Editing Jawaharlal Nehru (section)

=== Social policies ===
==== Education ====
Nehru was a passionate advocate of education for India's children and youth, believing it essential for India's future progress. His government oversaw the establishment of many institutions of higher learning, including the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]], the [[Indian Institutes of Technology]], the [[Indian Institutes of Management]] and the [[National Institutes of Technology]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/childrens-day-2021-heres-why-jawaharlal-nehrus-birthday-celebrated-as-bal-diwas-4439072.html|title=Children's Day 2021: Here's Why Jawaharlal Nehru's Birthday Celebrated as Bal Diwas|date=14 November 2021|website=[[News18]]|access-date=26 December 2021|archive-date=26 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226034430/https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/childrens-day-2021-heres-why-jawaharlal-nehrus-birthday-celebrated-as-bal-diwas-4439072.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Nehru also outlined a commitment in his [[Five-Year Plans of India|five-year plans]] to guarantee free and compulsory primary education to all of India's children. For this purpose, Nehru oversaw the creation of mass village enrolment programs and the construction of thousands of schools. Nehru also launched initiatives such as the provision of free milk and meals to children to fight [[Malnutrition in India|malnutrition]]. Adult education centres and vocational and technical schools were also organised for adults, especially in the rural areas.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJu9Dkv_2zEC&pg=PA132 |title=Freedom Fighters of India |last=Lion M.G. Agrawal |publisher=Isha Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-8205-470-7 |volume=2 |page=132 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

====Hindu code bills and marriage laws====
Under Nehru, the Indian Parliament enacted many changes to [[Hindu law]] through the [[Hindu code bills]] to criminalise [[caste]] discrimination and increase the legal rights and social freedoms of women.<ref>{{Cite journal |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=165–194 |last=Som |first=Reba |title=Jawaharlal Nehru and the Hindu Code: A Victory of Symbol over Substance? |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |date=February 1994 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00011732 |jstor=312925 |s2cid=145393171}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |page=3|isbn=978-81-86706-49-7 |quote=The Hindu Code Bill was visualised by Ambedkar and Nehru as the flagship of modernisation and a radical revision of Hindu law ... it is widely regarded as dramatic benchmark legislation giving Hindu women equitable if not superior entitlements as legal subjects. |last=Basu |first=Srimati |title=She Comes to Take Her Rights: Indian Women, Property, and Propriety |year=2005|url={{Googlebooks|mXgX8rrW6JsC|page=PA3|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> The Nehru administration saw such codification as necessary to unify the Hindu community, which ideally would be a first step towards unifying the nation.<ref>Williams, p. 107.</ref> They succeeded in passing four Hindu code bills in 1955–56: the [[Hindu Marriage Act]], [[Hindu Succession Act]], [[Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act]], and [[Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act]].<ref>Williams, p. 106.</ref>  Those who practise [[Sikhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Buddhism]] are categorised as Hindus under the jurisdiction of the Code Bill.<ref>{{cite book |last=Uppal |first=N. |title=Narcissus or Machiavelli?: Learning Leadership from Indian Prime Ministers |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-000-41480-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRswEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |page=48}}</ref>

Nehru specifically wrote Article 44 of the Indian constitution under the [[Directive Principles of State Policy]] which states: "The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India." The article has formed the basis of secularism in India.<ref>Erckel, Sebastian (2011). ''India and the European Union – Two Models of Integration'', GRIN Verlag, {{ISBN|978-3-656-01048-7}}, p. 128</ref> However, Nehru has been criticised for the inconsistent application of the law. Most notably, he allowed [[Muslim personal law in India|Muslims to keep their personal law]] in matters relating to marriage and inheritance. In the small state of [[Goa]], a civil code based on the old Portuguese Family Laws was allowed to continue, and Nehru prohibited Muslim personal law. This resulted from the [[annexation of Goa]] in 1961 by India, when Nehru promised the people that their laws would be left intact. This has led to accusations of selective secularism.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Minhaz|last=Merchant|url=https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|title=Nehru's noble intent of treating Muslims fairly put India on slippery slope of faux secularism|date=27 August 2020|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[ThePrint]]|archive-date=23 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823155854/https://theprint.in/opinion/nehrus-noble-intent-of-treating-muslims-fairly-put-india-on-slippery-slope-of-faux-secularism/489174/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Routledge |page=328 |quote=One subject that particularly interested Nehru was the reform of Hindu law, particularly with regard to the rights of Hindu women ... |last=Kulke |first=Hermann |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India|url={{Google books|TPVq3ykHyH4C|page=PA328|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-32919-4}}</ref>

While Nehru exempted Muslim law from legislation and they remained unreformed, he passed the [[Special Marriage Act]] in 1954.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Vaibhav|last=Purandare|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|title=triple talaq: Uniform code: Nehru okayed principle, but didn't make it a directive|date=23 August 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Times of India]]|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216055158/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/uniform-code-nehru-okayed-principle-but-didnt-make-it-a-directive/articleshow/60183225.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The idea behind this act was to give everyone in India the ability to marry outside the personal law under a [[civil marriage]]. In many respects, the act was almost identical to the [[Hindu Marriage Act, 1955]], demonstrating how secularised the law regarding Hindus had become. The Special Marriage Act allowed Muslims to marry under it and keep the protections, generally beneficial to Muslim women, that could not be found in the personal law. Under the act, [[polygamy]] was illegal, and inheritance and succession would be governed by the Indian Succession Act, rather than the respective Muslim personal law. Divorce would be governed by secular law, and maintenance of a divorced wife would be along the lines set down in civil law.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Zakia|last1=Soman|first2=Noorjehan|last2=Niaz|url=https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|title=Why Triple Talaq Needs to Be Abolished|date=17 June 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727053221/https://thewire.in/religion/why-triple-talaq-needs-to-be-abolished|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Language policy ====
The Constituent assembly debated the question of national language between 1946 and 1949.<ref name="Gusain">{{Cite journal|title=The Effectiveness of Establishing Hindi as a National Language|author=Gusain, Lakhan|year=2012|journal=[[Georgetown Journal of International Affairs]]|volume=13|issue=1|pages=43–50|jstor=43134213}}</ref><ref name="annamalai1">{{cite book|author=E. Annamalai|title=Language movements in India|chapter=Language Movements Against Hindi as An Official Language|url=http://www.ciil-ebooks.net/html/langmove/hinoff.html|date=1979|publisher=Central Institute of Indian Languages|page=85}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Nandini|last=Rathi|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hindi-diwas-2017-journey-of-hindi-from-pre-partition-india-to-post-independence-language-politics-4843807/|title=Hindi Diwas: Journey of Hindi from pre-Partition India to post-independence language politics|date=15 September 2017|access-date=15 August 2021|website=The Indian Express|archive-date=30 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630103210/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hindi-diwas-2017-journey-of-hindi-from-pre-partition-india-to-post-independence-language-politics-4843807/|url-status=live}}</ref> Within the assembly there were two blocs, pro-Hindi and anti-Hindi. The pro-Hindi bloc was further divided between supporters of [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] led by Nehru, and supporters of [[Modern Standard Hindi]] based on [[Sanskrit]]. The anti-Hindi bloc was generally in favour of promoting English to an official status.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> Nehru stated that "We must have our own language...but English must continue to be a most important language in India which large numbers of people learn and learn perhaps compulsorily".<ref name="Kashyap">Kashyap,&nbsp;S.&nbsp;C.,&nbsp;Nehru,&nbsp;J.&nbsp;(1982).&nbsp;''Jawaharlal Nehru and the Constitution'', p. 289.&nbsp;India:&nbsp;Metropolitan.</ref> After an exhaustive and divisive debate, Hindi was adopted as the official rather than national language of India in 1950, with English continuing as an associate official language for 15 years, after which Hindi would become the sole official language.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> The Hindi-Hindustani debate was resolved through a compromise that the official language would be called Hindi, with a directive clause that while Sanskrit would be the primary source of vocabulary, the traditional Hindustani vocabulary would also be supported.<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/> Claims of other Indian languages were upheld through the [[Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India]].<ref name="Gusain"/><ref name="annamalai1"/>

Efforts by the Indian government to make Hindi the sole official language after 1965 were unacceptable to many non-Hindi Indian states, which wanted the continued use of English. The [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK), a descendant of [[Dravidar Kazhagam]], led the [[Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu|opposition]] to Hindi.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/Language-issue-again-the-need-for-a-clear-headed-policy/article16854068.ece |title=Language issue again: The need for a clear-headed policy |last=Viswanathan |first=S. |date=6 December 2009 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=19 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919210830/https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/Readers-Editor/Language-issue-again-the-need-for-a-clear-headed-policy/article16854068.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> To allay their fears, Nehru enacted the [[Official Languages Act in 1963]] to ensure the continuing use of English beyond 1965. The text of the Act did not satisfy the DMK and increased their scepticism that future administrations might not honour his assurances. The Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi eventually amended the Official Languages Act in 1967 to guarantee the indefinite use of Hindi and English as official languages. This effectively ensured the current "virtual indefinite policy of [[bilingualism]]" of the Indian Republic.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y5JEDxGZTOUC&dq=%22virtual+indefinite+policy+of%22+india&pg=PT146|title=India After Independence: 1947–2000|last=Chandra |first=Bipan|date=2000|isbn=9789351181200|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|page=146}}</ref>