<P> Nehru's visit to Europe in 1936 proved to be the watershed in his political and economic thinking . His real interest in Marxism and his socialist pattern of thought stem from that tour . His subsequent sojourns in prison enabled him to study Marxism in more depth . Interested in its ideas but repelled by some of its methods, he could never bring himself to accept Karl Marx's writings as revealed scripture . Yet from then on, the yardstick of his economic thinking remained Marxist, adjusted, where necessary, to Indian conditions . </P> <P> When the Congress party under Nehru chose to contest elections and accept power under the Federation scheme, Gandhi resigned from party membership . Gandhi did not disagree with Nehru's move, but felt that if he resigned, his popularity with Indians would cease to stifle the party's membership . When the elections following the introduction of provincial autonomy (under the government of India act 1935) brought the Congress party to power in a majority of the provinces, Nehru's popularity and power were unmatched . The Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah (who was to become the creator of Pakistan) had fared badly at the polls . Nehru declared that the only two parties that mattered in India were the British Raj and Congress . Jinnah's statements that the Muslim League was the third and "equal partner" within Indian politics was widely rejected . Nehru had hoped to elevate Maulana Azad as the pre-eminent leader of Indian Muslims, but in this, he was undermined by Gandhi, who continued to treat Jinnah as the voice of Indian Muslims . </P> <P> 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 . Nehru hurried back from a visit to China, announcing that, in a conflict between democracy and Fascism, "our sympathies must inevitably be on the side of democracy...I should like India to play its full part and throw all her resources into the struggle for a new order ." </P> <P> After much deliberation, the Congress under Nehru informed the government that it would co-operate with the British but on certain conditions . First, Britain must give an assurance of full independence for India after the war and allow the election of a constituent assembly to frame a new constitution; second, although the Indian armed forces would remain under the British Commander - in - Chief, Indians must be included immediately in the central government and given a chance to share power and responsibility . When Nehru presented Lord Linlithgow with the demands, he chose to reject them . A deadlock was reached . "The same old game is played again", Nehru wrote bitterly to Gandhi, "the background is the same, the various epithets are the same and the actors are the same and the results must be the same". </P>

Who had appointed first prime minister of india