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Who was Motilal Nehru?

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Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1930s — Jawaharlal Nehru As India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru was in office for more than 16 years, making him the country's longest-serving prime minister.

Motilal Nehru (1861–1931) was a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and the father of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister.12

A member of a prosperous Brahman family, Motilal was a successful lawyer who initially advocated for constitutional reform as a moderate within the Indian National Congress. Following the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, he became radicalized, abandoned his legal career, and joined Mahatma Gandhi’s noncooperation movement.1

In 1923, he cofounded the Swaraj Party, which sought to challenge British rule by obstructing the Central Legislative Assembly from within. He is also noted for authoring the 1928 "Nehru Report," which proposed a constitution for an independent India based on dominion status. Motilal remained active in the struggle for freedom, participating in the civil disobedience movement before his death in 1931.123