Jawaharlal Nehru was a politician.
Jawaharlal Nehru . He is considered to be the architect of the modern Indian nation-state : a sovereign , socialist , secular , and democratic republic . As Congress President in 1929 , Nehru called for complete independence from the British Raj and instigated the Congress 's decisive shift towards the left . His idea of a secular nation-state was seemingly validated when the Congress , under his leadership , swept the 1937 provincial elections and formed the government in several provinces ; on the other hand , the separatist Muslim League fared much poorer .