What were Jawaharlal Nehru’s accomplishments?

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Jawaharlal Nehru was a key leader of the Indian National Congress and the independence movement. He often balanced the religiosity and traditionalism of Mahatma Gandhi with a more secular and modernist perspective, thus broadening the appeal of the movement. In 1947 he became India’s first prime minister and served until his death in 1964.