A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action.

World War II and Quit India
When World war II started Viceroy Linlithgow had unilaterally declared India a belligerent on the side of the Britain without consulting the elected Indian representatives. [they] provided Nehru the initial impulse for [his] long intellectual quest which culminated. He was the father of Indira Gandhi and the maternal grandfather of Rajiv Gandhi who were to later serve as the third and sixth Prime Ministers of India respectively.

Chiefly he oversaw India's transition from a monarchy to a republic while nurturing a plural multi-party democracy. As Prime Minister Nehru set out to realise his vision of India. Nehru was elected by the Congress to assume office as independent India's first Prime Minister although the question of leadership had been settled as far back in 1941 when Gandhi acknowledged Nehru as his political heir and successor.