Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 - 27 May 1964) was an Indian
anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat[2] and
author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th
century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement
in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as
the country's prime minister for 17 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary
democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s,
powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international
affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A
well-regarded author, his books written in prison, such as Letters from
a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The
Discovery of India (1946), have been read around the world.