He wanted a secular state to be one that “protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself adopt any religion as the state religion”.

Who is 'He' being referred to in the above line?

Jawaharlal Nehru

The correct answer is Option 2 - Jawaharlal Nehru

He wanted a secular state to be one that “protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself adopt any religion as the state religion”.

'He' in the above line is Jawaharlal Nehru.

Equal protection by the State to all religions’. This is how Nehru responded when a student asked him to spell out what secularism meant in independent India. He wanted a secular state to be one that “protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself adopt any religion as the state religion”. Nehru was the philosopher of Indian secularism. Nehru did not practise any religion, nor did he believe in God. But for him secularism did not mean hostility to religion. In that sense Nehru was very different from Ataturk in Turkey. At the same time Nehru was not in favour of a complete separation between religion and state. A secular state can interfere in matters of religion to bring about social reform. Nehru himself played a key role in enacting laws abolishing caste discrimination, dowry and sati, and extending legal rights and social freedom to Indian women. While Nehru was prepared to be flexible on many counts, there was one thing on which he was always firm and uncompromising. Secularism for him meant a complete opposition to communalism of all kinds. Nehru was particularly severe in his criticism of communalism of the majority community. Secularism for him was not only a matter of principles, it was also the only guarantee of the unity and integrity of India.