism|page=195|publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote=Menon resigned under India's military preparedness failed to prevent a Chinese invasion during the Sino-Indian war of 1962|author=Michele L. Louro |year=2018|isbn=9781108419307}}</ref> Nehru's improved relations with the US under [[John F. Kennedy]] proved useful during the war, as in 1962, the [[president of Pakistan]] (then closely aligned with the Americans) Ayub Khan was made to guarantee his neutrality regarding India, threatened by "[[communist]] aggression from Red China".<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842104-10,00.html |title=Asia: Ending the Suspense |date=17 September 1965 |access-date=15 August 2021 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521075607/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C842104-10%2C00.html |archive-date=21 May 2013}}</ref> India's relationship with the Soviet Union, criticised by right-wing groups supporting [[free-market]] policies, was also seemingly validated. Nehru would continue to maintain his commitment to the non-aligned movement, despite calls from some to permanently align with one ally.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cold-wars/alternative-world-visions/2D0ABD3F6605FE74F3307698D7989643|title=Alternative World Visions|editor-first=Lorenz M.|editor-last=Lüthi|date=2020|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|pages=261–328|isbn=978-1-108-41833-1|access-date=10 July 2021|archive-date=10 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710103427/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cold-wars/alternative-world-visions/2D0ABD3F6605FE74F3307698D7989643|url-status=live}}</ref>

The unpreparedness of the army was blamed on Defence Minister Menon, who "resigned" from his government post to allow for someone who might modernise India's military further. India's policy of weaponisation using indigenous sources and self-sufficiency began in earnest under Nehru, completed by his daughter Indira Gandhi, who later led India to a crushing military victory over rival Pakistan in 1971. Toward the end of the war, India had increased her support for Tibetan refugees and revolutionaries, some of them having settled in India, as they were fighting the same common enemy in the region. Nehru ordered the raising of an elite Indian-trained "Tibetan Armed Force" composed of Tibetan refugees, which served with distinction in future wars against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/07/tibetans-in-exile-india-elections-right-to-vote |title=Tibetans-in-exile divided over right to vote in Indian elections |last=Sehgal |first=Saransh |date=7 May 2014 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=18 December 2018 |archive-date=18 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218193314/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/07/tibetans-in-exile-india-elections-right-to-vote |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Popularity ===
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with Einstein, 1949.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |Nehru with [[Albert Einstein]] in Princeton, New Jersey, 1949]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru's motorcade passing through the crowded streets of Djakarta, Indonesia,1950.jpg|thumb|right|Nehru with Indonesian president [[Sukarno]] in [[Jakarta]] in 1950]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with tiger cubs.jpg|thumb|Nehru playing with a tiger cub at his home in 1955]]

To date, Nehru is considered the most popular prime minister, winning three consecutive elections with around 45% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/lok-sabha/india/after-nehru-and-indira-modi-is-only-pm-to-come-back-to-power-with-full-majority/articleshow/69464495.cms?from=mdr|title=After Nehru and Indira, Modi is only PM to come back to power with full majority|date=23 May 2019|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=22 August 2021|archive-date=22 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822094451/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/elections/lok-sabha/india/after-nehru-and-indira-modi-is-only-pm-to-come-back-to-power-with-full-majority/articleshow/69464495.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref> A [[Pathé News]] archive video reporting Nehru's death remarks "Neither on the political stage nor in moral stature was his leadership ever challenged".<ref>{{Citation|title=World Mourns Nehru (1964)| date=13 April 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pcR3eceOf4|access-date=31 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731192854/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pcR3eceOf4|archive-date=31 July 2021}}</ref> In his book ''Verdicts on Nehru'', [[Ramachandra Guha]] cited a contemporary account that described what Nehru's 1951–52 Indian general election campaign looked like:

<blockquote>Almost at every place, city, town, village or wayside halt, people had waited overnight to welcome the nation's leader. Schools and shops closed; milkmaids and cowherds had taken a holiday; the kisan and his helpmate took a temporary respite from their dawn-to-dusk programme of hard work in field and home. In Nehru's name, stocks of soda and lemonade sold out; even water became scarce ... Special trains were run from out-of-the-way places to carry people to Nehru's meetings, enthusiasts travelling not only on footboards but also on top of carriages. Scores of people fainted in milling crowds.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Guha|first=Ramachandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tDikAwAAQBAJ&q=Almost+at+every+place,+city&pg=PT9|title=Verdicts on Nehru|date=2013|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=978-93-5118-757-8}}</ref></blockquote>

In the 1950s, Nehru was admired by world leaders such as British prime minister Winston Churchill, and US President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. A letter from Eisenhower to Nehru, dated 27 November 1958, read:

<Blockquote>Universally you are recognised as one of the most powerful influences for peace and conciliation in the world. I believe that because you are a world leader for peace in your individual capacity, as well as a representative of the largest neutral nation....<ref>{{Cite web|series=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, South and Southeast Asia, Volume XV – Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v15/d222|access-date=31 July 2021|title=Letter From President Eisenhower to Prime Minister Nehru|date=27 November 1958|website=history.state.gov|archive-date=31 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731192904/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v15/d222|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

In 1955, Churchill called Nehru, "the light of Asia", and a greater light than [[Gautama Buddha]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nayantara Sahgal|title=Jawaharlal Nehru: Civilizing a Savage World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KycnN-MlfY4C&pg=PP9 |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-670-08357-2|page=59}}</ref> Nehru has repeatedly been described as a charismatic leader with a rare charm.{{efn|<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ian Hall|first=The Conversation|title=Nehru, the architect of modern India, also helped discredit European imperialism|url=https://scroll.in/article/1002353/nehru-the-architect-of-modern-india-also-helped-discredit-european-imperialism|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Scroll.in|date=22 August 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115163627/https://scroll.in/article/1002353/nehru-the-architect-of-modern-india-also-helped-discredit-european-imperialism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=How the ANC could fade away – Opinion |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/how-the-anc-could-fade-away|access-date=15 November 2021|website=www.politicsweb.co.za|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115163628/https://www.politicsweb.co.za/opinion/how-the-anc-could-fade-away|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 November 2021|title=UP Next: How Nehru, Swami Prabhu Dutt Brahmachari's ideas of India resonate in 2022 polls|url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/up-next-how-nehru-swami-prabhu-dutt-brahmacharis-ideas-of-india-resonate-in-2022-polls-10136981.html|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Firstpost|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115041104/https://www.firstpost.com/india/up-next-how-nehru-swami-prabhu-dutt-brahmacharis-ideas-of-india-resonate-in-2022-polls-10136981.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=PM Modi Is a 'Charismatic' Leader Like Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi: Rajinikanth|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-pm-modi-is-a-chrarismatic-leader-like-jawaharlal-nehru-rajiv-gandhi-rajnikanth/331096|access-date=15 November 2015|website=outlookindia|archive-date=28 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528133731/https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/india-news-pm-modi-is-a-chrarismatic-leader-like-jawaharlal-nehru-rajiv-gandhi-rajnikanth/331096|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Service|first=Tribune News|title=A thousand lies can't dwarf the giant Nehru was|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/a-thousand-lies-cant-dwarf-the-giant-nehru-was-258860|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Tribuneindia News Service|archive-date=30 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330155854/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/a-thousand-lies-cant-dwarf-the-giant-nehru-was-258860|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

== Vision and governing policies ==
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru with school children at Durgapur copy.jpg|thumb|alt= Nehru with schoolchildren at the Durgapur Steel Plant |Nehru with schoolchildren at the [[Durgapur Steel Plant]]. Durgapur, [[Rourkela Steel Plant|Rourkela]] and [[Bhilai Steel Plant|Bhilai]] were three integrated steel plants set up under India's [[Five-Year Plans of India#Second Plan (1956–1961)|Second Five-Year Plan]] in the late 1950s.]]

According to [[Bhikhu Parekh]], Nehru can be regarded as the founder of the modern Indian state. Parekh attributes this to the national philosophy Nehru formulated for India. For him, modernisation was the national philosophy, with seven goals: national unity, parliamentary democracy, industrialisation, socialism, development of the scientific temper, and non-alignment. In Parekh's opinion, the philosophy and the policies that resulted from this benefited a large section of society such as public sector workers, industrial houses, and middle and upper peasantry. However, it failed to benefit the urban and rural poor, the unemployed and the [[Hindu fundamentalist]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parekh |first=Bhiku |date=1991 |title=Nehru and the National Philosophy of India |journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]] |volume=26 |issue=5–12 Jan 1991 |pages=35–48 |jstor=4397189}}</ref>

Nehru is credited with having prevented civil wars in India.<ref>{{cite book | last=Puri | first=S. | title=The Great Imperial Hangover: How Empires Have Shaped the World | publisher=Atlantic Books | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-78649-834-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOK5DwAAQBAJ | page=206}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Heller | first=P. | title=The Labor of Development: Workers and the Transformation of Capitalism in Kerala, India | publisher=Cornell University Press | series=Cornell paperbacks | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-8014-8624-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2sBzup4yR8C | access-date=23 February 2024 | page=75}}</ref> Nehru convincingly succeeded in secularism and [[Religious harmony in India|religious harmony]], increasing the representation of minorities in government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmg9EAAAQBAJ&q=Nehru+championed+secularism+and+%5B%5BReligious+harmony+in+India%7Creligious+harmony%5D%5D%2C+increasing+the+representation+of+minorities+in+government.&pg=PA20|title=Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru|first=Ravi Ranjan & M. K.|last=Singh|date=14 August 2021|publisher=K.K. Publications|pages=20|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Economic policies ===
[[File:Hermann Josef Abs - mit Adenauer und Nehru 1956.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of Nehru and German chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Deutsche Bank chairman Hermann Josef Abs |Nehru meeting with Chancellor [[Konrad Adenauer]] and [[Deutsche Bank]] chairman [[Hermann Josef Abs]] during a state visit to West Germany in June 1956.]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru at Bhakra, 1953.jpg|thumb|left|Nehru during the construction of the [[Bhakra Dam]] in the Punjab, 1953]]
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru at the Penicillin Factory, Pune, 1956.jpg|thumb|left|Nehru at an [[antibiotics]] manufacturing facility, [[Poona]], 1956]]

Nehru implemented policies based on [[import substitution industrialisation]] and advocated a [[mixed economy]] where the government-controlled [[public sector]] would co-exist with the [[private sector]].{{sfn|Ghose|1993|p=243}} He believed the establishment of basic and heavy industry was fundamental to the development and modernisation of the Indian economy. The government, therefore, directed investment primarily into key [[Public sector undertakings in India|public sector]] industries—steel, iron, coal, and power—promoting their development with subsidies and protectionist policies.{{sfn| Kopstein|2005|p=364}} Nehru's vision of an [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] society was "a co-operative ideal, a one world ideal, based on social justice and economic equality". In 1928, Nehru had affirmed that "Our economic programme must aim at the removal of all economic inequalities". Later in 1955, he declared that "I also want a classless society in India and the world." He identified his concept of economic freedom with the country's [[Economic development in India|economic development]] and material advancement.<ref>{{cite book | last=Maheshwari | first=N. | title=Economic Policy of Jawaharlal Nehru | publisher=Deep & Deep | year=1997 | isbn=978-81-7100-850-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okUSbReaevUC&pg=PA36|pages=36–39}}</ref>

The policy of non-alignment during the [[Cold War]] meant that Nehru received financial and technical support from both power blocs in building India's industrial base from scratch.<ref name="Walsh">{{Cite book |url={{Google books|iekF9X3OwwMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=A Brief History of India |last=Walsh |first=Judith E. |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4381-0825-4 |page=190}}</ref> [[Steel mill]] complexes were built at [[Bokaro Steel City|Bokaro]] and [[Rourkela Steel Plant|Rourkela]] with assistance from the Soviet Union and [[West Germany]]. There was substantial industrial development.<ref name="Walsh" /> The industry grew 7.0% annually between 1950 and 1965—almost trebling industrial output and making India the world's seventh-largest [[Industrial nation|industrial country]].<ref name="Walsh" /> Nehru's critics, however, contended that India's import substitution industrialisation, which continued long after the Nehru era, weakened the international competitiveness of its manufacturing industries.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=213 |url={{Google books |mypg8XYiwxUC |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |isbn=978-1-134-09387-8 |last=Yokokawa |first=Nobuharu |author2=[[Jayati Ghosh]] |author3=[[Bob Rowthorn]] |title=Industrialization of China and India: Their Impacts on the World Economy |year=2013}}</ref> India's share of world trade fell from 1.4% in 1951–1960 to 0.5% between 1981 and 1990.<ref name="Grabowski">{{Cite book| publisher = [[M.E. Sharpe]]| page = 161|url={{Google books|5W2IMK7ivigC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-1-134-09387-8| last = Grabowski| first = Richard| author2=Sharmistha Self |author3=Michael P. Shields| title = Economic Development: A Regional, Institutional, And Historical Approach| year = 2007}}</ref> However, India's export performance is argued to have shown actual sustained improvement over the period. The volume of exports grew at an annual rate of 2.9% in 1951–1960 to 7.6% in 1971–1980.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = [[Edward Elgar Publishing]]| page = 39|url={{Googlebooks|2Su6YPIgUBsC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-1-78195-943-5| last = Shand| first = R. Richard Tregurtha| author2 = K.P. Kalirajan |author3=Ulaganathan Sankar| title = Economic Reform and the Liberalisation of the Indian Economy: Essays in Honour of Richard T. Shand; papers Presented at a Major Conference on Second Generation Reforms in Chennai from 8 – 10 December 1999| year = 2003}}</ref>

GDP and [[GNP]] grew 3.9 and 4.0% annually between 1950 and 1951 and 1964–1965.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Deep and Deep Publications| page = 14|url={{Google books|qH4FFyi4-i4C|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-81-8450-272-5| last = Thakur| first = Anil Khumar| author2=Debes Mukhopadhayay| title = Economic Philosophy of Jawaharlal Nehru| year = 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = [[Penguin Books India]]| page = 449|url={{Google books|dE9qEg-NgHMC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-0-14-310409-4| last = Chandra| first = Bipan | author-link=Bipan Chandra | author2=Aditya Mukherjee |author3=[[Mridula Mukherjee]]| title = India Since Independence| year = 2008}}</ref> It was a radical break from the British colonial period,<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Academic Foundation| page = 132|url={{Google books|KTbA2R_6gjAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-81-7188-711-8 | last = Kapila| first = Uma| title = Indian Economic Developments Since 1947 |edition=3rd| year = 2009}}</ref> but the growth rates were considered anaemic at best compared to other industrial powers in Europe and East Asia.<ref name="Grabowski" /><ref name="Kapila-2009">{{Cite book| publisher = Academic Foundation| page =66|url={{Google books|KTbA2R_6gjAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-81-7188-711-8| last = Kapila| first = Uma| title = Indian Economic Developments Since 1947 |edition=3rd| year = 2009}}</ref> India lagged behind the miracle economies (Japan, West Germany, France, and Italy).<ref name="Giersch">{{Cite book | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]| page = 4|url={{Google books|kkXGk_HyIBAC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-0-521-35869-9| last = Giersch | first = Herbert | author-link=Herbert Giersch | author2 = [[Karl-Heinz Paqué]]| author3 = [[Holger Schmieding]]| title = The Fading Miracle: Four Decades of Market Economy in Germany| year = 1994
}}</ref> However, this mixed development strategy allowed native industrialisation to gain ground.{{sfn| Kopstein|2005|p=364}} While India's economy grew faster than both the United Kingdom and the United States, low initial income and rapid population increase meant that growth was inadequate for any sort of catch-up with rich income nations.<ref name="Kapila-2009" /><ref name="Giersch" /><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Routledge| page = 306|url={{Google books|9ydqHszxqEEC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-0-415-67703-5| last = Parker| first = Randall E.| author2=[[Robert M. Whaples]]| title = The Routledge Handbook of Major Events in Economic History| year = 2013}}</ref> India saw significant improvements in health, literacy and life expectancy since its independence.{{sfn| Kopstein|2005|p=366}}

=== Agriculture policies ===
Under Nehru's leadership, the government attempted to develop India quickly by embarking on [[agrarian reform]] and rapid industrialisation.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|w2fXAwAAQBAJ|page=PA149|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Nehru |last=Brown |first=Judith M. |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-317-87476-8|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> A successful [[land reform]] was introduced that abolished giant [[landholding]]s, but efforts to redistribute land by placing limits on landownership failed. Attempts to introduce large-scale cooperative farming were frustrated by landowning rural elites, who formed the core of the powerful right-wing of the Congress and had considerable political support in opposing Nehru's efforts.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|bnNPJKw9CDsC|page=PR9|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Democracy, Development, and the Countryside: Urban-Rural Struggles in India |last=Ashutosh Varshney |date=1998 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-64625-3 |pages=30–31}}</ref> Agricultural production expanded until the early 1960s, as additional land was brought under cultivation and some irrigation projects began to have an effect. The establishment of agricultural universities, modelled after land-grant colleges in the United States, contributed to the development of the economy.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GYZAAAAMAAJ&q=The+establishment+of+agricultural+universities,+modelled+after+land-grant+colleges+in+the+United+States,+contributed+to+the+development+of+the+economy.|title = India Today|year = 1963|publisher = New Horizons}}</ref> These universities worked with high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice, initially developed in Mexico and the Philippines, that in the 1960s began the [[Green Revolution]], an effort to diversify and increase crop production. At the same time, a series of failed monsoons would cause serious food shortages, despite the steady progress and an increase in agricultural production.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|UNINAAAAQAAJ|page=PA120|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=An Introduction to South Asia |last=Farmer |first=B.H. |publisher=Routledge |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-415-05695-3 |page=120}}</ref>

=== Social policies ===
==== Education ====
Nehru was a passionate advocate of education for India's children and youth, believing it essential for India's future progress. His government oversaw the establishment of many institutions of higher learning, including the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]], the [[Indian Institutes of Technology]], the [[Indian Institutes of Management]] and the [[National Institutes of Technology]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/childrens-day-2021-heres-why-jawaharlal-nehrus-birthday-celebrated-as-bal-diwas-4439072.html|title=Children's Day 2021: Here's Why Jawaharlal Nehru's Birthday Celebrated as Bal Diwas|date=14 November 2021|website=[[News18]]|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226034430/https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/childrens-day-2021-heres-why-jawaharlal-nehrus-birthday-celebrated-as-bal-diwas-4439072.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru also outlined a commitment in his [[Five-Year Plans of India|five-year plans]] to guarantee free and compulsory primary education to all of India's children. For this purpose, Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village enrolment programs and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru also launched initiatives such as the provision of free milk and meals to children to fight [[Malnutrition in India|malnutrition]]. Adult education centres and vocational and technical schools were also organised for adults, especially in the rural areas.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJu9Dkv_2zEC&pg=PA132 |title=Freedom Fighters of India |last=Lion M.G. Agrawal |publisher=Isha Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-8205-470-7 |volume=2 |page=132 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

====Hindu code bills and marriage laws====
Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to [[Hindu law]] through the [[Hindu code bills]] to criminalise [[caste]] discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women.<ref>{{Cite journal |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=165–194 |last=Som |first=Reba |title=Jawaharlal Nehru and the Hindu Code: A Victory of Symbol over Substance? |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |date=February 1994 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00011732 |jstor=312925 |s2cid=145393171}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |page=3|isbn=978-81-86706-49-7 |quote=The Hindu Code Bill was visualised by Ambedkar and Nehru as the flagship of modernisation and a radical revision of Hindu law ... it is widely regarded as dramatic benchmark legislation giving Hindu women equitable if not superior entitlements as legal subjects. |last=Basu |first=Srimati |title=She Comes to Take Her Rights: Indian Women, Property, and Propriety |year=2005|url={{Googlebooks|mXgX8rrW6JsC|page=PA3|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> The Nehru administration saw such codification as necessary to unify the Hindu community, which ideally would be a first step towards unifying the nation.<ref>Williams, p. 107.</ref> They succeeded in passing four Hindu code bills in 1955–56: the [[Hindu Marriage Act]], [[Hindu Succession Act]], [[Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act]], and [[Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act]].<ref>Williams, p. 106.</ref> Those who practise [[Sikhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Buddhism]] are categorised as Hindus under the jurisdiction of the Code Bill.<ref>{{cite book |last=Uppal |first=N. |title=Narcissus or Machiavelli?: Learning Leadership from Indian Prime Ministers |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-000-41480-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRswEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |page=48}}</ref>

Nehru specifically wrote Article 44 of the Indian constitution under the [[Directive Principles of State Policy]] which states: "The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." The article has formed the basis of secularism in India.<ref>Erckel, Sebastian (2011). ''India and the European Union – Two Models of Integration'', GRIN Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-656-01048-7}}, p. 128</ref> However, Nehru has been criticised for the inconsistent application of the law. Most notably, he allowed [[Muslim personal law in India|Muslims to keep their personal law]] in matters relating to marriage and inheritance. In the small state of [[Goa]], a civil code based on the old Portuguese Family Laws was allowed to continue, and Nehru prohibited Muslim personal law. This resulted from the [[annexation of Goa]] in 1961 by India, when Nehru promised the people that their laws would be left intact. This has led to accusations of selective secularism.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Minhaz|last=Merchant|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|title=Nehru's noble intent of treating Muslims fairly put India on slippery slope of faux secularism|date=27 August 2020|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[ThePrint]]|archive-date=23 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823155854/https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Routledge |page=328 |quote=One subject that particularly interested Nehru was the reform of Hindu law, particularly with regard to the rights of Hindu women ... |last=Kulke |first=Hermann |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India|url={{Google books|TPVq3ykHyH4C|page=PA328|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-32919-4}}</ref>

While Nehru exempted Muslim law from legislation and they remained unreformed, he passed the [[Special Marriage Act]] in 1954.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Vaibhav|last=Purandare|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|title=triple talaq: Uniform code: Nehru okayed principle, but didn't make it a directive|date=23 August 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Times of India]]|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216055158/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The idea behind this act was to give everyone in India the ability to marry outside the personal law under a [[civil marriage]]. In many respects, the act was almost identical to the [[Hindu Marriage Act, 1955]], demonstrating how secularised the law regarding Hindus had become. The Special Marriage Act allowed Muslims to marry under it and keep the protections, generally beneficial to Muslim women, that could not be found in the personal law. Under the act, [[polygamy]] was illegal, and inheritance and succession would be governed by the Indian Succession Act, rather than the respective Muslim personal law. Divorce would be governed by secular law, and maintenance of a divorced wife would be along the lines set down in civil law.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Zakia|last1=Soman|first2=Noorjehan|last2=Niaz|url=https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|title=Why Triple Talaq Needs to Be Abolished|date=17 June 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727053221/https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Language policy ====
The Constituent assembly debated the question of national language between 1946 and 1949.<ref name="Gusain">{{Cite journal|title=The Effectiveness of Establishing Hindi as a National Language|author=Gusain, Lakhan|year=2012|journal=[[Georgetown Journal of International Affairs]]|volume=13|issue=1|pages=43–50|jstor=43134213}}</ref><ref name="annamalai1">{{cite book|author=E. Annamalai|title=Language movements in India|chapter=Language Movements Against Hindi as An Official Language|url=http://www.ciil-ebooks.net/html/langmove/hinoff.html|date=1979|publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages|page=85}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Nandini|last=Rathi|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hindi-diwas-2017-journey-of-hindi-from-pre-partition-india-to-post-independence-language-politics-4843807/|title=Hindi Diwas: Journey of Hindi from pre-Partition India to post-independence language politics|date=15 September 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|website=The Indian Express|archive-date=30 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630103210/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hindi-diwas-2017-journey-of-hindi-from-pre-partition-india-to-post-independence-language-politics-4843807/|url-status=live}}</ref> Within the assembly there were two blocs, pro-Hindi and anti-Hindi. The pro-Hindi bloc was further divided between supporters of [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] led by Nehru, and supporters of [[Modern Standard Hindi]] based on [[Sanskrit]]. The anti-Hindi bloc was generally in favour of promoting English to an official status.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> Nehru stated that "We must have our own language...but English must continue to be a most important language in India which large numbers of people learn and learn perhaps compulsorily".<ref name="Kashyap">Kashyap,&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.,&nbsp;Nehru,&nbsp;J.&nbsp;(1982).&nbsp;''Jawaharlal Nehru and the Constitution'', p. 289.&nbsp;India:&nbsp;Metropolitan.</ref> After an exhaustive and divisive debate, Hindi was adopted as the official rather than national language of India in 1950, with English continuing as an associate official language for 15 years, after which Hindi would become the sole official language.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> The Hindi-Hindustani debate was resolved through a compromise that the official language would be called Hindi, with a directive clause that while Sanskrit would be the primary source of vocabulary, the traditional Hindustani vocabulary would also be supported.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> Claims of other Indian languages were upheld through the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India]].<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/>

Efforts by the Indian government to make Hindi the sole official language after 1965 were unacceptable to many non-Hindi Indian states, which wanted the continued use of English. The [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK), a descendant of [[Dravidar Kazhagam]], led the [[Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu|opposition]] to Hindi.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/Language-issue-again-the-need-for-a-clear-headed-policy/article16854068.ece |title=Language issue again: The need for a clear-headed policy |last=Viswanathan |first=S. |date=6 December 2009 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=19 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919210830/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/Language-issue-again-the-need-for-a-clear-headed-policy/article16854068.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> To allay their fears, Nehru enacted the [[Official Languages Act in 1963]] to ensure the continuing use of English beyond 1965. The text of the Act did not satisfy the DMK and increased their scepticism that future administrations might not honour his assurances. The Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi eventually amended the Official Languages Act in 1967 to guarantee the indefinite use of Hindi and English as official languages. This effectively ensured the current "virtual indefinite policy of [[bilingualism]]" of the Indian Republic.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5JEDxGZTOUC&dq=%22virtual+indefinite+policy+of%22+india&pg=PT146|title=India After Independence: 1947–2000|last=Chandra |first=Bipan|date=2000|isbn=9789351181200|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|page=146}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
{{further|List of state visits made by Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{{See also|India and the Non-Aligned Movement}}
Throughout his long tenure as the prime minister, Nehru also held the portfolio of [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|External Affairs]]. His idealistic approach focused on giving India a leadership position in nonalignment. He sought to build support among the newly independent nations of Asia and Africa in opposition to the two hostile superpowers contesting the Cold War.

==== The Commonwealth ====

[[File:Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth Nations, at Windsor Castle (1960 Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference).jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II with Nehru and other Commonwealth leaders |[[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II]] with Nehru and other Commonwealth leaders, taken at the [[1960 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|1960 Commonwealth Conference]], [[Windsor Castle]]]]

After independence, Nehru wanted to maintain good relations with Britain and other British Commonwealth countries. As prime minister of the [[Dominion of India]], he acquiesced only after Krishna Menon's redrafting of the 1949 [[London Declaration]], under which India agreed to remain within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] after becoming a republic in January 1950, and to recognise the British monarch as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGU-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 |title=The Journal of Korean Studies, Volume 18, Number 2 (Fall 2013) |last1=Sorensen |first1=Clark W. |last2=Baker |first2=Donald |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4422-3336-2|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5FbNCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR2 |title=The Rise, Decline and Future of the British Commonwealth |last=K. Srinivasan |date=7 November 2005 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] UK |isbn=978-0-230-24843-4 |page=11}}</ref> The other nations of the Commonwealth recognised India's continuing membership of the association.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|title = London Declaration|date = 16 May 2019|access-date = 22 August 2021|archive-date = 4 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210704130811/https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==== Non-aligned movement ====
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru’s tour of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1961 (01).jpg|thumb|alt= See caption |Nehru with [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and [[Josip Broz Tito]] in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1961]]
On the international scene, Nehru was an opponent of military action and military alliances. He was a strong supporter of the United Nations, except when it tried to resolve the Kashmir question. He pioneered the policy of non-alignment and co-founded the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] of nations professing neutrality between the rival blocs of nations led by the US and the USSR.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jawaharlal-nehru-the-architect-of-indias-foreign-policy/articleshow/58767014.cms|title=Non-Aligned Movement: Jawaharlal Nehru – The architect of India's foreign policy|date=20 May 2017|first=Affanul|last=Haque|website=The Times of India|access-date=7 January 2022|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006223403/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jawaharlal-nehru-the-architect-of-indias-foreign-policy/articleshow/58767014.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The term "non-alignment" was coined earlier by [[V. K. Krishna Menon]] at the United Nations in 1953 and 1954.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ali | first=H.M.W. | title=India and the Non-aligned Movement | publisher=Adam Pub. | year=2004 | isbn=978-81-7435-367-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VezCRvqKq7MC&pg=PA7 | page=7}}</ref> India recognised the People's Republic of China soon after its founding (while most of the Western bloc continued relations with [[Taiwan]]). Nehru argued for its inclusion in the United Nations and refused to brand the Chinese as the aggressors in the West's conflict with Korea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robert Sherrod |author-link=Robert Sherrod|date=19 January 1963 |title=Nehru:The Great Awakening |journal=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |volume=236 |issue=2 |pages=60–67}}</ref> He sought to establish warm and friendly relations with China in 1950 and hoped to act as an intermediary to bridge the gulf and tensions between the communist states and the Western bloc.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bf8vAQAAIAAJ|title = Encyclopaedia Indica: Great political personalities of Post Colonial Era-I|date = 1996|pages=81|first= Shyam Singh|last=Shashi|publisher = Anmol Publications|isbn = 9788170418597}}</ref>

Nehru was a key organiser of the [[Bandung Conference]] of April 1955, which brought 29 newly independent nations together from Asia and Africa, and was designed to galvanise the nonalignment movement under Nehru's leadership. He envisioned it as his key leadership opportunity on the world stage, where he would bring together emerging nations.<ref>[[Sarvepalli Gopal]],''"Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography" Vol.2'', 2:232–235.</ref> He was one of the key participants of the [[1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement]] in 1961 in [[Belgrade]], [[FPR Yugoslavia]].

==== Defence and nuclear policy ====
While averse to war, Nehru led the campaigns against Pakistan in Kashmir. He used military force to annex [[Indian annexation of Hyderabad|Hyderabad in 1948]] and Goa in 1961. While laying the foundation stone of the [[National Defence Academy]] in 1949, he stated:<blockquote>We, who for generations had talked about and attempted in everything a peaceful way and practised non-violence, should now be, in a sense, glorifying our army, navy and air force. It means a lot. Though it is odd, yet it simply reflects the oddness of life. Though life is logical, we have to face all contingencies, and unless we are prepared to face them, we will go under. There was no greater prince of peace and apostle of non-violence than Mahatma Gandhi...but yet, he said it was better to take the sword than to surrender, fail or run away. We cannot live carefree assuming that we are safe. Human nature is such. We cannot take the risks and risk our hard-won freedom. We have to be prepared with all modern defence methods and a well-equipped army, navy, and air force."<ref>''[[Indian Express]],'' 6 October 1949 at Pune at the time of lying of the foundation stone of [[National Defence Academy]].</ref><ref>Mahatma Gandhi's relevant quotes, "My non-violence does not admit of running away from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. Non-violence is the summit of bravery."
"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." "I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour." – All Men Are Brothers Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words. UNESCO. pp. 85–108.</ref></blockquote>

Many hailed Nehru for working to defuse global tensions and the threat of [[nuclear weapon]]s after the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953).<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Panchsheel Publishers| page = 131| last = Bhatia| first = Vinod| title = Jawaharlal Nehru, as Scholars of Socialist Countries See Him| year = 1989}}</ref> He commissioned the first study of the [[effects of nuclear explosions on human health]] and campaigned ceaselessly for the [[Nuclear disarmament|abolition]] of what he called "these frightful engines of destruction". He also had pragmatic reasons for promoting de-nuclearisation, fearing a nuclear arms race would lead to over-militarisation that would be unaffordable for developing countries such as his own.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = [[C. Hurst & Co.]] Publishers| pages = 141, 261|url={{Google books|X90G8gnoqv4C|page=PA141|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-1-85065-180-2| last = Dua| first = B. D. | author2=James Manor| title = Nehru to the Nineties: The Changing Office of Prime Minister in India| year = 1994}}</ref>

==== Defending Kashmir ====
{{further|Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948|UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute}}
[[File:Nehru visiting Srinagar Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital.jpg|right|thumb|Nehru inspecting the troops on a visit to the Srinagar Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital, April 1948]]
At [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten's]] urging, in 1948, Nehru had promised to hold a [[plebiscite]] in [[Kashmir]] under the auspices of the UN.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|4Rh7DAdsK0gC|page=PA137|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Raj, Secrets, Revolution: A Life of Subhas Chandra Bose |last=Mihir Bose |publisher=Grice Chapman Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-9545726-4-8 |page=291}}</ref> Kashmir was a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, the two have [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|gone to war]] over it in 1947. However, as Pakistan failed to pull back troops in accordance with the UN resolution, and as Nehru grew increasingly wary of the UN, he declined to hold a plebiscite in 1953. His policies on Kashmir and the integration of the state into India were frequently defended before the United Nations by his aide, V. K. Krishna Menon, who earned a reputation in India for his passionate speeches.<ref name="nytimes1974">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/06/archives/vk-krishna-menon-india-defense-minister-un-aide-dies-a-year-of.html |title=V.K. Krishna Menon, India Defense Minister, U.N. Aide, Dies |date=6 October 1974 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155117/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/06/archives/vk-krishna-menon-india-defense-minister-un-aide-dies-a-year-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1953, Nehru orchestrated the ouster and arrest of [[Sheikh Abdullah]], the prime minister of Kashmir, whom he had previously supported but was now suspected of harbouring separatist ambitions; [[Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad]] replaced him.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/A-fateful-arrest/article15401893.ece|title=A fateful arrest|first=Ramachandra|last=Guha|date=2 August 2008|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319081416/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/A-fateful-arrest/article15401893.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUeyUhVGIDMC&pg=PA1 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography |last=Sankar Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7023-369-5 |pages=1888–190}}{{page?|date=September 2024}}</ref>

Menon was instructed to deliver an unprecedented eight-hour speech defending India's stand on Kashmir in 1957; to date, the speech is the longest ever delivered in the [[United Nations Security Council]], covering five hours of the 762nd meeting on 23 January, and two hours and forty-eight minutes on the 24th, reportedly concluding with Menon's collapse on the Security Council floor.<ref name="nytimes1974" /> During the [[filibuster]], Nehru moved swiftly and successfully to consolidate Indian power in Kashmir (then under great unrest). Menon's passionate defence of Indian sovereignty in Kashmir enlarged his base of support in India and led to the Indian press temporarily dubbing him the "Hero of Kashmir". Nehru was then at the peak of his popularity in India; the only (minor) criticism came from the far right.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8272473.stm |title=A short history of long speeches |date=25 September 2009 |work=[[BBC News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305174645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8272473.stm |archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Majid, Amir A. |year=2007 |title=Can Self Determination Solve the Kashmir Dispute? |url=http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol7_no3/RJEA_Vol7_No3_Can_Self_Determination_Solve_the_Kashmir_Dispute.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Romanian Journal of European Affairs |volume=7 |issue=3 |page=38 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316211935/http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol7_no3/RJEA_Vol7_No3_Can_Self_Determination_Solve_the_Kashmir_Dispute.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2012}}</ref>

==== China ====
[[File:Prime Minister Nehru and Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of Nehru with Mao Zedong |Nehru and [[Mao Zedong]] in Beijing, China, October 1954]]
In 1954, Nehru signed with China the [[Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence]], known in India as the Panchsheel (from the Sanskrit words, ''panch'': five,'' sheel'': virtues), a set of principles to govern relations between the two states. Their first formal codification in treaty form was in an agreement between China and India in 1954, which recognised Chinese sovereignty over [[Tibet]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUeyUhVGIDMC&pg=PA1 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography |last=Sankar Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7023-369-5 |pages=266–268}}</ref> They were enunciated in the preamble to the "Agreement (with the exchange of notes) on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India", which was signed at Peking on 29 April 1954. Negotiations took place in Delhi from December 1953 to April 1954 between the Delegation of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) Government and the Delegation of the Indian Government on the relations between the two countries regarding the disputed territories of [[Aksai Chin]] and South Tibet. By 1957, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai had also persuaded Nehru to accept the Chinese position on Tibet, thus depriving Tibet of a possible ally, and of the possibility of receiving military aid from India.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Li |first1=Jianglin |last2=Wilf |first2=Susan |title=Tibet in agony : Lhasa 1959 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=40–41 |isbn=978-0-674-08889-4 |oclc=946579956}}</ref> The treaty was disregarded in the 1960s, but in the 1970s, the Five Principles again came to be seen as important in [[China–India relations]], and more generally as norms of relations between states. They became widely recognised and accepted throughout the region during the premiership of Indira Gandhi and the three-year rule of the [[Janata Party]] (1977–1980).<ref>The full text of this agreement (which entered into force on 3 June 1954): {{Cite web |url=http://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20299/v299.pdf |title=Treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat of the United Nations |year=1958 |website=[[United Nations Treaty Series]] |publisher=United Nations |location=New York |pages=57–81 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327031415/http://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20299/v299.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2012 |access-date=14 August 2012 |volume=299}}</ref> Although the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were the basis of the 1954 Sino-Indian border treaty, in later years, Nehru's foreign policy suffered from increasing Chinese assertiveness over border disputes and his decision to grant [[Right of asylum|asylum]] to the [[14th Dalai Lama]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/9x8RPd562DusWqVQQ91NfN/Nehrus-India.html |title=Nehru's India |date=23 May 2014 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212075501/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/9x8RPd562DusWqVQQ91NfN/Nehrus-India.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== United States ====
[[File:Indo US.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |Nehru receiving US President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at Parliament House, 1959]]
[[File:President John F. Kennedy Meets with Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru (1).jpg|right|thumb|Nehru with John F. Kennedy at the White House, 7 November 1961]]
In 1956, Nehru criticised the joint invasion of the [[Suez Canal]] by the British, French, and Israelis. His role, both as Indian prime minister and a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, was significant; he tried to be even-handed between the two sides while vigorously denouncing [[Anthony Eden]] and co-sponsors of the invasion. Nehru had a powerful ally in the US President Dwight Eisenhower who, if relatively silent publicly, went to the extent of using America's clout at the [[International Monetary Fund]] to make Britain and France back down. During the [[Suez crisis]], Nehru's right-hand man, Menon attempted to persuade a recalcitrant [[Gamal Nasser]] to compromise with the West and was instrumental in moving Western powers towards an awareness that Nasser might prove willing to compromise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/indias-moment-in-the-suez-canal-crisis/article9320638.ece|title=India's moment in the Suez Canal crisis|first=Swapna Kona|last=Nayudu|date=8 November 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[Business Line]]|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728020914/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/indias-moment-in-the-suez-canal-crisis/article9320638.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Assassination attempts and security ==
{{See also|List of assassination attempts on prime ministers of India}}
There were various assassination attempts on Nehru. The first attempt was made during partition in 1947 while he was visiting the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|North-West Frontier Province]] (now in Pakistan) in a car.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Reminiscences of the Nehru Age |last=Mathai |year=1978}}</ref> The second attempt came from Baburao Laxman Kochale, a knife-wielding [[rickshaw]]-puller, near [[Nagpur]] in 1955.{{efn|<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19550312&id=xTAmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1451,3268287 |title=Assassination Attempt on Nehru Made in Car |date=22 March 1955 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[Gettysburg Times]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064151/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19550312&id=xTAmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1451,3268287 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19550314&id=99cbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3125,3067050 |title=Rickshaw Boy Arrested for Nehru Attack |date=14 March 1955 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[Sarasota Herald Tribune]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064227/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19550314&id=99cbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3125,3067050 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19550314&id=nmNTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6416,4776451 |title=Rickshaw Boy Arrested for Attempting to Kill Nehru |date=14 March 1955 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[The Victoria Advocate]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064003/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19550314&id=nmNTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6416,4776451 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P4ZjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6064,1041556&dq=nehru+assassination |title=Knife Wielder Jumps on Car of Indian Premier |date=12 March 1955 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064318/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=P4ZjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6064,1041556&dq=nehru+assassination |url-status=live }}</ref>}} The third attempt was a plot by [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in 1955.<ref>{{cite book | title=Covertaction Quarterly | publisher=Covert Action Publications | year=1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eytFAQAAIAAJ |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=[[William Blum]] | title=Rogue State: A Guide to the Worlds Only Superpower | publisher=[[Zed Books]] | year=2006| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oBM8UiDYz1MC |page=50| isbn=9781842778272}}</ref> The fourth attempt took place in [[Bombay Presidency|Bombay]] in 1956,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BDdEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3947,2134723&dq=nehru+assassination |title=Police Say Nehru's Assassination Plot is Thwarted |date=4 June 1956 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[Altus Times-Democrat]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064322/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BDdEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3947,2134723&dq=nehru+assassination |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G8RdAAAAIBAJ&pg=4365,3368509&dq=nehru+assassination |title=Bombay Police Thwart Attempt on Nehru's Life |date=4 June 1956 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[Oxnard Press-Courier]] |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064321/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G8RdAAAAIBAJ&pg=4365,3368509&dq=nehru+assassination |url-status=live }}</ref> and the fifth was a failed bombing attempt on train tracks in [[Maharashtra]] in 1961.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19610930&id=v2cUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3440,1262437 |title=Bomb Explodes on Nehru's Route |date=30 September 1961 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[Toledo Blade]] |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128100718/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19610930&id=v2cUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3440,1262437 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite threats to his life, Nehru despised having too much security around him and did not like to disrupt traffic because of his movements.<ref>{{Cite book |title=My Days with Nehru |last=Mathai |first=M.O. |publisher=Vikas Publishing House |year=1979}}</ref>

== Death ==
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Jawaharlal Nehru}}

{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 0.5em; margin-right: 0.5em; font-size: 83%; background:#white; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 30%;" cellspacing="5"
|style="text-align: left;"|If any people choose to think of me then I should like them to say, "This was the man who with all his mind and heart loved India and the Indian people. And they in turn were indulgent to him and gave him of their love most abundantly and extravagantly."
– Jawaharlal Nehru, 1954.<ref>{{citation|last=Roberts|first=Elizabeth Mauchline|title=Gandhi, Nehru and Modern India|publisher=Routledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=De2oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT143|series=Routledge Library Editions: British in India|year=2017|isbn=978-1-00-063959-9|orig-date=1974}}</ref>
|}

Nehru's health began declining steadily in 1962. In the spring of 1962, he was affected with a viral infection over which he spent most of April in bed.<ref>{{cite book | author=[[Sarvepalli Gopal]] | title=Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Volume 3 1956–1964 | publisher=Random House | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4735-2189-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pd-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT293 | page=293}}</ref> In the next year, through 1963, he spent months recuperating in Kashmir. Some writers attribute this dramatic decline to his surprise and chagrin over the Sino-Indian War, which he perceived as a betrayal of trust.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Asia Society |title=Jawaharlal Nehru |editor-last=Embree |editor-first=Ainslie T. |editor-link=Ainslie Embree |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Asian History |year=1988 |volume=3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0000embr/page/98 98–100] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas0000embr/page/98 |location=New York |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |isbn=978-0-684-18899-7}}</ref> Upon his return from [[Dehradun]] on 26 May 1964, he was feeling quite comfortable and went to bed at about 23:30 as usual. He had a restful night until about 06:30. Soon after he returned from the bathroom, Nehru complained of pain in the back. He spoke to the doctors who attended to him for a brief while, and almost immediately he collapsed. He remained unconscious until he died at 13:44.<ref>{{Cite news |author=[[Raj Kanwar (journalist)|Kanwar Raj]] |title=The evening 58 years ago when I saw off Nehru on his last flight |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-evening-58-years-ago-when-i-saw-off-nehru-on-his-last-flight-1112895.html |access-date=27 May 2022 |newspaper=Deccan Herald |archive-date=27 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527070751/https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/the-evening-58-years-ago-when-i-saw-off-nehru-on-his-last-flight-1112895.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His death was announced in the [[Lok Sabha]] at 14:00 local time on 27 May 1964; the cause of death was believed to be a heart attack.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/27/newsid_3690000/3690019.stm BBC On This Day {{!}} 27 {{!}} 1964: Light goes out in India as Nehru dies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811052528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/27/newsid_3690000/3690019.stm |date=11 August 2013}}. [[BBC News]]. Retrieved 17 March 2011.</ref> Draped in the Indian national Tri-colour flag, the body of Jawaharlal Nehru was placed for public viewing. "''[[Raghupati Raghava Rajaram]]''" was chanted as the body was placed on the platform. On 28 May, Nehru was cremated in accordance with Hindu rites at the [[Shantivan]] on the banks of the [[Yamuna]], witnessed by 1.5 million mourners who had flocked into the streets of Delhi and the cremation grounds.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/29/1-5-million-view-rites-for-nehru.html |title=1.5 Million View Rites for Nehrus; Procession Route Jammed as Indians and Foreigners Pay Last Respects |last=Brady|first=Thomas F.|date=29 May 1964 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=18 May 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802130344/http://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/29/1-5-million-view-rites-for-nehru.html |archive-date=2 August 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

US President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] remarked on his death:-

<blockquote>History has already recorded his monumental contribution to the molding of a strong and independent India. And yet, it is not just as a leader of India that he has served humanity. Perhaps more than any other world leader he has given expression to man's yearning for peace. This is the issue of our age. In his fearless pursuit of a world free from war he has served all humanity.<ref>{{cite web | title=Letter to the President of India on the Death of Prime Minister Nehru. | website=The American Presidency Project | date=1964-05-27 | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-president-india-the-death-prime-minister-nehru | access-date=2023-02-21 | archive-date=4 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230904010824/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-president-india-the-death-prime-minister-nehru | url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and the future Soviet Leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] remarked:-

<blockquote>The name of Jawaharal Nehru enjoyed the tremendous respect and love of the Soviet people, who knew him as a tested and wise leader of the Indian people's struggle for national independence and the rebirth of their country, and as an active fighter against colonialism. Jawaharal Nehru is known as an outstanding statesman of modern times who devoted his entire life to the struggle for strengthening friendship and cooperation among peoples and for the progress of humanity. He was a passionate fighter for peace in the world and an ardent champion of principles of peaceful coexistence of states. He was the inspirer of the nonalignment policy promoted by the Indian Government. This reasonable policy won India respect and, due to it, India is now occupying a worthy place in the international arena.<ref>{{cite book | title=Daily Report, Foreign Radio Broadcasts | issue=nos. 105–106 | year=1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JhzOORv_t68C | access-date=2024-03-21 | page=2}}</ref></blockquote>

Countries such as Egypt, Cambodia, Nepal, Kuwait, [[Bhutan]], [[Kingdom of Sikkim]], Nepal, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Uganda, Malaysia, Yugoslavia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India and others declared national mourning over the death of Nehru.<ref>{{cite book | title=Mideast Mirror | publisher=Arab News Agency | issue=v. 16 | year=1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nq0MAQAAMAAJ| page=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Iran Society (Calcutta | first=India) | title=Indo-iranica | date=2024 | publisher=Iran Society. | issue=v. 17–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UURIAAAAMAAJ | page=12}}</ref>{{sfn|Pandey|1976|p=436}}<ref>{{cite book | author=Pakistan. Safārah (U.S.) | title=Pakistan Affairs | date=10 March 1963 | publisher=Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan | issue=v. 16–17 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVEdAQAAMAAJ&pg=PT37 | page=37}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=West Bengal | publisher=Director of Information | issue=v. 12 | year=1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_TnAAAAMAAJ | page=137}}</ref>

Nehru's death left India with no clear political heir to his leadership. [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] later succeeded Nehru as the prime minister.<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 May 2014|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/nehru-india-death-1964-archive|title=From the archive, 28 May 1964: The death of Mr Nehru, hero and architect of modern India|access-date=14 August 2021|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629050923/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/nehru-india-death-1964-archive|url-status=live}}</ref>

The death was announced to the Indian parliament in words similar to Nehru's own at the time of Gandhi's assassination: "[[The light has gone out of our lives|The light is out]]."<ref>{{Cite news |url={{Google books|XUEEAAAAMBAJ|page=PA32|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=A Man Who, with All His Mind and Heart, Loved India |date=5 June 1964 |magazine=[[Life Magazine]] |publisher=[[Time Inc.]]|pages=32}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0527.html |title=India Mourning Nehru, 74, Dead of a Heart Attack; World Leaders Honor Him |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 March 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322235121/http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0527.html |archive-date=22 March 2017}}</ref> India's future prime minister and then a [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Rajya Sabha MP]] from Uttar Pradesh [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]] famously delivered Nehru an acclaimed eulogy.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pathak|first=Vikas|date=17 August 2018|title=Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the orator: Speech that sounded like poetry|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/atal-bihari-vajpayee-the-orator/article24710175.ece|access-date=7 January 2022|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=7 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107063443/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/atal-bihari-vajpayee-the-orator/article24710175.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> After Nehru's death, Vajpayee made a speech in the Rajya Sabha, hailing Nehru as [[Bharat Mata]]'s "favourite prince" and likened him to the Hindu [[god]] [[Rama]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 August 2018|title=Vajpayee on Nehru's death: Bharat Mata has lost her favourite prince|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/vajpayee-on-nehrus-death-bharat-mata-has-lost-her-favourite-prince/99455/|access-date=7 January 2022|website=ThePrint|quote=In the Ramayana, Maharashi Valmiki has said of Lord Rama that he brought the impossible together. In Panditji's life, we see a glimpse of what the great poet said. He was a devotee of peace and yet the harbinger of revolution, he was a devotee of non-violence but advocated every weapon to defend freedom and honour.|archive-date=7 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107063443/https://theprint.in/opinion/vajpayee-on-nehrus-death-bharat-mata-has-lost-her-favourite-prince/99455/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Positions held==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Description
|-
| 1946–1950
| Elected to [[Constituent Assembly of India]]
* [[Interim Government of India|Vice President of Executive Council]] {{Small|(2 Sep 1946 – 15 April 1952)}}
* [[Prime Minister of India]] {{Small|(15 Aug 1947 – 15 April 1952)}}
* [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister for External Affairs]] {{Small|(15 Aug 1947 – 15 April 1952)}}
|-
| 1952–1957
| Elected to [[1st Lok Sabha]]
* [[Prime Minister of India]] {{Small|(15 Apr 1952 – 17 April 1957)}}
* [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister for External Affairs]] {{Small|(15 Apr 1952 – 17 April 1957)}}
|-
| 1957–1962
| Elected to [[2nd Lok Sabha]]
* [[Prime Minister of India]] {{Small|(17 Apr 1957 – 2 April 1962)}}
* [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister for External Affairs]] {{Small|(17 Apr 1957 – 2 April 1962)}}
|-
| 1962–1964
| Elected to [[3rd Lok Sabha]]
* [[Prime Minister of India]] {{Small|(2 Apr 1962 – 27 May 1964)}}
* [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister for External Affairs]] {{Small|(2 Apr 1962 – 27 May 1964)}}
|}

== Key cabinet members and associates ==
Nehru served as the prime minister for eighteen years, first as interim prime minister during 1946–1947 during the last year of the [[British Raj]] and then as prime minister of independent India from 15 August 1947 to 27 May 1964.

[[V. K. Krishna Menon]] (1896–1974) was a close associate of Nehru, and was described as the second most powerful man in India during Nehru's tenure as prime minister. From the inception of Nehru's prime ministry, Menon carefully selected [[Lord Mountbatten]] as the only suitable candidate and presented him as such to [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] through [[Sir Stafford Cripps]] and [[Clement Attlee]], who promptly appointed him the last Viceroy. The early governance and partition ultimately reduced to Mountbatten, Nehru, Menon, V.P. Menon, Sardar Patel, and an adamant Jinnah. Under Nehru, he served as India's high commissioner to the UK, ambassador to Ireland, ambassador-at-large and plenipotentiary, UN ambassador, minister without portfolio, ''de facto'' Foreign minister, and Union minister of defence. He was significantly involved in the [[annexation of Goa]]. He resigned after the debacle of the 1962 China War but remain a close friend of Nehru.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Norman D. |date=12 January 2007 |title=The 1962 Election in North Bombay |url=http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~kandathi/vkkm1962.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318032815/http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~kandathi/vkkm1962.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2012 |access-date=14 August 2021 |work=[[New York University|cs.nyu.edu]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fuller |first=C.J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQM4AAAAIAAJ&q=vengalil+landowner&pg=PR6 |title=The Nayars today&nbsp;– Christopher John Fuller |date=30 December 1976 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29091-3 |access-date=11 July 2012 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>Michael Brecher, and Janice Gross Stein, eds., ''India and world politics: Krishna Menon's view of the world'' ([[Praeger Publishing]], 1968).</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Chaudhuri | first=R. | title=Forged in Crisis: India and the United States Since 1947 | publisher=Oxford University Press, Incorporated | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-19-935486-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hBBVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 | page=108}}</ref>

[[B. R. Ambedkar]], the law minister in the interim cabinet, also chaired the Constitution Drafting Committee.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/we-ensured-b-r-ambedkar-was-chairman-of-drafting-committee-of-constitution-congress/articleshow/49987634.cms?from=mdr|title=We ensured B R Ambedkar was chairman of drafting committee of Constitution: Congress|work=[[The Economic Times]]|date=30 November 2015|access-date=14 August 2021|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718020757/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/we-ensured-b-r-ambedkar-was-chairman-of-drafting-committee-of-constitution-congress/articleshow/49987634.cms?from=mdr|url-status=live}}</ref>

Vallabhbhai Patel served as home minister in the interim government. He was instrumental in getting the Congress party working committee to vote for partition. He is also credited with integrating many princely states of India. Patel was a long-time comrade to Nehru but died in 1950, leaving Nehru as the unchallenged leader of India until his own death in 1964.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=376oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=Vision and Strategy in Indian Politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's Policy Choices and the Designing of Political Institutions |last=Jivanta Schoettli |publisher=Routledge |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-136-62787-3 |page=88}}</ref>

[[Syama Prasad Mukherjee]] served as the first [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister for Industry and Supply]] in the first ministry of Nehru. After resigning from the cabinet, he founded the [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh]] in 1951, the forerunner of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=Lahiry | first=Sutapa | title=Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party : A Comparative Assessment of Their Philosophy and Strategy and Their Proximity with the Other Members of the Sangh Parivar | journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science | date=26 April 2024 | publisher=Indian Political Science Association | volume=66 | issue=4 | issn=0019-5510 | jstor=41856171 | pages=831–850 }}</ref>

[[Maulana Azad]] was the First Minister of Education in the Indian government [[Minister of Human Resource Development]] (until 25&nbsp;September 1958, Ministry of Education). His contribution to establishing the education foundation in India is recognised by celebrating his birthday as National Education Day across India.<ref>{{cite news|title=International Urdu conference from Nov. 10|url=http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/07/stories/2010110754680500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111204425/http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/07/stories/2010110754680500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 November 2010|date=7 November 2010|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=13 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Chawla, Muhammad|title=Maulana Azad and the Demand for Pakistan: A Reappraisal|journal=Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society|year=2016|volume=64|issue=3|pages=7–24|url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-4269551701/maulana-azad-and-the-demand-for-pakistan-a-reappraisal|access-date=11 August 2020|archive-date=17 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117092116/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-4269551701/maulana-azad-and-the-demand-for-pakistan-a-reappraisal|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Jagjivan Ram]] became the youngest minister in Nehru's Interim Government of India, a [[Ministry of Labour and Employment (India)|labour minister]] and also a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, where, as a member of the [[Dalit]] caste, he ensured that [[social justice]] was enshrined in the [[Constitution of India|Constitution]]. He went on to serve as a minister with various portfolios during Nehru's tenure and in Shastri and Indira Gandhi governments.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=399UDwAAQBAJ&q=Jagjivan+Ram+became+the+youngest+minister+in+Nehru%27s+Interim+government+of+India+a+Labour+Minister+and+also+a+member+of+the+Constituent+Assembly+of+India,+where,+as+a+member+from+the+dalit+caste,+he+ensured+that+social+justice+was+enshrined+in+the+Constitution.&pg=PT591|title = Bihar General Knowledge Digest|isbn = 978-93-5266-769-7|last1 = Singh|first1 = Pradyuman|date = 2021|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan}}</ref>

[[Morarji Desai]] was a nationalist with anti-corruption leanings but was socially conservative, pro-business, and in favour of free enterprise reforms, as opposed to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's socialistic policies. After serving as chief minister of [[Bombay State]], he joined Nehru's cabinet in 1956 as the finance minister of India. He held that position until 1963 when he along with other senior ministers in the Nehru cabinet resigned under the [[K. Kamaraj|Kamaraj plan]].The plan, as proposed by Madras Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, was to revert government ministers to party positions after a certain tenure and vice versa. With Nehru's age and health failing in the early 1960s, Desai was considered a possible contender for the position of Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Anwarul Haque Haqqi|author2=Indian Political Science Association|title=Indian Democracy at the Crossroads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk7c6O2XlGwC&pg=PA150|year=1986|publisher=Mittal Publications|page=123|id=GGKEY:X2U27GYQ2L1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mahendra Prasad Singh|title=Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOQRWuMXyRMC&pg=PAPR5|year=1981|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-140-9|page=50}}</ref> Later Desai alleged that Nehru used the Kamaraj Plan to remove all possible contenders from the path of his daughter, Indira Gandhi.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Da |first1=S |title=The Nehru years in Indian politics |journal=Edinburgh Papers in South Asian Studies |date=2001 |volume=16 |page=24 |url=http://www.issti.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910183407/http://www.issti.ed.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/38480/WP16_Suranjan_Das.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> Desai succeeded Indira Gandhi as the prime minister in [[1977 Indian general election|1977]] when he was selected by the victorious [[Janata alliance]] as their parliamentary leader.<ref>{{cite book|author=G.G. Mirchandani|title=320 Million Judges|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xj0g8euumQC&pg=PA11|date=2003|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-061-7|pages=177–178}}</ref>

[[Govind Ballabh Pant]] (1887–1961) was a key figure in the [[Indian independence movement]] and later a pivotal figure in the politics of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and in the Indian Government. Pant served in Nehru's cabinet as Union home minister from 1955 until his death in 1961.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nation-pays-homage-to-Govind-Ballabh-Pant/articleshow/1975535.cms |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701135017/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-10/india/27791764_1_floral-tributes-homage-vice-president-bhairon-singh-shekhawat |url-status=live |archive-date=1 July 2012 |work=[[The Times of India]] |title=Nation pays homage to Govind Ballabh Pant |date=10 September 2006}}</ref> As home minister, his chief achievement was the [[States Reorganisation Act, 1956|re-organisation of states along linguistic lines]]. He was also responsible for the establishment of [[Hindi]] as the official language of the [[Government of India|central government]] and a few states.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gbpec.net/gbpant.html |title=Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand |publisher=Gbpec.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225073145/http://www.gbpec.net/gbpant.html |archive-date=25 December 2012 |access-date=1 January 2013}}</ref> During his tenure as the home minister, Pant was awarded the [[Bharat Ratna]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/PadmaAwards1954-2007.pdf |title=Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007) |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410024701/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/PadmaAwards1954-2007.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2009 |access-date=26 November 2010}}</ref>

[[C. D. Deshmukh]] was one of five members of the Planning Commission when it was constituted in 1950 by a cabinet resolution.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=376oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |title=Vision and Strategy in Indian Politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's Policy Choices and the Designing of Political Institutions |last=Jivanta Schoettli |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-136-62787-3 |location=Oxon |page=106}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_2KeZsYcjQC&pg=PT84 |title=Development Administration |last=S. A. Palekar |publisher=PHI Learning |year=2012 |isbn=978-81-203-4582-9 |location=New Delhi |page=74}}</ref> Deshmukh succeeded [[John Mathai]] as the [[Finance minister of India|Union Finance Minister]] in 1950 after Mathai resigned in protest over the transfer of certain powers to the Planning Commission.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/once-upon-a-plan/ |title=Once upon a plan |first=Inder |last=Malhotra |date=26 September 2014 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |access-date=11 July 2016 |archive-date=13 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813095203/http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/once-upon-a-plan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As finance minister, Deshmukh remained a member of the Planning Commission.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/history/ref_man03032011.pdf |title=Reference Material 2010 Notes of the Functioning of Various DiviionsI |date=2010 |publisher=Planning Commission of India |access-date=11 July 2016 |archive-date=8 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208211549/http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/history/ref_man03032011.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> Deshmukh's tenure—during which he delivered six budgets and an interim budget<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newcenturypublications.com/servlet/ncpGetBiblio?bno=000106 |title=India: Central Government Budgets – 1947–48 to 2003–04 |last=M M Sury |date=2003 |publisher=New Century Publications |access-date=20 July 2016 |archive-date=16 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916210547/http://www.newcenturypublications.com/servlet/ncpGetBiblio?bno=000106 |url-status=live }}</ref>—is noted for the effective management of the Indian economy and its steady growth which saw it recover from the impacts of the events of the 1940s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/north-block-mavericks-197030101130_1.html |title=North Block Mavericks |date=1 March 1997 |work=[[Business Standard]] |access-date=11 July 2016 |archive-date=16 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816190409/http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/north-block-mavericks-197030101130_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDmPKwQQdokC&pg=PA134 |title=The Politics of Poverty: Planning India's Development |last=D K Rangnekar |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2012 |isbn=978-81-321-0902-0 |location=New Delhi |page=134}}</ref> During Deshmukh's tenure, the [[State Bank of India]] was formed in 1955 through the nationalisation and amalgamation of the [[Imperial Bank of India|Imperial Bank]] with several smaller banks.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/21/stories/2004122100050902.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221085824/http://www.thehindu.com/2004/12/21/stories/2004122100050902.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 December 2016 |title=dated December 21, 1954: State Bank of India |date=21 December 2004 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=12 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030420/spectrum/book11.htm |title=Tracing history of the SBI |first=B.S. |last=Thaur |date=20 April 2003 |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |access-date=12 July 2016 |archive-date=22 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222003206/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030420/spectrum/book11.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He accomplished the nationalisation of insurance companies and the formation of the [[Life Insurance Corporation of India]] through the Life Insurance Corporation of India Act, 1956.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDqppvb19TsC&pg=PT180 |title=India: The Emerging Giant |last=Arvind Panagariya |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-989014-9 |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlN819nQS-wC&pg=PT41 |title=Insurance in India: Changing Policies and Emerging Opportunities |last1=P.S. Palande |last2=R.S. Shah |publisher=Response Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-7619-9747-4 |location=New Delhi |page=31}}</ref> Deshmukh resigned over the Government's proposal to move a bill in Parliament bifurcating [[Bombay State]] into [[Gujarat]] and Maharashtra while designating the city of Bombay a Union territory.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzNnwUasQ3wC&pg=PA280 |title=Dr. Zakir Hussain, Quest for Truth |last=Ziaul Hasan Faruqi |publisher=APH Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-81-7648-056-7 |location=Delhi |page=280}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vSENKsR3LEwbCgaG4zMw8K/The-anxiety-that-lingers.html |title=The anxiety that lingers |last=Niranjan Rajadhyaksha |date=7 December 2012 |work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |access-date=11 July 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817001151/http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/vSENKsR3LEwbCgaG4zMw8K/The-anxiety-that-lingers.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the years following independence, Nehru frequently turned to his daughter Indira Gandhi for managing his personal affairs.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|EZIBxpeRXxsC|page=PR7|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Women in power : the personalities and leadership styles of Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Margaret Thatcher |last=Steinberg |first=Blema S. |date=2008 |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |isbn=978-0-7735-3356-1 |location=Montreal |page=20 |access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref> Indira moved into Nehru's official residence to attend to him and became his constant companion in his travels across India and the world. She would virtually become Nehru's chief of staff.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|EZIBxpeRXxsC|page=PR7|keywords=indira%20nehru%20hostess|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Women in power : the personalities and leadership styles of Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Margaret Thatcher |last=Steinberg |first=Blema S. |date=2008 |publisher=[[McGill-Queen's University Press]] |isbn=978-0-7735-3356-1 |location=Montreal |page=20 |access-date=2 December 2015}}</ref> Towards the end of the 1950s, Indira Gandhi served as the president of the Congress. In that capacity, she was instrumental in getting the Communist-led [[Government of Kerala|Kerala]] State Government dismissed in 1959.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Upadhyaya |first=Prakash Chandra |date=1989 |title=Review of Marxist State Governments in India, Politics, Economics and Society by T.J. Nossiter |journal=Social Scientist |volume=17 |issue=1/2 January – February 1989 |pages=84–91 |doi=10.2307/3520112 |jstor=3520112}}</ref> Indira was elected as Congress party president in 1959, which aroused criticism for alleged [[nepotism]], although Nehru had actually disapproved of her election, partly because he considered that it smacked of "dynasticism"; he said, indeed it was "wholly undemocratic and an undesirable thing", and refused her a position in his cabinet.<ref name="Frank">{{Cite book| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin]] Books| page = 250| url = {{Google books|0eolM37FUWYC|page=PA250|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}| isbn = 978-0-395-73097-3| last = Frank| first = Katherine| title = Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi| year = 2002}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Indira herself was at loggerheads with her father over policy; most notably, she used his oft-stated personal deference to the [[Congress Working Committee]] to push through the dismissal of the [[Communist Party of India]] government in the state of [[Kerala]], over his own objections.<ref name="Frank" /> Nehru began to be embarrassed by her ruthlessness and disregard for parliamentary tradition and was "hurt" by what he saw as an assertiveness with no purpose other than to stake out an identity independent of her father.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = [[Rowman & Littlefield]]| page = 368| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7i0jGxysUUcC&pg=PAPA368| isbn = 978-0-8476-8442-7| last = Marlay| first = Ross| author2 = Clark D. Neher| title = Patriots and Tyrants: Ten Asian Leaders| year = 1999| access-date = 19 August 2021| archive-date = 5 February 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064008/https://books.google.com/books?id=7i0jGxysUUcC&pg=PAPA368| url-status = dead}}</ref>

== Religious and personal beliefs ==
{{republicanism sidebar}}Described as a [[Hindu]] [[agnostic]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Volume 3; Volumes 1956–1964 |last=Sarvepalii|first=Gopal|page=17|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|quote=Nehru was still an agnostic, but a Hindu agnostic.|author-link=Sarvepalli Gopal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/may/28/death-of-nehru-archive-1964|title = The death of Nehru: From the archive, 28 May 1964|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 28 May 2013|access-date = 22 August 2021|archive-date = 11 August 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140811000812/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2013/may/28/death-of-nehru-archive-1964|url-status = live}}</ref> and styling himself as a "[[scientific humanist]]",<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Times of India]]|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nehrus-Scientific-Humanism/articleshow/8590304.cms|title=Nehru's Scientific Humanism|last=Vohra|first=Ashok|date=27 May 2011|access-date=18 August 2017|archive-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826131046/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nehrus-Scientific-Humanism/articleshow/8590304.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru thought that religious taboos were preventing India from moving forward and adapting to modern conditions: "No country or people who are slaves to dogma and dogmatic mentality can progress, and unhappily our country and people have become extraordinarily dogmatic and little-minded."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypZ-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PP103|title=Jawaharlal Nehru;a Biography Volume 1 1889–1947|author=[[Sarvepalli Gopal]]|date=2015|isbn=978-1-4735-2187-2|publisher=[[Random House]]}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and elsewhere, has filled me with horror and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always it seemed to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry, superstition, exploitation and the preservation of vested interests.|sign=|source=''[[An Autobiography (Nehru)|Toward Freedom: The Autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru]]'' (1936); pp. 240–241.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|abcfAAAAIAAJ|page=PA1|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Hindu-Muslim Relations in British India: A Study of Controversy, Conflict, and Communal Movements in Northern India 1923–1928 |last=Thursby |first=Gene R. |date=1975 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-04380-0 |pages=1}}</ref>}}

As a humanist, Nehru considered that his afterlife was not in some mystical heaven or reincarnation but in the practical achievements of a life lived fully with and for his fellow human beings: "...Nor am I greatly interested in life after death. I find the problems of this life sufficiently absorbing to fill my mind," he wrote.<ref name="Gandhi-1991" /> In his Last Will and Testament, he wrote: "I wish to declare with all earnestness that I do not want any religious ceremonies performed for me after my death. I do not believe in such ceremonies, and to submit to them, even as a matter of form, would be hypocrisy and an attempt to delude ourselves and others."<ref name="Gandhi-1991" />

In his autobiography, he analysed Abrahamic and Indian religions<ref>{{Cite book |title=Secularism and Hindutva, a Discursive Study |last=A.A. Parvathy |year=1994 |page=42|publisher=Codewood Process & Printing}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Babri Masjid: a tale untold |last=Mohammad Jamil Akhtar |page=359|publisher=Genuine Publications}}</ref> and their impact on India. He wanted to model India as a [[secular country]]; his [[secularist]] policies remain a subject of debate mainly by the [[Hindutva]] proponents.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Communal Threat to Secular Democracy |last=Ram Puniyani |year=1999 |page=113|publisher=Kalpaz Publications}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography |last=Sankar Ghose |year=1993 |page=210|publisher=Alied Publishers}}</ref>

Nehru also believed that a [[world government]] needs to be formed for the sake of [[world peace]].

{{blockquote|The Committee is of the opinion that future peace, security and ordered progress of the world demand a world federation of free nations, and on no other basis can the problems of the world be solved. Such a world federation would ensure the freedom of its constituent nations, the prevention of aggression and exploitation of one nation over another, the protection of national minorities, the advancement of all backward areas and peoples, and the pooling of the world’s resources for the common good of all. On the establishment of such a world federation, disarmament would be practicable in all countries, national armies, navies and air forces would no longer be necessary, and a world federal defence force would keep the peace and prevent aggression. …The Committee regretfully realizes, however, despite the tragic and overwhelming lessons of the war and the perils that overhang the world, the Governments of few countries are yet prepared to take this inevitable step towards world federation.|sign=|source=''[[Quit India]] resolution of 8 August, 1942''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nehru and the Concept of One World -Idealistic Fantasy or Practical Necessity? |url=https://www.ris.org.in/sites/default/files/Opinions-Comments/Nehru%20and%20the%20Concept%20of%20One%20World%20_Final_.pdf|year=2014}}</ref>}}

== Awards and honours ==
In 1948, Nehru was conferred an honorary doctorate by the [[University of Mysore]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Khan|first=Laiqh A.|date=18 October 2020|title=Nehru's address at UoM convocation in 1948 remains untraceable|work=[[The Hindu]]|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/nehrus-address-at-uom-convocation-in-1948-remains-untraceable/article32887599.ece|access-date=21 July 2021|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He later received honorary doctorates from the [[University of Madras]], [[Columbia University]], and [[Keio University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/columbia-india|title=Who We Are|website=[[Columbia Global Centers|globalcenters.columbia.edu]]|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Conferment of Honorary Degree of Doctor |publisher=[[Keio University]]|url=https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/about/learn-more/honorary-degrees/|access-date=21 July 2021}}</ref> The [[Hamburg University]] had awarded Nehru two honorary degrees of the Faculties of Law and Agriculture.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nehru, the Humanist|page=8|author=Girija Kanta Mookerjee|publisher=Trimurti Publications|year=1972|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B7EsAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

In 1955, Nehru was awarded the [[Bharat Ratna]], India's highest civilian honour.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/PadmaAwards1954-2007.pdf |title=Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007) |publisher=Ministry of Home affairs |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410024701/http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/PadmaAwards1954-2007.pdf |archive-date=10 April 2009 |access-date=26 November 2010}}</ref> President [[Rajendra Prasad]] awarded him the honour without taking advice from the Prime Minister and added that "I am taking this step on my own initiative".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.529211/2015.529211.speeches-of#page/n373/mode/2up|title=Speeches of President Rajendra Prasad 1952–1956|last=Prasad|first=Rajendra|publisher=The Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GOI|year=1958|isbn=|location=|pages=340–341}}: "In doing so, for once, I may be said to be acting unconstitutionally, as I am taking this step on my own initiative and without any recommendation or advice from my Prime Minister; but I know that my action will be endorsed most enthusiastically not only by my Cabinet and other Ministers but by the country as a whole."</ref>

In 1970, he was posthumously awarded with the [[World Peace Council prizes|World Peace Council Prize]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Peace Laureates – Living Humanity | website=livinghumanity| date=2 September 1996 | url=https://livinghumanity.org/peace-laureates/ | access-date=21 March 2024}}</ref>

=== National honours ===
*{{flag|India}}:
**[[File:Bharat Ratna Ribbon.svg|50px]] [[Bharat Ratna]] (1955)

=== Foreign honours ===
*{{flag|Indonesia}}:
**[[File:Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipurna rib.svg|50px]] [[Star of the Republic of Indonesia]], ''First Class'' (1995, posthumous)<ref>{{cite web | title = Decoration Ceremony of the First Class Star of the Republic of Indonesia and the First Class Star of Services Awarded by the Government of Indonesia | url = https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/28116/1/MANIS032_001_web.pdf | publisher = Government of the Republic Indonesia | date = 12 December 1995 | access-date = 11 January 2021}}</ref>
*{{flag|South Africa}}:
**[[File:Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo (ribbon bar).gif|50px]] [[Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]], ''Grand Companion'' (2005, posthumous)<ref>{{cite web | title=The Order of the Companions of O.R. Tambo | website=The Presidency | date=25 April 2019 | url=https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/national-orders/order-companions-o.r.-tambo-0 | access-date=25 June 2023 | archive-date=4 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804045043/https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/national-orders/order-companions-o.r.-tambo-0 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Freedom of the City ===
*{{flagdeco|Yugoslavia}}{{flagicon image|Flag of Belgrade, Serbia.svg|Belgrade}} Belgrade, Yugoslavia:
**[[List of honorary citizens of Belgrade|Honorary Citizenship of Belgrade]] (1955)<ref>{{cite book | author=Diwanchand Institute of National Affairs | author2=Indian Council of World Affairs | title=Indian Recorder & Digest | issue=v. 1-2 | year=1955 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JncPAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA23 | language=de | access-date=11 November 2023 | page=23}}</ref>
*{{flagdeco|United Kingdom}}{{flagicon|London}} London, United Kingdom:
**[[Freedom of the City of London]] (1956).<ref>{{Cite news |date= |title=1956: Commonwealth heads honoured |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/3/newsid_2777000/2777357.stm |access-date=28 November 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
{{further|List of things named after Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{| class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 0.5em; margin-right: 0.5em; font-size: 79%; background:#white; colour:black; width:30em; max-width: 30%;" cellspacing="5"
| style="text-align: left;" | Nehru was a great man... Nehru gave to Indians an image of themselves that I don't think others might have succeeded in doing. – [[Sir Isaiah Berlin]]<ref>Jahanbegloo, Ramin ''Conversations with Isaiah Berlin'' (London 2000), {{ISBN|978-1-84212-164-1}} pp. 201–202</ref>
|}

Jawaharlal Nehru, next to Mahatma Gandhi, is regarded as the most significant figure of the [[Indian independence movement]] that successfully ended British rule over the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book | author=[[Gail Omvedt]]| title=We Will Smash this Prison!.: Indian Women in Struggle | publisher=Zed Press | series=Women in the Third World series | year=1980 | isbn=978-0-905762-44-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEe3AAAAIAAJ | quote=Jawaharlal Nehru was the most famous leader, next to Mahatma Gandhi, of the Indian independence movement| page=124}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Wiatr | first=J.J. | title=Political Leadership Between Democracy and Authoritarianism: Comparative and Historical Perspectives | publisher=Verlag Barbara Budrich | year=2022 | isbn=978-3-8474-1693-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcJZEAAAQBAJ | page=71|quote=scholars underline the importance of demographic political culture and its roots in the decades of peaceful struggle for independence (Vidyarthi 1967). Next to Gandhi himself, it was Nehru who deserved credit for such development.|author-link=Jerzy Wiatr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Patil | first=V.T. | title=Studies on Nehru | publisher=Facet Books International | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-932377-14-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTluAAAAMAAJ | page=117|quote=Among the many giants of the freedom movement, next to Gandhi, Nehru was the tallest}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Cannon | first1=P.G. | last2=Cannon | first2=G. | last3=Brine | first3=K. | title=Objects of Enquiry: The Life, Contributions, and Influences of Sir William Jones, 1746-1794 | publisher=[[New York University Press]] | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-8147-1517-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvMJ7draBvkC| quote="In the generation that won independence for India and the one following it [...] Jawaharlal Nehru, the second most important Indian nationalist next to Gandhi|page=158}}</ref> He is also noted for contributing in the independence of Libya, Indonesia and other countries.<ref>{{cite book | last=Shukla | first=K.R.G.V. | title=Foreign Policy of India | publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors | year=2009 | isbn=978-81-269-1030-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hx6O-BiIFTcC&pg=PA99| page=99}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=In search of peace and security – A study of Indian foreign policy in the Cold War| author=Lorne John Kavic| publisher=[[University of British Columbia]]| url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/831/1.0105964/1| access-date=23 April 2024| archive-date=23 April 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423122502/https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/831/1.0105964/1| url-status=live}}</ref>

As India's first Prime minister and external affairs minister, Nehru played a major role in shaping modern India's government and political culture along with the sound foreign policy.<ref name="Madan-2014">{{Cite web|first=Karuna|last=Madan|date=13 November 2014|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-relevance-of-jawaharlal-nehru-1.1411887|title=The relevance of Jawaharlal Nehru|website=[[gulfnews.com]]|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724171836/https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-relevance-of-jawaharlal-nehru-1.1411887|url-status=live}}</ref> He is praised for creating a system providing universal primary education,<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 1997|first=R.M. |last=Pal|url= http://www.pucl.org/from-archives/Academia/primary-education-pm.htm |title= Universal primary education first on the Prime Minster<!--sic-->'s agenda |access-date=13 August 2021 |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083134/http://www.pucl.org/from-archives/Academia/primary-education-pm.htm |archive-date= 24 September 2015 |work= [[People's Union for Civil Liberties|pucl.org]]}}</ref> reaching children in the farthest corners of rural India. Nehru's education policy is also credited for the development of world-class educational institutions like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aiims.ac.in/aiims/aboutaiims/aboutaiimsintro.htm |title=Introduction |website=[[AIIMS]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625122618/http://aiims.ac.in/aiims/aboutaiims/aboutaiimsintro.htm |archive-date=25 June 2014}}</ref> Indian Institutes of Technology,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/institute/history.php |title=Institute History |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813213137/http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/institute/history.php |archive-date=13 August 2007 |work=[[Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur]]|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> and the Indian Institutes of Management.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/28/archives/nehru-a-queer-mixture-of-east-and-west-led-the-struggle-for-a.html|title=Nehru, a 'Queer Mixture of East and West,' Led the Struggle for a, Modern India; Devoted His Life to Nation's Cause; Blended Skill in Politics With the Spiritualism of His Mentor, Gandhi|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 May 1964|access-date=14 June 2021|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614111525/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/28/archives/nehru-a-queer-mixture-of-east-and-west-led-the-struggle-for-a.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the independence, Nehru popularised the credo of "unity in diversity" and implemented it as state policy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Vertovec | first=Steven | title=Routledge International Handbook of Diversity Studies | publisher=Taylor & Francis | series=Routledge International Handbooks | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-317-60069-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=az2LBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140| page=140}}</ref> This proved particularly important as post-Independence differences surfaced since British withdrawal from the subcontinent prompted regional leaders to no longer relate to one another as allies against a common adversary. While differences in culture and, especially, language threatened the unity of the new nation, Nehru established programs such as the [[National Book Trust]] and the [[Sahitya Akademi|National Literary Academy]] which promoted the translation of regional works of literatures between languages and organised the transfer of materials between regions. In pursuit of a single, unified India, Nehru warned, "Integrate or perish."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harrison, Selig S. |date=July 1956 |title=The Challenge to Indian Nationalism |journal=[[Foreign Affairs]] |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=620–636 |doi=10.2307/20031191 |jstor=20031191}}</ref>

Called an "architect of India",{{efn|<ref>{{cite book | last=Sherman | first=T.C. | title=Nehru's India: A History in Seven Myths | publisher=Princeton University Press | year=2022 | isbn=978-0-691-22722-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sklnEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 | page=4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Architect of modern India|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article25402011.ece|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Frontline|date=8 November 2018|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204140223/https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article25402011.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title='Architect of modern India': Congress pays tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru on death anniversary|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/may/27/architect-of-modern-india-congress-pays-tributes-to-jawaharlal-nehru-on-death-anniversary-2308208.html|access-date=4 December 2021|website=The New Indian Express|date=27 May 2021|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204140222/https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/may/27/architect-of-modern-india-congress-pays-tributes-to-jawaharlal-nehru-on-death-anniversary-2308208.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=14 November 2019|title=Jawaharlal Nehru: Architect of modern India|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/inspiring-lives/jawaharlal-nehru-architect-of-modern-india/story-Ch4DgrerxtY448l0yxulTO.html|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Hindustan Times|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109200224/https://www.hindustantimes.com/inspiring-lives/jawaharlal-nehru-architect-of-modern-india/story-Ch4DgrerxtY448l0yxulTO.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ian Hall|first=The Conversation|title=Nehru, the architect of modern India, also helped discredit European imperialism|url=https://scroll.in/article/1002353/nehru-the-architect-of-modern-india-also-helped-discredit-european-imperialism|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Scroll.in|date=22 August 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115163627/https://scroll.in/article/1002353/nehru-the-architect-of-modern-india-also-helped-discredit-european-imperialism|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Dixit |first1=J.N. |title=From the archives: How Jawaharlal Nehru shaped India in the 20th century |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/from-the-archives-how-jawaharlal-nehru-shaped-india-in-the-20th-century-1876654-2021-11-14 |date=14 November 2021 |website=India Today |access-date=4 December 2021 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115132155/https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/from-the-archives-how-jawaharlal-nehru-shaped-india-in-the-20th-century-1876654-2021-11-14 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Editorial: Master's voice|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/kangana-ranauts-statement-is-a-testament-to-the-quid-pro-quo-arrangement-between-the-current-regime-and-its-pets/cid/1838908|access-date=4 December 2021|website=www.telegraphindia.com|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204140222/https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/kangana-ranauts-statement-is-a-testament-to-the-quid-pro-quo-arrangement-between-the-current-regime-and-its-pets/cid/1838908|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 May 2021|title=Opinion: Nehruvian legacy is his idea of India|url=https://www.siasat.com/nehruvian-legacy-is-his-idea-of-india-2141877/|access-date=4 December 2021|website=The Siasat Daily|archive-date=3 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103182714/https://www.siasat.com/nehruvian-legacy-is-his-idea-of-india-2141877/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Service|first=Tribune News|title=A thousand lies can't dwarf the giant Nehru was|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/a-thousand-lies-cant-dwarf-the-giant-nehru-was-258860|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Tribuneindia News Service|archive-date=30 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330155854/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/a-thousand-lies-cant-dwarf-the-giant-nehru-was-258860|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=16 November 2014|title=Nehru, the real architect of modern India|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/141116/commentary-op-ed/article/nehru-real-architect-modern-india|access-date=4 December 2021|website=Deccan Chronicle|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109051932/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/141116/commentary-op-ed/article/nehru-real-architect-modern-india|url-status=live}}</ref>}} he is widely recognised as the greatest figure of modern India after Mahatma Gandhi.<ref>{{cite book | last=Subramanian | first=V.K. | title=The Great Ones Vol. IV | publisher=Abhinav Publications | year=2003 | isbn=978-81-7017-472-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpGFRh_YbpkC |quote=He was the greatest figure after Gandhi in the history of modern India. | page=161}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author=[[Inder Malhotra]]| title=Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography | publisher=Hay House | year=2014 | isbn=978-93-84544-16-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxnDwAAQBAJ | page=124|quote=Jawaharlal Nehru, the greatest of all Indians after Gandhi and free India's first prime minister}}</ref> On the occasion of his first death anniversary in 1965, [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]], [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]] and others described Nehru as the greatest figure of India after Gandhi.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bhatia | first=V. | title=Jawaharlal Nehru, as Scholars of Socialist Countries See Him | publisher=Panchsheel Publishers | year=1989 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-RHAAAAMAAJ | page=105|quote=Jawaharlal Nehru was incomparably the greatest figure after Gandhi in our history - a man of dynamic force, intellectual power and profound vision.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Lok Rajya | publisher=Directorate-General of Information and Public Relations. | issue=v. 19, nos. 2–17 | year=1965 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8gdyzTBTrgC | page=40|quote=Nehru was the greatest man produced by the nation after Mahatma Gandhi and the torch he lit must remain burning forever.}}</ref>

Writing in 2005, [[Ramachandra Guha]] wrote that while no other Indian prime minister was ever close to the challenges that Nehru dealt with and if Nehru had died in 1958 then he would be remembered as the greatest statesman of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Guha | first=Ramachandra | title=Verdicts on Nehru: Rise and Fall of a Reputation | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | volume=40 | issue=19 | year=2005 | issn=0012-9976 | eissn=2349-8846 | jstor=4416605 | pages=1958–1962 }}</ref> However, in recent years, Nehru's reputation has seen re-emergence and he is credited for keeping India together contrary to predictions of many that the country was bound to fall apart.<ref>{{cite book | author=Craig Jeffrey, [[John Harriss]]| title=Keywords for Modern India | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-0-19-966563-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRVCBAAAQBAJ | access-date=21 February 2023 | page=134}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Nehru bust, India Place, London.JPG|Bust of Nehru at [[Aldwych]], London
File:Jawaharlal nehru Palais de la Paix Peace Palace Den Haag The Hague La Haye.jpg|Bust of Nehru at [[Peace Palace]], [[The Hague]]
File:TMstudy.png|Nehru's study in [[Teen Murti Bhavan]], which is now converted into a museum.
</gallery>

=== Commemoration ===
[[File:1989 CPA 6121.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=See caption |Nehru on a 1989 USSR commemorative stamp]]
In his lifetime, Jawaharlal Nehru enjoyed an iconic status in India and was generally admired across the world for his idealism and statesmanship.<ref name="Madan-2014" /><ref>{{cite journal | last=Kaur | first=Navtej | title=Nehru as a prophet of world peace| journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science | publisher=Indian Political Science Association | volume=69 | issue=1 | year=2008 | issn=0019-5510 | jstor=41856405 | pages=203–222 | quote=He was generally praised and supported for his statesmanship. Nehru did a commendable job in promoting world peace. As a statesman, committed to world peace, he strive hard to promote international understanding and co-operation}}</ref> The honorific ''[[Pandit]]'', meaning ''Wise One'', has been applied before his name since his lifetime.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Finck | first1=L. | last2=Hayes | first2=J.P. | title=Jawaharlal Nehru | publisher=Chelsea House Publishers | series=World leaders past & present | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-87754-543-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bKs2zZaApl0C | quote=Nehru was now given a special title of respect by the people of India. They called him Pandit, or Wise One. | page=95}}</ref> Nehru's ideals and policies continue shaping the Congress Party's [[manifesto]] and core political philosophy.<ref name="Thakur-2010" /> His birthday, 14 November is celebrated in India as ''Bal Divas'' ("[[Children's Day in India|Children's Day]]") in recognition of his lifelong passion and work for the welfare, education and development of children and young people. Children across India remember him as ''Chacha Nehru'' ("Uncle Nehru").<ref name="Thakur-2010">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qtuRMJCIe0cC&pg=PA175 |title=Gandhi Nehru and Globalization |last=Thakur |first=Harish |year=2010 |isbn=978-81-8069-684-8|publisher=Concept Publishing}}</ref> Nehru remains a popular symbol of the Congress Party which frequently celebrates his memory. People often emulate his style of clothing, especially the [[Gandhi cap]] and the [[Nehru jacket]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/290519/remembering-jawaharlal-nehru.html|title=Remembering Jawaharlal Nehru|date=29 May 2019|website=Deccan Chronicle|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908180725/https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/290519/remembering-jawaharlal-nehru.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/modish-designs/294045|title=Modish Designs|website=outlookindia|date=4 February 2022|access-date=8 September 2021|archive-date=8 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908180726/https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/modish-designs/294045|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru's preference for the [[sherwani]] ensured it continues to be considered formal wear in North India today.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Tripti|last=Lahiri|url= http://www.jnmf.in/history.html |title= A Profile of the Nehru Jacket|date=20 January 2012 |access-date=13 August 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150303195903/http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/01/20/a-profile-of-the-nehru-jacket/ |archive-date= 3 March 2015 |work= [[The Wall Street Journal|blogs.wsj.com]]}}</ref>

[[File:5 Rupees coin of India commemorating the birth centenary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.jpg|thumb|[[Indian 5-rupee coin|Indian 5 rupees coin]], [[Commemorative coin|commemorating]] the birth centenary of Nehru in 1989.]]

Many public institutions and memorials across India are dedicated to Nehru's memory. The [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] in Delhi is among the most prestigious universities in India. The [[Jawaharlal Nehru Port]] near the city of Mumbai is a modern port and [[dock]] designed to handle a huge cargo and traffic load. Nehru's residence in Delhi is preserved as the [[Teen Murti House]] now has the [[Nehru Memorial Museum & Library]], and one of five [[Nehru Planetarium]]s that were set in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Allahabad and Pune. The complex also houses the offices of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, established in 1964 under the chairmanship of [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]], then president of India. The foundation also gives away the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fellowship, established in 1968.<ref>{{Cite news |url= http://www.jnmf.in/history.html |title= Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund |access-date=13 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151107075119/http://www.jnmf.in/history.html |archive-date= 7 November 2015}}</ref> The Nehru family homes at Anand Bhavan and [[Swaraj Bhavan]] are also preserved to commemorate Nehru and his family's legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-relevance-of-jawaharlal-nehru-1.1411887|title=The relevance of Jawaharlal Nehru|website=gulfnews.com|date=13 November 2014|access-date=2 December 2018|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724171836/https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-relevance-of-jawaharlal-nehru-1.1411887|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1997, Nehru was voted as the greatest Indian since independence in ''[[India Today]]''{{'}} poll.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hl9DAAAAYAAJ|title=India Today, Volume 22|publisher=Thomson Living Media India Limited|year=1997|page=77|quote=on the choice of the greatest Indian since 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru was the clear choice of 42 percent}}</ref> In 2012, he ranked number four in ''[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]''{{'}}s poll of [[The Greatest Indian]].<ref>{{Cite web|first=Uttam|last=Sengupta|date=20 August 2012|url=https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/a-measure-of-the-man/281949|title=A Measure Of The Man|website=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|access-date=13 August 2021|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724075649/https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/a-measure-of-the-man/281949|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2010, he ranked among [[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]]'s ''The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Britannica Guide the World's Most Influential People Series: The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time | website=Gale eBooks | url=https://www.gale.com/ebooks/9781615300594/the-britannica-guide-the-worlds-most-influential-people-series-the-100-most-influential-world-leaders-of-all-time | access-date=23 April 2024 | archive-date=23 April 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423122502/https://www.gale.com/ebooks/9781615300594/the-britannica-guide-the-worlds-most-influential-people-series-the-100-most-influential-world-leaders-of-all-time | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
{{See also|:Category:Cultural depictions of Jawaharlal Nehru{{!}}Cultural depictions of Jawaharlal Nehru}}

There have been many documentaries about Nehru's life, and he has been portrayed in fictionalised films. The canonical performance is probably that of [[Roshan Seth]], who played him three times: in [[Richard Attenborough]]'s 1982 film ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'',<ref>{{cite book|author=Suman Bhuchar|editor-link=Alison Donnell|editor=Alison Donnell|title=Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfdpdZ9DwH0C&pg=PA276|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-70025-7|page=276|chapter=Seth, Roshan}}</ref> [[Shyam Benegal]]'s 1988 television series ''[[Bharat Ek Khoj]]'', based on Nehru's ''The Discovery of India'',<ref>{{cite news |title=What makes Shyam special... |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/17/stories/2003011700990100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030627193719/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/01/17/stories/2003011700990100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 June 2003 |date= 17 January 2003 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=6 June 2013}}</ref> and in a 2007 TV film entitled ''The Last Days of the Raj''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newswire/story/universal-studio-scraps-nehru-edwina-film/668111|title = Universal Studio Scraps Nehru-Edwina Film}}</ref> Benegal directed the 1984 documentary film, ''[[Nehru (1984 film)|Nehru]]'', covering his political career.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharma |first1=Garima |title=Shyam Benegal on his film Nehru |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/shyam-benegal-on-his-film-nehru/articleshow/5651571.cms |website=[[The Times of India]] |date=7 March 2010|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> Indian film director [[Kiran Kumar]] made a film about Nehru titled ''Nehru: The Jewel of India'' in 1990 starring [[Partap Sharma]] in the titular role.<ref>{{cite book|title=Documentary Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oIeWcOf-_k8C|year=2010|page=7|publisher=[[Films Division]], [[Government of India]]}}</ref> In [[Ketan Mehta]]'s film ''[[Sardar (1993 film)|Sardar]]'', [[Benjamin Gilani]] portrayed Nehru.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.culturalindia.net/leaders/jawaharlal-nehru.html |title=Jawaharlal Nehru Biography – Childhood, Facts & Achievements of India's First Prime Minister |access-date=25 August 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813223309/http://www.culturalindia.net/leaders/jawaharlal-nehru.html |archive-date=13 August 2017 |work=culturalindia.net}}</ref> ''[[Naunihal]]'' ({{lit|Young man}}), a 1967 Indian Hindi-language drama film by Raj Marbros, follows Raju, an orphan, who believes that Jawaharlal Nehru is his relative and sets out to meet him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Naunihal |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqwfCtoflUk | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609103731/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqwfCtoflUk| archive-date=9 June 2021 | url-status=dead|work=[[Shemaroo]]|publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=22 February 2016}}</ref>[[File:Nehru sweets oratarians Nongpoh.jpg|thumb|Nehru distributes sweets among children at [[Nongpoh]], Meghalaya]]

Similarly, in the 1957 film ''[[Ab Dilli Dur Nahin (1957 film)|Ab Dilli Dur Nahin]]'' ({{lit|Now Delhi is not far away}}) by Amar Kumar, Rattan, a young boy, travels to Delhi and seeks to avert the death sentence of his wrongly convicted father by asking Prime Minister Nehru for help.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ab Dilli Dur Nahin (1957) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ab-dilli-dur-nahin |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=13 August 2021}}</ref> Another 1957 [[English language]] short documentary ''[[Our Prime Minister]]'' was produced, compiled and directed by [[Ezra Mir]], who also directed ''Three Weeks in the Life of Prime Minister Nehru'' in 1962.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF8ABAAAQBAJ&pg=RA9-PA1979|access-date=17 August 2015|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-94325-7|pages=9–|chapter=Mir, Ezra}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Meran Barsam|title=Nonfiction Film: A Critical History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7p36FdLYdIC&pg=PA271|access-date=26 February 2013|year=1992|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-20706-7|pages=271}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=India, 1951–1960 |url=http://www.moviemoviesite.com/Countries/Countries%20I/India/india_1951_1960.htm |date=2009–2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113084937/http://www.moviemoviesite.com/Countries/Countries%20I/India/india_1951_1960.htm |archive-date=13 January 2018 |website=Movie Movie |access-date=29 September 2022}}</ref> [[Girish Karnad]]'s historical play, ''[[Tughlaq (play)|Tughlaq]]'' (1962) is an allegory about the Nehruvian era. It was staged by [[Ebrahim Alkazi]] with the [[National School of Drama]] Repertory at [[Purana Qila]], Delhi in the 1970s and later at the Festival of India, London in 1982.<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20011230180843/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1603/16031170.htm Awards: The multi-faceted playwright]}} ''[[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]'', Vol. 16, No. 3, 30 January – 12 February 1999.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Authors speak |last=Sachindananda |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-81-260-1945-8 |page=58 |chapter=Girish Karnad |chapter-url={{Google books|PGWa7v08JikC|page=PT82|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

== Writings ==
Nehru was a prolific writer in English who wrote ''[[The Discovery of India]]'', ''[[Glimpses of World History]]'', ''[[An Autobiography (Nehru)|An Autobiography]]'' (released in the United States as ''Toward Freedom'',) and ''[[Letters from a Father to His Daughter]]'', all written in jail.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/most-searched-products/books/childrens-day-special-popular-books-by-and-on-jawaharlal-nehru/articleshow/72039865.cms|title=Children's Day: Popular Books On and By Jawaharlal Nehru |website=[[The Times of India]]|date=13 November 2020}}</ref> ''Letters'' comprised thirty letters written to his daughter Indira Priyadarshani Nehru (later Gandhi) who was then ten years old and studying at a boarding school in [[Mussoorie]]. It attempted to instruct her about natural history and world civilisations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/yw/2006/08/04/stories/2006080402320600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112142131/http://www.hindu.com/yw/2006/08/04/stories/2006080402320600.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 November 2009 |title=Young World : From dad with love |last=Balakrishnan |first=Anima |date=4 August 2006 |access-date=31 October 2008 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Nehru, as PM, wrote biweekly letters to [[Chief minister|Chief Minister]]s of the [[States and union territories of India|states]] from 1947 to 1964.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jawaharlal Nehru Letters to Chief Ministers 1947-1964 |date=1985 |url=https://archive.org/details/letterstochiefmi01jawa/page/1/mode/1up |publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund |access-date=2 May 2025}}</ref>

Nehru's books have been widely read.<ref>{{cite book | first1=Adam |last1=Roberts |first2=Michael J. |last2=Willis |first3=Rory |last3=McCarthy |first4=Timothy |last4=Garton Ash | title=Civil Resistance in the Arab Spring: Triumphs and Disasters | publisher=OUP Oxford | year=2016 | isbn=978-0-19-108833-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHt9DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT44| page=44|quote=Nehru's books were translated into Arabic and widely read}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Rana | first=A.P. | title=Four Decades of Indo-U.S. Relations: A Commemorative Retrospective | publisher=Har-Anand Publications | year=1994 | isbn=978-81-241-0156-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3x1uAAAAMAAJ | page=203|quote=Nehru's books were widely read and reviewed.}}</ref> ''An Autobiography'', in particular, has been critically acclaimed. [[John Gunther]], writing in ''Inside Asia'', contrasted it with Gandhi's autobiography:<blockquote> The Mahatma's placid story compares to Nehru's as a cornflower to an orchid, a rhyming couplet to a sonnet by MacLeish or Auden, a water pistol to a machine gun. Nehru's autobiography is subtle, complex, discriminating, infinitely cultivated, steeped in doubt, suffused with intellectual passion. Lord Halifax once said that no one could understand India without reading it; it is a kind of 'Education of Henry Adams,' written in superlative prose—hardly a dozen men alive write English as well as Nehru ...<ref>{{citation|last=Gunther|first=John|author-link=John Gunther|title=Inside Asia|page=429|year=1942|publisher=Harper and Brothers | location=New York and London|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.275215/page/n451/mode/2up}}</ref></blockquote>

Michael Brecher, who considered Nehru to be an intellectual for whom ideas were important aspects of Indian nationalism, wrote in ''Political Leadership and Charisma: Nehru, Ben-Gurion, and Other 20th-Century Political Leaders'':<blockquote> Nehru's books were not scholarly, nor were they intended to be. He was not a trained historian, but his feel for the flow of events and his capacity to weave together a wide range of knowledge in a meaningful pattern give to his books qualities of a high order. In these works, he also revealed a sensitive literary style. ... ''Glimpses of World History'' is the most illuminating on Nehru as an intellectual. The first of the trilogy, ''Glimpses'', was a series of thinly connected sketches of the story of mankind in the form of letters to his teenage daughter, Indira, later prime minister of India. ... Despite its polemical character in many sections and its shortcomings as an impartial history, ''Glimpses'' is a work of great artistic value, a worthy precursor of his noble and magnanimous ''Autobiography''.<ref>{{citation|last=Brecher|first=Michael|title=Political Leadership and Charisma: Nehru, Ben-Gurion, and Other 20th-Century Political Leaders, Intellectual Odyssey I|date= 2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=London|pages=80–81|isbn=978-3-319-32627-6|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1EiDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA81}}</ref></blockquote>

Michael Crocker thought ''An Autobiography'' would have given Nehru literary fame had the political fame eluded him:<blockquote>It is to his years in prison that we owe his three main books, ... Nehru's writings illustrate a cerebral life, and a power of self-discipline, altogether out of the ordinary. Words by the million bubbled up out of his fullness of mind and spirit. Had he never been prime minister of India he would have been famous as the author of the ''Autobiography'' and the autobiographical parts of ''The Discovery of India''. ''An Autobiography'', at least with some excisions here and there, is likely to be read for generations. ... There are, for instance, the characteristic touches of truism and anticlimax, strange in a man who could both think and, at his best, write so well ...<ref>{{citation|last=Crocker|first=Walter|title=Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate|year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQ8p4XTRZgEC&pg=PT96|publisher=Penguin Random House India|isbn=9788184002133}}</ref></blockquote>

Nehru's speech "[[Tryst with Destiny]]" was rated by the British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' to be among the great speeches of the 20th century. [[Ian Jack]] wrote in his introduction to the speech: <blockquote>Dressed in a golden silk jacket with a red rose in the buttonhole, Nehru rose to speak. His sentences were finely made and memorable—Nehru was a good writer; his Discovery of India stands well above the level reached by most politician-writers. ... The nobility of Nehru's words—their sheer sweep—provided the new India with a lodestone that was ambitious and humane. Post-colonialism began here as well as Indian democracy, which has since outlived many expectations of its death.<ref>{{citation|last=Jack|first=Ian|title=Noble words|series=Great speeches of the 20th-century: Nehru|publisher=Guardian|date=1 May 2007|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/may/01/jawaharlal-nehru-tryst-with-dignity-speech-introduction}}</ref></blockquote>

== See also ==
{{portal|Biography|Politics|India|Literature|Society}}
* [[Foreign relations of India]]
* [[List of political families]]
* [[List of national presidents of the Indian National Congress]]
* [[List of Indian writers]]
* ''[[Scientific temper]]'', a phrase popularised by Nehru
* [[List of heads of state and government who died in office]]
* [[List of heads of state and government Nobel nominees]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

===Sources===
* {{Cite book |last=Ghose |first=Sankar |year=1993 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru |publisher=Allied Publishers |isbn=978-81-7023-369-5}}
* Gopal, Sarvepalli. ''Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Volume 1 1889–1947'' (1975); ''Jawaharlal Nehru Vol. 2 1947–1956'' (1979); ''Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Volume 3 1956–1964'' (2014), a major scholarly biography.
** {{Cite book |last=Gopal|first=Sarvepalli |author-link= |title=Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Volume 1 1889–1947|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.13225|year=1976 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780198079828 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kopstein |first=Jeffrey |title=Comparative Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-139-44604-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moraes |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Moraes |title=Jawaharlal Nehru |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0us3TambWogC |year=2007 |publisher=[[Jaico Publishing House]] |isbn=978-81-7992-695-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nanda |first=B.R. |author-link=Bal Ram Nanda |date=2007 |title=The Nehrus: Motilal and Jawaharlal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiwpDwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-908793-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mukherjee |first=Rudrangshu |author-link=Rudrangshu Mukherjee |year=2018 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7mCDwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 9780199096596 }}

== Bibliography ==
* Gopal, S. and Uma Iyengar, eds. ''The Essential Writings of Jawaharlal Nehru'' (Oxford University Press, 2003) {{ISBN|978-0-19-565324-3}}
* ''Autobiography: Toward freedom'', [[Oxford University Press]]
* ''Letters for a Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru to His Chief Ministers 1947–1963'' (Penguin UK, 2015).
* ''Letters from a father to his daughter'' by Jawaharlal Nehru, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160208134134/http://www.childrensbooktrust.com/index.htm Children's Book Trust]
* '' Independence and After: A collection of the more important speeches of Jawaharlal Nehru from September 1946 to May 1949'' (1949). Delhi: The Publications Division, Government of India.
* [[s:A Tryst With Destiny|"A Tryst with Destiny"]]{{snd}}Historic speech made by Jawaharlal Nehru on 14 August 1947
* {{Cite book|last=Baru|first=Sanjaya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R4QmEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22nehruvian+intellectual%22&pg=PT47|title=India's Power Elite: Class, Caste and Cultural Revolution|date=2021|publisher=Penguin Random House India Private Limited|isbn=978-93-90914-76-0|quote=Prime Minister Modi decided to alter the character of the premises as part of his campaign to liberate India from the Nehruvian intellectual inheritance.}}
* {{Cite journal| last=Brown | first=Judith M. | title=The Mountbatten Viceroyalty. Announcement and Reception of the 3 June Plan, 31 May–7 July 1947 | journal=The English Historical Review | volume=99 | issue=392 | year=1984 | pages=667–668| doi=10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCII.667}}
* {{Cite book | last=Lumby | first=E.W.R. | title=The Transfer of Power in India, 1945–1947 | publisher=George Allen and Unwin | place=London | year=1954}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zachariah|first=Benjamin |author-link=|title=Nehru|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qaaBAgAAQBAJ|year=2004 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=9781134577392 }}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* Bayly, C.A. "The Ends of Liberalism and the Political Thought of Nehru's India." ''Modern Intellectual History'' 12.3 (2015): 605–626.
* ''Nehru: A Political Biography'' by Michael Brecher (1959). London: [[Oxford University Press]].
* "Nehru, Jawaharlal" in [[Ainslie T. Embree]], ed. (1988). ''Encyclopedia of Asian History''. Vol. 3. New York: [[Charles Scribner's Sons]]. pp.&nbsp;98–100.
* Fonseca, Rena. "Nehru and the Diplomacy of Nonalignment." ''The Diplomats, 1939–1979'' ([[Princeton University Press]], 2019) pp.&nbsp;371–397. [https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv8pz9nc.19 online]
* [[Sarvapelli Gopal|Gopal, Sarvapelli]]. "Nehru and minorities." ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (1988): 2463–2466. {{JSTOR|4394015}}
* Gopal, Sarvepalli. "The Formative Ideology of Jawaharlal Nehru." ''Economic and Political Weekly'' (1976): 787–792 {{JSTOR|4364645}}.
* Gopal, Sarvepalli. '' Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Volume 1 1889–1947'' (1975); ''Jawaharlal Nehru Vol. 2 1947–1956'' (1979); ''Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Vol.3 1956–1964'' (2014), a major scholarly biography; [https://www.amazon.com/Jawaharlal-Nehru-Biography-1-1889-1947-ebook/dp/B00N7F58Q6/ excerpt vol 1]
* Guha, Ramachandra. "Jawaharlal Nehru." in ''Makers of Modern Asia'' (Harvard University Press, 2014) pp.&nbsp;117–146.
* Heimsath, C.H. and Surjit Mansingh. ''A diplomatic history of modern India'' (1971) [https://archive.org/details/diplomatichistor0000heim online]
* Louro, Michele L. ''Comrades against imperialism: Nehru, India, and interwar internationalism'' (Cambridge UP, 2018).
* Malone, David et al. eds. ''The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy.'' (2015) [https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Handbook-Indian-Foreign-Handbooks/dp/019874353X excerpt]; a comprehensive overview by over 50 leading experts.
* Purushotham, Sunil. "World history in the atomic age: Past, present and future in the political thought of Jawaharlal Nehru." ''Modern Intellectual History'' 14.3 (2017): 837–867.
* Raghavan, Srinath. ''War and peace in modern India'' (Springer, 2016); focus on Nehru's foreign policy
* Raghavan, Srinath. ''The Most Dangerous Place: A History of the United States in South Asia.'' (Penguin Random House India, 2018); also published as ''Fierce Enigmas: A History of the United States in South Asia.(''2018). [https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/reviews/3515710/subramaniam-raghavan-fierce-enigmas-history-united-states-south-asia online review]
* {{Cite web |url=https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/pdf/prof_jawaharlalnehru.pdf |title=Commanding Heights |last=Joseph Stanislaw and Daniel A. Yergin |year=1988 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster, Inc.]] |location=New York}}
* [[Tharoor, Shashi]] (2003). ''Nehru: The Invention of India''. Arcade Books. {{ISBN|978-1-55970-697-1}}.
* Tyson, Geoffrey (1966). ''Nehru: The Years of Power''. London: Pall Mall Press.
* Zachariah, Benjamin (2004). ''Nehru''; [https://www.amazon.com/Routledge-Historical-Biographies-Benjamin-Zachariah/dp/041525017X/ excerpt].
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://inc.in/our-inspiration/pandit-jawaharlal-nehru Jawaharlal Nehru] at official website of [[Indian National Congress]]
* [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jawaharlal-Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru] at the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''
* [https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/former_pm/shri-jawaharlal-nehru/ Jawaharlal Nehru] at official website of [[Prime Minister's Office (India)]]
* [https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliament-and-empire/collections1/collections2/nehrus-birthday-dinner-programme/ 70th Anniversary of Indian Independence – Nehru's Birthday Dinner Programme – UK Parliament Living Heritage]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151103174317/http://www.india-today.com/itoday/millennium/100people/nehru.html Profile of Nehru] in ''[[India Today]]''
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=sI_I-jk8YWsC&q=nehru+communalism Nehru on Communalism]
* [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/search/jawaharlal%20nehru Jawaharlal Nehru materials] in the [[South Asian American Digital Archive]] (SAADA)
* {{OL author}}
* {{IMDb name|624587}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nehru_jawaharlal.shtml Jawaharlal Nehru] at the [[BBC]]

{{Jawaharlal Nehru}}
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