The history of the Republic of India began on 26 January 1950. The country became an independent nation within the British Commonwealth on 15 August 1947. Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east of British India was separated into the Dominion of Pakistan, by the partition of India. The partition led to a population transfer of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan and the death of about one million people. Nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the Deputy Prime Minister of India and its Minister of Home Affairs. But the most powerful moral leader Mahatma Gandhi accepted no office. The new constitution of 1950 made India a secular and a democratic state. It has a Hindu majority, a large Muslim minority, and numerous other religious minorities including Sikhs, Jains and Christians.