Jawaharlal Nehru

Introduction & Top Questions
Early years
Political apprenticeship
Struggle for Indian independence
Imprisonment during World War II
Achievements as prime minister
Legacy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Collage of raised-fist silhouettes over a halftone orange, yellow, and green background, featuring historic newspaper text and faint crowd imagery.

President Harry Truman shakes hands with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on an airport tarmac, with Madame Pandit and Indira Gandhi standing nearby.

Map of South Asia highlighting the Kashmir region in orange at the northern border area between India, Pakistan, and China. The map shows surrounding countries including Afghanistan, Iran, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, with a legend indicating which parts of Kashmir are administered or claimed by each country. An inset globe in the upper right locates the region within Asia.

A boy dressed as Jawaharlal Nehru distributes candy to children in colorful costumes during a Children's Day celebration at a school in Amritsar, India.

Watch the funeral procession for Mahatma Gandhi, February 2, 1948

At a Glance

Jawaharlal Nehru summary

Quizzes

Chandigarh. Statuettes at the Rock Garden of Chandigarh a sculpture park in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden. Created by Nek Chand Saini an Indian self taught artist. visionary artist, folk artist, environmental art

Explore India Quiz

Related Questions

How did Hindu civil code reforms improve inheritance and property rights for Hindu widows?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru bring Goa under Indian control in 1961?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru describe Mahatma Gandhi after Gandhi’s assassination?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru help bring young people and intellectuals into the independence movement?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru strengthen parliamentary democracy in India?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru’s education in England influence his outlook?
How did Jawaharlal Nehru’s views differ from Mahatma Gandhi’s views?
How did Mahatma Gandhi influence Jawaharlal Nehru?
How did the Kashmir dispute begin after the partition of India?
How did the Sino-Indian War affect Jawaharlal Nehru’s nonalignment policy?
How long did Jawaharlal Nehru serve as prime minister of India?
How much time did Jawaharlal Nehru spend in prison during the independence movement?
How were Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi related?
How were Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi related?
What did Jawaharlal Nehru study at Trinity College, Cambridge?
What problems did Jawaharlal Nehru face when India became independent in 1947?
What role did Jawaharlal Nehru play in the Non-Aligned Movement?
What were Jawaharlal Nehru’s Five Principles of foreign policy?
What were the four pillars of Jawaharlal Nehru’s domestic policies?
What were the main goals of India’s First Five-Year Plan?
When did Jawaharlal Nehru first meet Mahatma Gandhi?
When did Jawaharlal Nehru serve as India’s first prime minister?
When was Jawaharlal Nehru first imprisoned by British authorities?
Where did Jawaharlal Nehru go to school in England?
Where was Jawaharlal Nehru born?
Who became prime minister of India after Jawaharlal Nehru died?
Who was Jawaharlal Nehru’s only child?
Who was Motilal Nehru?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru become president of the Indian National Congress in 1929?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru first try diplomacy before sending Indian troops into Goa?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru not fully accept communist methods?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru reluctantly accept the partition of India?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru support Indian industrialization?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru support nonalignment during the Cold War?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru use five-year plans for India’s economy?
Why did Jawaharlal Nehru withdraw support for a Kashmir plebiscite?
Why did rural poverty continue despite India’s economic growth during Jawaharlal Nehru’s government?
Why did the Sino-Indian War begin in 1962?
Why was Jawaharlal Nehru interested in socialism?
What is Jawaharlal Nehru known for?
What were Jawaharlal Nehru’s accomplishments?
What role did Jawaharlal Nehru play in freeing Goa from Portuguese rule?
Who was Indira Gandhi?
Why was Indira Gandhi assassinated?
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What was Alexander the Great’s childhood like?
How did Alexander the Great die?
What was Alexander the Great like?
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External Websites

Indian National Congress - Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian National Congress - Biogaphy of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru
Stanford University - The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute - Jawaharlal Nehru
ABC News - Jawaharlal NehruÂ’s vision for a just and equitable post-colonial world, with India leading the way
IndiaNetzone - Jawaharlal Nehru
National Park Service - Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

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Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Jawaharlal Nehru - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
Jawaharlal Nehru - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Jawaharlal Nehru

prime minister of India

Also known as: Pandit Nehru

Written by

Frank R. Moraes

Editor in Chief, The Indian Express, New Delhi, 1957–72. Author of India Today; Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography.

Frank R. Moraes

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 10, 2026 •History

Jawaharlal Nehru (born November 14, 1889, Allahabad, India—died May 27, 1964, New Delhi) was the first prime minister of independent India (1947–64), who established parliamentary government and became noted for his neutralist (nonaligned) policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of the Indian Independence Movement during the 1930s and ’40s. Nehru was born to a family of Kashmiri Brahmans, noted for their administrative aptitude and scholarship, who had migrated to...

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