Letter to Kailash Nath Katju, 17 November 1953. Quoted in Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography by Sarvepalli Gopal, Vol. 2, p. 206.

What real Hinduism may be is a matter for each individual Hindu to decide. We can only take it as it is practised. In practice, the Hindu is certainly not tolerant and is more narrow-minded than almost any person in any other country except the Jew. It does not help much to talk of Hindu philosophy, which is magnificent. The fate of India is largely tied up with the Hindu outlook. If the present Hindu outlook does not change radically, I am quite sure that India is doomed. The Muslim outlook may be and, I think, is often worse. But it does not make very much difference to the future of India.

— Jawaharlal Nehru

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What real Hinduism may be is a matter for each individual Hindu to decide. We can only take it as it is practised. In practice, the Hindu is certainly not tolerant and is more narrow-minded than almost any person in any other country except the Jew. It does not help much to talk of Hindu philosophy, which is magnificent. The fate of India is largely tied up with the Hindu outlook. If the present Hindu outlook does not change radically, I am quite sure that India is doomed. The Muslim outlook may be and, I think, is often worse. But it does not make very much difference to the future of India." in the context of "Letter to Kailash Nath Katju, 17 November 1953. Quoted in Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography by Sarvepalli Gopal, Vol. 2, p. 206." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Jawaharlal Nehru" (Quotes, 1950s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jawaharlal Nehru

About Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was a central figure in India during the middle-third of the 20th-century. He was a principal leader of the Indian independence movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, Nehru served as the country's prime minister for 17 years.