a. India, after partition, had considerable amount of Muslim minority that needed accommodation.
b. It was imperative to grant rights and recognition to them in order to strengthen our democratic system.
c. It was important to grant them full citizenship status to strengthen the democratic polity of our country, to prevent the outbreak of conflict in the society and to prevent balkanisation.
The reasons cited by Pt. Nehru were both ethical and prudential in nature.
a. Ethical reasons: Pt. Nehru very well acknowledged the presence of religious minorities in India and granting rights to them so as to strength our democratic polity. Declaring India a secular country would allow everyone to freely profess and propagate religion of their choice. It would, thus, form the bedrock of our democratic system
b. Prudential reason: By not declaring India a theocratic state, Pt. Nehru minimised the chances of conflict in the society as declaring India a secular country would ensure peace and stability."