Nehru Redefined National Personality

Venkat Parsa

India, in 1947, was reeling under Partition and post-Partition holocaust. Pakistan, in the neighbourhood, established itself as an Islamic State. Even in such daunting circumstances, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru chose to retain secularism as the defining feature of the Indian national personality, which has come down from the times of Ashoka and Akbar and, in our own times, of Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru never wavered, remaining focused on the future, unshaken in his deep, enduring faith that secularism alone can do justice to the rich diversity in the country.

This was no ordinary phenomenon. It truly calls for courage of conviction. Nehru literally stretched his neck out for the ideal he so deeply cherished. 

Years later, it earned India a fair name in the comity of nations. During the Arab Spring, it struck awe and wonder as to how India really manages her diversity.

Gandhiji was the inspiration for Nehru for promoting secularism. It is not a concept borrowed from the West, where secularism is merely considered separation of the Church and the State. For Nehru, it entailed ensuring equal rights and opportunities for Minorities, at par with all citizens.

At a time when the British Raj pushed for Divide and Rule policy, Nehru ushered in democracy, secularism and socialism, all three together, during the Freedom Struggle and made it the foundation for nation-building at the very dawn of Indian Independence on August 15, 1947.

Communalism poses one of the gravest threats to democracy. When religion is viewed emotionally, people are easily influenced by divisive thoughts — such as questioning why someone from a particular faith got a job, believing it deprives others of opportunities. Such perceptions fuel and spread communalism across society.

Hindu communalism often advances by citing communalism in other religions. But it does not weaken Muslim or Christian communalism; instead, each feeds the other. The growth of one form inevitably strengthens the others.

Communalism is also contrary to India’s core cultural and civilizational ethos. It is a relatively new phenomenon, rooted in the Western concept of religion-based nationalism.

Democracy offers the strongest safeguard against communalism. Nehru believed societies thrive through peaceful democratic change, possible only in an atmosphere free of fear and suspicion. A fearful citizen cannot assert rights or participate meaningfully in democracy. Communalism spreads by instilling fear among communities.

Nehru viewed secularism not as merely the opposite of communalism, but as the recognition of minority rights, equality and equal opportunity for all. As US President Franklin D. Roosevelt observed, no democracy can survive without safeguarding minority rights.

India, home to all major religions and some of the world’s oldest places of worship, has secularism embedded in its civilizational ethos. Nehru admired Akbar for recognizing Hindu-Muslim unity as the basis of Indian nationhood, while Mahatma Gandhi upheld the same ideal in modern India, even sacrificing his life for communal harmony.

Nehru also played a key role in shaping India’s secular Constitution through the Nehru Report, Karachi Resolution and Objectives Resolution. Constitutional provisions guaranteeing equality, non-discrimination, religious freedom and minority rights reflect this vision.

Drawing from India’s heritage of welcoming diverse communities, Nehru believed reviving this inclusive tradition was essential to counter rising hatred and communal tensions.

(Venkat Parsa is a senior journalist based out of New Delhi)