Indira Gandhi A Destined Leader

State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College
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History Theses History and Social Studies Education
12-2013
Indira Gandhi: India’s Destined Leader

Josclyn C. Green
State University of New York College at Buffalo, [email protected]
Advisor
Michael C. Lazich, Ph.D, Associate Professor of History and Social Studies
First Reader
York A. Norman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History and Social Studies
Department Chair
Andrew D. Nicholls, Ph.D. Professor of History
To learn more about the History and Social Studies Education Department and its educational
programs, research, and resources, go to http://history.buffalostate.edu/.
Recommended Citation
Green, Josclyn C., "Indira Gandhi: India’s Destined Leader" (2013). History Theses. Paper 23.
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/history_theses
Part of the Asian History Commons, and the Women's History Commons
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Abstract
This thesis explores the life and political career of Indira Nehru Gandhi and analyzes how
the historical circumstances of her era shaped her character in a manner that made her uniquely
prepared to confront the numerous political challenges that she faced during her tenure as India’s
Prime Minister. Indira Nehru Gandhi was Prime Minister of India from 1966 until 1977, and
again in 1980 up until her assassination in 1984. Indira Gandhi was seemingly destined to rule
over India. She was born into a prominent family who led the way to Indian independence from
Great Britain. She was also born in a time in which women in India had become more involved
in politics. The circumstance surrounding Indira’s life made her the best candidate to rule India
at a time when no one else could.

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State University of New York

College at Buffalo
Department of History
Indira Gandhi: India’s Destined Leader
A Thesis in History
by
Josclyn C. Green
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the requirements
For the degree of
Master of Arts
December 2013
Approved by:
Michael C. Lazich, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Thesis Advisor
York Norman, Ph. D.

Associate Professor
Thesis Advisor
Andrew Nicholls, Ph.D.

Chair and Professor of History
Kevin Railey, Ph.D.

Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
iii
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank the entire History Department at Buffalo State College.
Everyone has been incredibly kind and accommodating throughout this entire process. I’d also
like to thank those professors who took the time to make themselves available for independent
studies, as my program was not easy to put together. I’d especially like to thank Professor Lazich
who has supported my endeavors throughout my whole program. It was Professor Lazich that
made sure a program in Asian History was a viable option for me. I am extremely grateful for his
guidance and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my family: My mother for all those
trips to the library, my father for encouraging me to persevere, and my sister for always being
there to help me when I needed her.
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………1
Chapter 1: BRITISH INDIA AND THE RISE OF INDIAN

NATIONALISM……………………………………………………………………………...11
The Indian National Congress and the Early Nationalist Movement…………………………..13
The Road to Independence and the British Transfer of Power………………………………...16
Early Life of Indira Gandhi…………………………………………………………………….20
Chapter 2: INDIRA’S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND INDIA’S CHANGING

POLITICAL CLIMATE………………………………………………………………….....29
Indira’s Political Activism and the Final Stages of Indian Independence…………………….36
Indira and Indian Independence……………………………………………………………….42
Chapter 3: “I WANT ANOTHER LIFE”: INDIRA’S LAST RESISTANCE TO

LEADERSHIP………………………………………………………………………………..47
Indira’s Destiny Fulfilled: Indira Becomes Prime Minister…………………………………….51
Indira’s Government: Congress Factionalism Comes to a Boiling Point……………………....56
Indira’s Finest Hour and Subsequent Fall from Grace………………………………………….58
Chapter 4: INDIRA’S FINAL EPISODE: THE EMERGENCY, REMOVAL, REVIVAL,

AND HER DEATH……………………………………………………………………………64
The Emergency and Sanjay Gandhi’s Growing Power………………………………………....67
The Emergency Ends and Indira Rises Again…………………………………………………..72
Indira Enters Her Final Battle…………………………………………………………………..76
Conclusion: Indira Gandhi, India’s Fated Leader………………………………………………82
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………..83
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INTRODUCTION
Indira Gandhi is a remarkable figure, not only in Indian history, but in world history as
well. Indira Gandhi ruled India as Prime Minister for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977
and a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Indira became an incredibly
powerful force, even as a woman in a society dominated by patriarchal ideologies. From birth
onward, her life had been in the public eye as the daughter of the illustrious Jawaharlal Nehru,
independent India’s first Prime Minister. Her upbringing foreshadowed her political life, as she
was seemingly destined to rule India. To many, she was warm and caring, but she could also be
controversial and cruel in her attempts to crush her opponents. It was her uncanny ability to
adapt to the political landscape that helped her retain and increase her power while
demonstrating her prowess as a leader. Indira Gandhi was born in a time in which the
challenging historical circumstances molded her into an exceptionally capable leader. As India
grew into a politically independent state, Indira became the ideal agent to bring together the
fractured elements of Indian society.
Indira Gandhi experienced a phenomenal rise to power followed by a dramatic fall and
then an incredible political resurgence eventually leading to her assassination in 1984. In her
youth she became immersed in politics after watching her parents and many members of her
family become deeply involved in the Indian independence movement against Great Britain.
Even as a child, Indira helped to form a political youth group to help the adults. For instance,
children passed on information between Indian Congress members when circumstances would
not allow them, and delivered warnings to those who had arrest warrants. After graduating from
Oxford, she continued her political career by becoming a member of the working committee of
the ruling Congress Party in 1955, and in 1959 she was elected to the largely honorary post of
2
party president. Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jawaharlal Nehru’s successor as prime minister in 1964,
named her Minister of Information and Broadcasting in his government.
After Shastri’s sudden death in January 1966, Indira Gandhi was named leader of the
Congress Party and then Prime Minister in a compromise between the right and left wings of the
party. Once she became Prime Minister, however, her politics were often challenged by right
wing politicians, especially the former Minister of Finance, Morarji Desai. Although she won the
election of 1967, she reluctantly had to accept Desai as deputy Prime Minister. In 1971, she won
the majority in the electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties. Indira Gandhi was
also heavily involved in global politics. Indira strongly supported East Bengal in its secessionist
conflict with Pakistan in late 1971, in which India helped the people of West Bengal become
victorious over Pakistan leading to the creation of Bangladesh. In March 1972, strengthened by
the country’s success against Pakistan, Gandhi again led her new Congress Party to a major
victory in national elections.
Despite her victories in foreign relations, Indira had to contend with many internal
struggles. Shortly after her Congress Party win at the polls, she was accused of violating election
laws. In June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her, which meant that she was
denied her seat in Parliament and had to stay out of politics for six years. In response, Indira
chose to declare a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned her political opponents, and
assumed emergency powers, passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. During this period
she implemented several unpopular policies, including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth
control. When national elections were eventually held in 1977, Indira and her party were
defeated and she left office. The Janata Party, or the People’s Party, was a coalition of political
3
parties in opposition to Indira Gandhi assembled by Desai. Following her defeat, the Janata Party
then took over the government.
Following these events, political parties became divisive leading to many factions within
the government. Early in 1978, Indira’s supporters split from the Congress Party and formed the
Congress (I) Party, with the “I” signifying Indira. She was also briefly imprisoned on charges of
official corruption. In spite of these obstacles, she won a new seat in Parliament in November
1978, and her Congress (I) Party began to gather strength. Conflict within the ruling Janata Party
led to the fall of its government in August 1979. New elections for the Lok Sabha, or lower
house of Parliament, were held in January 1980. Indira and her Congress (I) Party were swept
back to power in a landslide victory. Her son Sanjay Gandhi, who had become her chief political
adviser, also won a seat in the Lok Sabha. All legal cases against Indira, as well as against her
son, were withdrawn.
As Prime Minister once again, Indira faced several major challenges. Foremost among
these was a separatist movement by the powerful Sikh community of northern India. After a Sikh
rebellion broke out in northern Punjab, Indira sent troops to the Golden Temple, the most sacred
Sikh site. The rebellion resulted in a bloody battle, including civilian casualties. This incident
greatly angered the Sikh community, and, indeed Indira’s return to power ended with her death
on October 31, 1984 after being repeatedly shot by her Sikh bodyguards.
Depictions of Indira Gandhi vary greatly from an authoritarian tyrant to a great
democratic leader. Throughout her life she was compared to deities, people, and even animals,
according to Vipul Tripathi including the goddess Durga, a lioness and even Napoleon.1 She has
also been compared to other powerful women, including Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, some
calling her India’s Iron Lady. At the beginning of her career she was labeled a “dumb doll” due
1
Vipul Tripathi, “What is Indira Gandhi’s Legacy?” Rueters, October 30, 2009, U.S. Edition.
4
to her shyness and lack of public speaking skills. This quickly changed however, and she became
a highly regarded orator. At times she was referred to as the only man in her cabinet, and was
even addressed humorously as “sir” by many in her government. Some of her enthusiastic
followers even coined the phrase “India is Indira and Indira is India.” World leaders also had
their opinions about Indira. Richard Nixon described her as an “old witch” in leaked documents,
while George H. W. Bush later recalled her as a “dedicated and inspirational leader.”2 Fidel
Castro would remember her as a “sensitive and profound woman,” while King Juan Carlos I of
Spain saw her as a contributor to “peace, liberty and progress.”3
Indira’s complexities have also been noted by several authors who have studied her life.
In Mother Indira: A Political Biography Of Indira Gandhi, Pranay Gupte writes, “Indira Gandhi
had a personality replete with contradictions. Greatness and pettiness went hand in hand… Good
intentions were often sabotaged by the exigencies of politics. Yet there is a grandeur even in
failure.”4 Biographer Jacob Rahul notes that “democracy was not Mrs. Gandhi's style . . . In a
world where leadership had to be one of two kinds, coercive or persuasive, she could not resolve
her dilemma and fell between the two.”5 He also observes, “She showed herself unburdened by
conscience, scruples, or soul-searching. Her profound belief in her own indispensability adds
weight to the argument that she could not risk getting less than a two-thirds majority at the polls
and solved this dilemma matter-of-factly and efficiently through artifice.”6 Many did not see
Indira as a shining example of democracy. In Ajit Roy’s article, “The Failure of Indira Gandhi,”
he says “in her pursuit of… power, Indira Gandhi never hesitated to break any rule-moral-ethical
2
G. Parthasarathi and H. Y. Sharada Prasad, Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists, and Friends
Remember, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1985) 94
3
Ibid., 99, 104
4
Warren Unna, “Indira Gandhi,” review of Indira Gandhi: Grandeur in Failure, by Pranay Gupte, The Washington
Post, April 26, 1992, 1
5
Jacob Rahul and Nayantara Sahgal, “Indira Gandhi,” review of “An Iron Lady before Thatcher: Indira Gandhi, An
Intimate Biography, by Pupul Jayakar, The Toronto Star, February 5, 1994, 16
6
Ibid., 17
5
or political-constitutional-without as much as batting an eyelid…legitimizing amorality and
corruption.”7
Many written works have been completed on the late Indira Gandhi. Some are
biographies while others focus on her politics, while still others detail the dynastic of rule the
Nehru-Gandhi family established. This thesis will assess Indira Gandhi’s historical role in the
context of twentieth century global history. Her character as well as her political policies will be
examined. This focus will explain how she was able to succeed as India’s leader at a time when
seemingly no one else could. Indira Gandhi was raised in a way that made her rule almost
inevitable. To begin, therefore, it is vital to identify the historical circumstances surrounding
Indira’s birth, and discuss the deep divisions in Indian society. The Indian nationalist movement
after World War I greatly influenced Indira’s life and political career. The political figures
during this independence movement, such as Mahatma Gandhi, were also instrumental to
Indira’s future politics. Examining the events of this period helps the reader understand the
society Indira was born in and how it helped shape her earliest political endeavors. Indira
continued to progress politically, eventually becoming a major national figure. Indira began as
hostess to her father, and then became a member of parliament, followed by becoming a member
of Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting leading to1966
when she became Prime Minister.
It is also important to examine the events from Indira’s election as Prime Minister in
1966 to the Emergency declared by Indira in 1975. Indira was able to become as powerful as she
was by not adhering to rigid political, religious, or social conventions, but rather making
decisions based on what made the most sense to her at the time. Indira’s economic policies and
7
Ajit Roy, “The Failure of Indira Gandhi,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 19, No. 45, November 10, 1984,
1896
6
social reforms, however, were met with opposition by some and immense support by others.
Indira’s role in the international scene is also significant. For instance, she had strained
relationships with both the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. She also
played an important role in Middle Eastern politics. The Emergency ended with Indira's call for
elections in 1977, which despite her great confidence she lost disastrously, leading to her
temporary arrest and removal from politics for a brief period. The Emergency was seen by many
as her biggest political error and must be addressed to understand.
Finally, it is important to examine Indira’s rise back to power in 1980 and her
assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. Indira Gandhi was a dynamic and decisive leader. While
she made decisions that gained enemies, she always acted in a way that she felt best served India.
Indira Gandhi led India into the modern world. The power of Indira Gandhi's personality still
influences Indian life today. Her ability to walk a fine line politically in a country dominated by
deeply rooted religious and social traditions allowed her to be a representative for all of India.
According to G. Parthasarathi, Indira had a wide constituency of “civilized people extending
across all divisions and barriers and men and women of decency and vision in all countries.”8
Villain or champion of India, Indira Gandhi was arguably one of the most powerful women of
the twentieth century.
Indira Gandhi’s life has been examined my many authors. Many of these written works
intend to give the reader insight into a woman who became the leader of the largest democracy in
the world. Inder Malhotra’s Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography, draws upon his
recollections of conversations with Indira that provide a different perspective of Indira’s life.9
Katherine Frank delves deeply into Indira’s childhood, young adult life, and her life as a leader
8
G. Parthasarathi, Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists, and Friends Remember, ix
9
Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Politcal Biography, (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1989)
7
in her book, Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi.10 In My Truth, Indira tells her own life
story, filled with anecdotes from her childhood, her opinions on certain events, and how she felt
during a given moment in her life.11
Inder Malhotra was an established reporter and was the chief of the New Delhi News
Bureau in 1964, who had met Indira through his acquaintance with Indira’s husband, Feroze
Gandhi. Malhotra had been present from Indira’s beginnings as the Minister for Information and
Broadcasting up through her elevation to Prime Minister; then he began correspondence with
Indira again after the Emergency. Malhotra wishes to present an objective and comprehensive
view of Indira, and he points out that most other books were written at either her highest
moments or the lowest points in her career.12 Malhotra’s relationship with the Gandhi family
allowed him to acquire a knowledge of their complexities, which is reflected in his writing,
especially when explaining Indira’s relationship with her father. He describes Indira as her
father’s confidante, and it was Jawaharlal that really began her political rise by having her
frequently serve as a hostess during his term as Prime Minister. The book helps the reader to
appreciate Indira’s almost accidental rise to power. The book also provides an overview of the
complex political dynamics of the time that also boosted Indira’s political status. Malhotra
describes the many circumstances that drew her into Indian politics, and how she was often the
compromise figure between differing factions, leading to her becoming Prime Minister.
Indira’s autobiography My Truth, allows reader into the mind of Indira Gandhi and her
view of India and the world. The book traces Indira’s life and events that made her into the
person she was. Through Indira retelling her life story, she allows the reader to see her life from
her point of view. For one, her childhood was very much politicized, with many members of her
10
Katherine Frank, Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002)
11
Indira Gandhi, My Truth, ed., Emmanuel Pouchpadass, (New Delhi: Vision Books), 1982
12
Malhotra, Indira Gandhi, 11
8
family involved in the Indian independence movement. Indira recounts how she would pretend to
be Joan of Arc as a child, and deliver speeches to servants in her house. As an adult, she had
intended to become a devoted wife and mother, but once her father became Prime Minister she
claimed to have no choice but to set up the household. She also explains how her duties
continued to expand because she would go where her father could not. Indira’s father had such a
full schedule that he could not visit every place that invited him to; instead Indira would make an
appearance to extend her father’s greetings, which established her as a widely known figure in
the Indian world.
One of the most recent books on Indira Gandhi, Katherine Frank’s Indira: The Life of
Indira Nehru Gandhi, provides an extensive overview of Indira’s personal and political life.
Frank’s book explains how the Nehru family line has always been allied to power dating back to
the Mughal Empire. Frank even includes an epilogue that describes how the Nehru-Gandhi
dynasty continued with Rajiv, and even after his death, his widow Sonia became President of the
Congress Party. The book details Indira's reluctance to enter politics, but how she felt a duty to
India. To many, Indira was considered to be her father’s heir, and to some even his reincarnation.
Frank includes many personal letters between Indira and close friends, and her father. The book
gives a very personal look into Indira’s life and how it affected her politics.
In addition to these book length biographical and autobiographical overviews of Indira’s
life and political career, her role in history has been the subject of various academic articles and
compilations. Sudipta Kaviraj’s “Indira Gandhi and Indian Politics,” explains how Indira came to
power because she was thought of as someone weak who could be manipulated.13 The author
notes that this opinion of Indira changed quickly as she became a mighty political figure. Indira
13
Sudipta Kaviraj, “Indira Gandhi and Indian Politics,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 21, No. 38/39 (Sep.
20-27, 1986), pp. 1697-1708
9
Gandhi’s first cousin, Nayantara Sahgal, traces the development of Indira’s personal and political
character in the article “Nehru's Quiet Daughter.”14 Other authors write about her policies,
including A. G. Noorani’s “Indira Gandhi and Indian Muslims,” which addresses Indira’s
relationships with the Muslim minority in India.15 Transcripts of various speeches and interviews
of Indira Gandhi also shed light on her life and politics. Indira addressed subjects such as
scientific advancements and population policy in India.16 Indira’s life is remembered by world
leaders, important figures, and friends in Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists and
Friends Remember, edited by G. Parthasarathi and H.Y. Sharada Prasad. Contributors to this
compilation include Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Muammar Al-Qadhafi, U.S. Senator
Edward M. Kennedy, and President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim IL
Sung, among others.17 The authors of these essays share their memories of Indira Gandhi and her
impact on history.
Indira Gandhi was set on a path to becoming an important Indian figure from infancy.
Born into a prominent family, Indira was exposed to politics at an early age and led a highly
politicized life. Once her father became the first Prime Minister of independent India, Indira’s
political responsibilities expanded. After the death of her father, the nation needed someone who
could carry on his work, and many agreed that there was no better choice than Indira Gandhi.
Once perceived as weak, Indira proved to be a powerful and yet sometimes controversial leader.
Indira did not adhere to factions, religions, gender roles, or social mores, but endeavored to
14
Nayantara Sahgal “Nehru's Quiet Daughter,” The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 5, Special Issue (1982), pp. 160-
170
15
A. G. Noorani, “Indira Gandhi and Indian Muslims,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 25, No. 44 (Nov. 3,
1990)
16
Indira Gandhi, “Scientific Endeavor in India” Science, Vol. 217, No. 4564 (Sep. 10, 1982), pp. 1008-1009;
Gandhi, Indira and Rami Chhabra, “Population Policy in India: Two Comments,” Population and Development
Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 168-171
17
G. Parthasarathi and H.Y. Sharada Prasad ed., Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists and Friends
Remember, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House), 1985
10
represent all Indians and all interests. This thesis will explore her remarkable life and political
career and evaluate the importance of her historical contribution in the challenging context of her
times.
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Chapter 1
BRITISH INDIA AND THE RISE OF INDIAN NATIONALISM
India has long been a religiously, culturally, and linguistically diverse country. This
diversity has caused deep divisions in Indian society. India’s fractured society was only
exacerbated by the increase in European presence in India. European nations, including the
Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British, all competed for power in India. Great Britain’s interest
in India began in the early 1600s with the establishment of several trading posts through the
British East India Company. By the mid 1700s, The British East India Company secured British
primacy in India by taking advantage of India’s caste, class, and communal divisions. In the
process, the British East India Company was transformed from an association of traders to
imperial rulers exercising political sovereignty over a largely unknown land and people. The
consequences of British rule over India were felt up through the twentieth century into the time
of Indira Gandhi’s birth in 1917.
The presence of the British in India did not go unnoticed by the people. Indian national
consciousness was born out of the consolidation of British power. While India had seen foreign
invaders conquer parts of India before, the British were the only ones to gain control over the
entire subcontinent. Indian reactions to the British rulers varied. Some Indians started
newspapers and created cultural societies to keep cultural traditions alive in Indian society. Other
Indians would take a more militant approach. The British first recruited native citizens as
12
soldiers to maintain order during trading operations. The native soldiers later became part of the
British army in India, known as sepoys. On May 10, 1857, sepoy soldiers in Meerut attacked
their British officers, as well as their wives and children, in an uprising that would become
known as the Sepoy Rebellion.
Several theories attempt to explain the origins of the Sepoy Rebellion. One theory
suggests that the attack took place as a result of the introduction of a new weapon, the Enfield
rifle. The cartridge for the rifle was of paper construction and was loaded by a process that
included biting off the tip of the cartridge, which was greased to enhance the loading of the paper
cartridge into the barrel.18 The Indian soldiers heard rumors that the new weapons were greased
with either pig or cow fat. Many sepoys would refuse to use these new rifles because the cow
and pig are sacred to the Hindu and Muslim faith, respectively. Alternatively, some scholars
believe that the rebellion was a result of past grievances committed by the British. Many Indians
feared that their customs and rules would be replaced by those of the British government.
Regardless of their reasoning, on that day in Meerut, the Indian soldiers attacked and chose a
time when the European officers and their families were at church and therefore unarmed. The
attack also took place at a time when several British garrisons who finished their services had
returned home to Britain. From Meerut, the sepoy soldiers marched towards Delhi and the city
was captured by the following day. The mutiny sparked bloody outbreaks throughout India that
would result in merciless killing on both sides. Finally, in September of 1858, British and loyal
Indian forces stormed Delhi, retaking the city, essentially ending the rebellion.
The Sepoy Rebellion threatened British power over the subcontinent and therefore the
British parliament passed the Government of India Act of 1858, transferring the administrative
rights of the Company to the British Crown. India officially became a British colony to be
18
P.H. Starling, “The Indian Mutiny 1857-1858,” Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps (June 2010), 104
13
governed directly by Parliament, with an acting Viceroy or Governor-General in India.
According to Stanley Wolpert’s A New History of India, some educated Indians would attempt to
participate in the British colonial government. The Indian Civil Service (ICS) examination
promised an opportunity to any position, up to Chief Commissioner, to any male born in British
India. In 1869, a young Bengali brahman named Surendranath Banerjea, scored higher on the
ICS examination than most of his British contemporaries. Banerjea could finally attempt to
advance Indian interests from within the ranks of the British government, but the British
bureaucracy eventually managed to disqualify him because he “lied” about his age, given that
many Indians count the nine months in the womb as part of life.19 Banerjea did win his post after
an appeal, but was dismissed three years later for a minor infraction. Reflecting on his defeat,
Banerjea wrote, “I had suffered because I was an Indian. The personal wrong done to me was an
illustration of the helpless impotency of our people.”20 It was clear to Indians that no matter how
educated or upstanding they were, the system was unfair and did not meet basic Indian needs,
aspirations or desires. By 1877, Britain’s hold over India was so strong that British Prime
Minister Disraeli added “Empress of India” to Queen Victoria's imperial title.
The Indian National Congress and the Early Nationalist Movement
Many educated Indians were interested in advancing Indian interests, yet motivations
varied among them. In 1885, a group of well educated, politically motivated Indians joined
together to form the Indian National Congress (INC). Though at first ignored by the British
government, these Indians became the core leadership for the future Indian nationalist
movement. The Indian National Congress consisted of mainly upper class Hindus, which left out
19
Stanley Wolpert, A New History of India (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 252
20
Cited in Ibid.
14
the voice of many minorities, such as India's Muslim community. This eventually led to the
formation of the Muslim League. While both the INC and the Muslim League both wanted
increased Indian involvement in Indian affairs, ideologies clashed and the two groups could
never form a united front against the British.
The diverging interests of both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League
halted temporarily with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The assassination of Archduke
Franz Ferdinand sparked a global outbreak that unexpectedly led to a war involving many
nations throughout the world. Indian nationalist politicians of all parties were incredibly
supportive of the Crown. Many Indians anticipated that World War I would result in greater
independence for India and felt that their support and cooperation during the war would be
rewarded with the freedom they had been seeking. In 1919, a new Government of India Act
offered Indians a measure of self rule. The Act introduced a national parliament with two houses
for India. About five million of the wealthiest Indians were given the right to vote, which was a
small number compared to the Indian population. Within the provincial governments, ministers
of education, health and public works could now be headed by Indians. The British, however,
still controlled the central government and were slow to enact reforms, angering many Indians.
The British, fearful of Indian revolutionary activity, passed several oppressive acts in an
attempt to curb any Indian independence movements. In March of 1919, the Rowlatt Acts
effectively authorized the government to imprison for up to two years, without trial, any person
suspected of terrorism and gave the imperial authorities power to deal with revolutionary
activities. Protests arose throughout India over the Rowlatt Acts. On April 13, 1919, thousands of
Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus gathered in the public garden, Jallianwala Bagh, in Amritsar where a
demonstration was being held. British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer and his troops
15
surrounded the park and without warning opened fire on the crowd, killing several hundred
unarmed men, women and children, and wounding more than a thousand.21 Dyer had his troops
continue the murderous barrage until all their artillery was exhausted. The massacre, known as
the Amritsar Massacre, stirred nationalist feelings across India, marking the emergence of a
nation-wide movement against British rule.
The Amritsar Massacre incensed the Indian population, especially Indian politicians,
some of whom became highly influential leaders of the Indian nationalist movement, including
“Mahatma” Gandhi. Mohandas Gandhi, who was trained as a lawyer in Great Britain, had gained
an international reputation after spending years in South Africa fighting for civil rights. Upon
returning to India in 1915, his consciousness of national identity as an Indian intensified. Gandhi
appealed to India’s masses unlike any politician before him, and by 1917 he had been proclaimed
as the champion of India’s peasants. While Gandhi mobilized the masses using Hindu symbols,
he also gained the support of Muslims by supporting a pan-Islamic khalifat movement to
preserve the institution of the caliph after World War I. In 1920, Gandhi became the undisputed
leader of the Indian National Congress, which by then had become a mass national party. The
Indian nationalist movement gradually grew stronger and sought more independence from
Britain. In 1920, the INC decided to follow Gandhi’s technique of satyagraha, a nonviolent
method of noncooperation and civil disobedience. Gandhi was a strong proponent of
nonviolence. According to Gandhi, “non-violence presupposes ability to strike. It is a conscious,
deliberate restraint put upon one’s desire for vengeance...non-violence is a weapon of the
strong.”22
21
Stanley Wolpert, ibid., 299
22
Mohandas Gandhi, Collected Works, cited in Sources of Indian Tradition: Volume Two: Modern India and
Pakistan (New York: Columbia University Press, 1988), 255
16
During this time, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a Muslim member of the INC, left the
Congress. Born in 1875 in the city Karachi, a predominately Muslim area, Jinnah received an
English education and became a lawyer. Upon returning to India, Jinnah began to take an interest
in political matters and joined the Congress. Jinnah’s upright character and charisma made him a
well known figure within the INC. Jinnah was also a member of the Muslim League, and for a
time essentially served as an ambassador between both groups.23 Motivated by World War I and
the Amritsar Massacre, Jinnah agreed with the INC’s desire for Indian independence, but he also
wanted to secure the interests of Muslims within India. Jinnah disagreed with Gandhi’s methods
of civil disobedience and believed, instead, that India could be granted greater independence
through negotiations with the British. Jinnah also believed that Gandhi had unrealistic aims for
the Indian independence movement. Unlike Gandhi, Jinnah did not believe that independence
from Great Britain would automatically solve the issues between Hindus and Muslims.
According to Jinnah, Hindus and Muslims could not “at any time be expected to transform
themselves into one nation merely by means of subjecting them to a democratic constitution and
holding them forcibly together by unnatural and artificial methods of British parliamentary
statute.”24 Jinnah’s opposition to Gandhi’s methods prevented him from serving as a mediator
between Hindus and Muslims.
The Road to Independence and the British Transfer of Power
As a result of Gandhi's noncooperation movement spreading throughout India, the British
attempted to reform the colonial government. In 1927, the British appointed a seven member
23
Stephen Hay, ed., Sources of Indian Tradition: Volume Two: Modern India and Pakistan (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1988), 225
24
Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Recent Speeches and Writings, cited in Sources of Indian Tradition (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1988), 229
17
Indian Statutory Commission to review the organization of government in India, yet no Hindu,
Muslim, Sikh or Parsi was asked to serve as a member, raising political tensions even more. In
1928, the INC held a meeting to draft a constitution that would be acceptable to all Indians. The
meeting was headed by prominent INC member, Motilal Nehru. Nehru proposed a
“Commonwealth of India” plan with all powers derived from the people and would share the
freedoms enjoyed by other dominions of the British Empire, called the “Nehru Report.”
Muslims, however, did not support the Nehru Report due to the lack of sufficient Muslim
representation in the proposed Commonwealth. In seeking to remedy their differences, the
Congress and the League only moved further apart, and the possibility of Hindu-Muslim unity
ended. Jawaharlal Nehru, the son of Motilal Nehru, was the official secretary during the creation
of the Nehru Report, and also became essential in India’s fight for home rule. By 1929, Gandhi
wanted the nationalist movement to be bolstered by the youth of India and therefore supported
the election of Jawaharlal Nehru as leader of the INC. Jawaharlal’s charisma, intelligence, and
charm made him the hero of India’s youth and the trusted spokesman of the older generations as
he became the youngest president of the INC.
In an attempt to compromise with Indian nationalists, the British drafted the Government
of India Act of 1935. The Government of India Act was to create a “Federation of India,”
granting more autonomy to several provinces. The Act allowed an elected Indian assembly to
have a say in everything in India except in regards to defense and foreign affairs. It also allowed
the eleven provincial assemblies to effectively have full control over local affairs. In the 1937
provincial elections, INC candidates won an impressive majority, while the Muslim League did
not win the majority in any province. This loss prompted Jinnah to revive the “dormant” Muslim
18
League. Jinnah toured India in an attempt to attract the mass support he needed to win control of
Muslim dominated provinces.
The results of the elections essentially created a “Hindu Raj,” in which the Hindu
majority ruled over the Muslim minority.25 Muslim dissatisfaction grew and intensified the
desire for the creation of a new nation for the Muslim population. Jinnah began to build up the
League on the platform that the INC did not care about the interests of Muslims. Jawaharlal
Nehru, on the other hand, continued to claim there was no Muslim problem, and that the
Congress represented all of India. In 1938, Jinnah met with Gandhi and Nehru, but these talks
broke down after the INC would not recognize the Muslim League as the sole party for India’s
Muslims. Observing the factionalism between the Congress and the League, the British were
concerned with a possibly difficult transfer of power to Indians.
In September 1939, World War II began when Britain and France declared war on
Germany. The British expected India to participate in the war, but the Indian National Congress
chose to declare neutrality. The Congress demanded immediate concessions from Great Britain
toward a democratic government in return for cooperation in the war effort. Britain refused, and
in August 1942, Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement, refusing to cooperate in any way
with the government until independence was granted. The Quit India Movement called for
determined but passive resistance and rallied mass protests demanding what Gandhi called “an
orderly British withdrawal” from India. Almost immediately after this declaration, thousands of
INC members were arrested, some for the duration of the war. The Muslim League, on the other
hand, declared its support for the British. Jinnah even condemned the Quit India Movement as an
open rebellion.
25
Wolpert, A New History of India, 324
19
With the Congress weakened, Jinnah and the Muslim League took this as an opportunity
to spread the message of Muslim separatism. Jinnah firmly believed that the two faiths could not
coexist within India. In his 1940 presidential speech delivered at the annual Muslim League
meeting in Lahore, Jinnah clearly stated his views, stating:
It is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality…the
Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs,
literatures. They neither intermarry nor interdine together and, indeed, they belong to two
different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions.26
During that same meeting, Jinnah proposed the Lahore Resolution to divide the subcontinent
into India and Pakistan once the country was granted independence. During World War II, the
Muslim League became a powerful force in Indian politics.
Gandhi and Jinnah decided to meet in May 1944 to discuss the Hindu-Muslim stalemate.
These talks were unable, however, to resolve their differing points of view. Jinnah insisted that
an agreement on the creation of Pakistan was necessary to independence, but Gandhi refused to
discuss Pakistan until India was granted self-rule. Congress-League differences persisted until
the British declared that “two independent Dominions” were to be established in the
subcontinent, India and Pakistan. On August 14, 1947 Jawaharlal Nehru was declared as India’s
first independent Prime Minister. On that same day, Pakistan was founded as a dominion in the
Commonwealth of Nations, with Jinnah as the nation’s first Governor-General.
While the partition was celebrated, it was also accompanied by a host of problems. A
boundary commission was created to form the new borders for the two nations, but was headed
by someone who had never been to India. As a result, millions of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs
found themselves “trapped in a nation fundamentally hostile to their faith,” forcing them to
26
Cited in Ibid., 230
20
abandon their homes and flee with the possessions they could gather.27 Approximately ten
million people changed lands in the summer of 1947, though for some, the transition was met
with violence causing the death of over one million people. Violence also erupted over the
princely state Kashmir, since both India and Pakistan claimed to have possession over it. The
partition, while considered the realization of the freedom Indians had fought for, was plagued by
territory disputes and the difficult relocation of millions who had become displaced refugees.
Early Life of Indira Gandhi
Indira Nehru Gandhi was born in the midst of a society fragmented by competing visions
of India. The Nehru family was deeply connected to India and its politics. Indira’s grandfather
Motilal Nehru was a brilliant lawyer in the city of Allahabad, capital of the United Provinces.
Motilal prospered in this city and soon became one of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens
in town. Motilal and his wife, Swarup Rani Nehru, had three children, including Jawaharlal
Nehru, Indira’s father. The Nehru household was a mixture of Indian and Western culture.
Motilal’s family had been closely connected to the British since the mid 1800s; his brother even
worked under the British as Chief Minister in Jaipur State. He moved his family to a lavish
English style mansion in 1900 called Anand Bhawan. He wore expensive suits, was nonreligious,
ate Western foods, including meat, and insisted that only English be spoken at his table.28 His
wife, on the other hand, was very traditional and a devout Hindu. She always wore a sari, bathed
in the Ganges, was a strict vegetarian, ate seated on the floor, and understood but did not speak
English. According to biographer Katherine Frank, though the family lived in what seemed like
27
Stanley Wolpert, ibid., 348
28
Katherine Frank, Indira: The Life of Indira Gandhi (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002), 7
21
two parallel worlds, they found a way to coexist. In keeping with Motilal’s British values,
Jawaharlal was educated in England for seven years beginning in 1905.
Although Motilal was very much anglicized, he held to traditional Indian customs and
values when it came to marriage. Even before Jawaharlal returned to India in 1912, he was
informed by his father that he would marry Kamala Kaul, a girl from a conservative Kashmiri
family in Delhi. Jawaharlal was not happy about this prospect, for he was fearful of marrying a
total stranger. Jawaharlal voiced his opinions about Hindu marriages to his mother, writing once
that “in my opinion, unless there is a degree of mutual understanding, marriage should not take
place. I think it is unjust and cruel that a life should be wasted merely in producing children.”29
Nevertheless, Jawaharlal and Kamala were married on February 8, 1916. Their relationship took
years to develop, but they eventually created a marriage of equals, had mutual respect for each
other, and shared similar values and dreams.
On November 19, 1917, Jawaharlal and Kamala’s daughter was born. She would be
named Indira after Motilal’s mother Indrani. Motilal’s wife made the announcement to the
eagerly waiting family that the child was born; discreetly letting everyone know it was a girl,
causing what Frank called a “wave of deflation and disappointment” within the family.30
Jawaharlal and Motilal, however, were among the few family members not disappointed by the
birth of a daughter. Jawaharlal later wrote to his daughter on her thirteenth birthday that in the
very month in which she was born, the Russian Revolution began. While Jawaharlal was not a
superstitious man, he relished this coincidence of history. To Jawaharlal, she was born into a
world of “storm and trouble,” and would grow up in the midst of another revolution.31 After
29
Cited in ibid., 9
30
Ibid., 14
31
Ibid.
22
several people expressed their traditional disappointment over the birth of a girl, Motilal declared
that she had the potential of being “better than a thousand sons.”32
For the most part, Indira went unnoticed in the household mansion that housed nearly one
hundred people, both family and servants. Indira, however, was never excluded from the political
activity that soon enveloped the household. It is largely because of this highly politicized
upbringing that Indira would later become such a skillful leader. In the year before Indira’s birth,
Jawaharlal met Mohandas Gandhi at the 1916 Lucknow meeting of the Indian National
Congress. This meeting had a profound impact upon Jawaharlal, as Gandhi helped to radicalize
his mild nationalism. After the Amritsar Massacre in 1919, Motilal embraced Gandhi’s plan of
satyagraha, and as Indira later wrote, the massacre became “a turning point…Hesitation and
doubt were swept aside… This is when the family came much closer to Mahatma Gandhi and
our whole way of life changed.”33 From this point onward, Gandhi had immense influence over
the Nehru family.
In September 1920, Indira travelled with her parents and grandfather to her first Congress
meeting. In this special session, Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement and called for
swaraj, or self rule, for India. Once the family returned to Allahabad, the family abided by
Gandhi’s declaration by having a bonfire of their English apparel and imported cloth on the
veranda of their home. Years later, Indira recalled this event as her first memory, sharing that she
could “still feel the excitement of the day and see the large terrace covered with piles of
clothes.”34 Indira showed an early sign of her political character when she had to decide between
her doll and her beliefs. Soon after the bonfire, Indira refused a French dress given to her by a
32
Cited in Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography (Boston: Northeaster University
Press, 1989), 26
33
Cited in Frank, Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 17
34
Indira Gandhi, edited by Emmanuel Pouchpadass, My Truth (New Delhi: Vision Books, 1982), 12
23
relative, but was criticized by her aunt because her doll was a foreign product. Indira was
incredibly attached to this doll, and “for days on end” she was torn between “love of the doll
and… duty towards [her] country.”35 Eventually she made her decision and lit the doll on fire.
The bonfire not only inflamed their foreign things but also ignited the Nehru family’s
involvement in nationalist politics. Motilal resigned his seat on the Provincial Council, gave up
his law practice, withdrew his youngest daughter from school, got rid of horses and carriages,
sold all but one automobile, allowed only Indian food in the household, and closed the wine
cellar. For Indira, a simple lifestyle was normal to her, she later recalled that her grandfather
believed in a strict upbringing, saying she “had a Spartan type of life,” she did not remember
their life of luxury.36 Motilal and Jawaharlal now devoted all of their time to political activity.
Jawaharlal later admitted in his autobiography, “I became wholly absorbed and wrapt [sic] in the
movement… I gave up all my other associations and contacts, old friends, books, even
newspapers… In spite of the strength of family bonds, I almost forgot my family, my wife, my
daughter… I lived in offices and committee meetings and crowds.”37 Jawaharlal was also
forcibly distanced from his family upon his and Motilal’s arrest in December 1921. Motilal had
organized a hartal, or an act of civil disobedience, against the royal visit of the Prince of Wales
in which the royal procession was greeted by empty streets and shuttered shops. Motilal was
charged with being a Congress volunteer, an illegal activity since the British had outlawed the
Indian National Congress. Throughout the trial, Motilal sat with Indira on his lap. Though it is
not known for sure, many believe that he sat with her as a symbol in the courtroom; she was the
personification of innocence.
35
Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 15
36
Gandhi, My Truth, 12
37
Cited in Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 20
24
Though Indira sometimes insisted that she was surrounded by love throughout her
childhood, she admitted in one interview that she felt she did not see enough of her family.
Periods of incarceration became the norm for the Nehru family. Jawaharlal was released in
March 1922, only to be imprisoned again in May. Indira later revealed that “prison was a matter
of pride” for the family, but it was “very disturbing to the family.”38 Indira also witnessed the
hostility displayed by many women in the family toward her mother Kamala. Jawaharlal’s
mother and sister resented Kamala as they all competed for the attention of Jawaharlal. Kamala
was the target of insults and antagonism, such as not being invited to see an English film because
her English was poor.39 But Jawaharlal remained unaware of the volatile relations between the
women. Indira spent much of her early childhood with her mother, but she also spent much of
her time, similar to other children, in a fantasy world of play. Indira once described that her
favorite game was to “collect as many servants as [she] could, stand on a table and deliver a
speech--repeating disjointed phrases that [she] had picked up from grownup talk,” almost
foreshadowing future events.40
Indira’s academic career was often erratic. Motilal sent her to school in 1924, enrolling
her at St. Cecilia’s run by three British spinsters.41 Indira’s time at St. Cecilia’s was mired by her
shyness, and she was embarrassed that she was the only one wearing khadi, or handspun
clothing. Her time ended at St. Cecilia’s when her father was made aware of her attendance at
the school. Jawaharlal was away when she was enrolled by Motilal and had not been consulted
on her schooling. Although St. Cecilia’s was private, not a government run school, Jawaharlal
saw the entirely British staff as enough of a reason to argue that it violated the Congress boycott
38
39
40
41
25
at the time of all things foreign. Indira was therefore withdrawn from the school and was taught
by Indian tutors at home. While this may have accorded with their political beliefs, it was not
ideal for Indira’s education. The teacher that taught her Hindi was not regularly present, and
while her mother helped her with English, Jawaharlal could only teach her when he was around,
which was not often enough
Kamala had suffered from many ailments for years. By 1926, Kamala had become so
severely ill that doctors encouraged the Nehru family to go to Switzerland to consult specialists
in Geneva. Once they arrived, Jawaharlal enrolled Indira in L’École Internationale, a
multilingual school especially for children of those involved in the League of Nations. The
school was not politicized or overtly religious, and unlike British run schools in India, it was not
hostile to Nehru’s nationalism. But Indira’s school required a long walk, followed by a tram ride,
and then a bus ride, all four times a day. At first, Indira was accompanied by her father, but
eventually the eight-year-old traversed Geneva by herself. It was in Geneva that Indira developed
an independent spirit. Indira also got a chance to expand her world view with visits to Paris,
London and Berlin, and attending several different schools.
By the time the family planned to return to India in 1927, Indira was leaving her
childhood behind just as the political struggle was becoming more intense in India. The family
reached India on December 25, 1927, in time for the annual Congress meeting in Madras. It was
at this meeting that Indira watched her father declare the goal of the Indian people to be
completely independent from Great Britain.42 Unlike Motilal and Gandhi, Jawaharlal wanted to
sever all ties with the British. At this time, Gandhi and Motilal were reluctant to cut off all ties to
Britain, and instead they wanted to achieve swaraj through dominion status within the Empire.
42
26
Jawaharlal’s time in Europe had radicalized his political vision, and his position exemplified the
dissention within the ranks of the INC, as well as within the Nehru family.
Upon returning to Allahabad, Indira needed to return to school. Despite Jawaharlal’s
contempt for all things British, he allowed Indira to attend St. Mary’s Convent, since he knew
that the best education was a Western one. It also could not be denied that many of the
nationalist leaders were the products of British educational institutions. Unfortunately, however,
Indira instantly felt alienated at St. Mary’s. As the only one dressed in khadi, Indira’s clothes
immediately identified her family’s politics. Life at home in Allahabad had also become filled
with tension as Motilal and Jawaharlal’s diverging politics often caused the two to openly argue,
creating an anxious atmosphere throughout the household. Jawaharlal stayed in Allahabad for the
summer, and wrote to Indira a volume called Letters from a Father to His Daughter.43 The letters
were Jawaharlal’s way of “correcting” her British education. The letters encouraged Indira to
look beyond the political turmoil of the time and to appreciate the lives they had. In 1929,
Jawaharlal took over his father’s role as Congress president. In his presidential address, Nehru
declared that “independence for [the Congress] means complete freedom from British dominion
and British imperialism.”44 One of his most important acts was the adoption of the Purna
Swaraj, a resolution drafted by Nehru declaring complete independence. Indira happened to be
present when Jawaharlal was given the final typed copy of the resolution, at which time he asked
Indira to read it aloud. Once she finished reading the whole text, Nehru said, “Well, now that you
have read it, you are committed to it.”45 Indira had become the first person in India to pledge
herself to Purna Swaraj.
43
Ibid., 55
44
Cited in Ibid., 59
45
Cited in Ibid., 60
27
With the adoption of the Purna Swaraj, the Nehru family, as well as the rest of India
became intensely focused on freedom for India. The nationalist struggle now was not exclusively
for men, but women and children alike clamored for a role in the country’s nationalist
movement. Even Kamala rose from her bed to promote the boycotting of foreign cloth, liquor
stores, government run schools and courts. Indira also wanted to participate, she said she
“wanted to join the Congress Party and be a regular soldier of India,” but was told she was too
young.46 Kamala, however, found a way for Indira and other children to play a part in the
nationalist struggle by creating the Vanar Sena, or Monkey Brigade, in March of 1930. Kamala
had been walking through a poor part of the city when several children shouted, “Kamala Nehru
ki jai,” or “victory to Kamala Nehru.”47 An old woman nearby said that the children were like
the Vanar Sena in the Ramayana, an Indian epic, where the monkey god’s army of monkeys built
a bridge between India and Lanka to save Sita, the wife of Lord Rama.
Reflective of Indira’s future political stance, she reluctantly accepted the charge as leader
of the Vanar Sena. Indira and Bishambar Nath Pande, one of the Congress secretaries, drew up a
program, visited several schools in Allahabad, and recruited nearly one thousand children. That
spring, thirteen-year-old Indira led a procession of 15,000 children during a demonstration in
Allahabad. Indira was very quiet, and therefore used Pande as a sort of human loudspeaker to
help her speak to a crowd of over 50,000 exhorting them to help the satyagraha camps. Duties of
the Vanar Sena varied, and at first were confined to preparing food, sewing flags, and
distributing pamphlets. It was soon realized though that the children could be used in an
intelligence gathering capacity. The children would hang around police stations and could
46
47
28
overhear arrest orders or where the next police raid would take place. As the leader of the Vanar
Sena, Indira was now becoming famous in her own right.

29
Chapter 2
INDIRA’S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND INDIA’S CHANGING
POLITICAL CLIMATE
By the early 1930s, the Nehru family, including Indira, was now well known public
figures throughout India. As Frank describes in her biography, while touring cities in India, they
were often visited by “groups of laborers, tea-garden workers and others,” and were pursued by
“one great crowd [after] another” becoming embroiled in many “engagements, addresses,
meetings, receptions.”48 In the months following the formation of the Vanar Sena, Indira, her
parents, and Gandhi continued to participate in acts of civil disobedience. An 1882 Salt Act gave
the British a monopoly on the collection and manufacture of salt by prohibiting Indians to collect
or sell salt. Therefore in March of 1930, Gandhi decided to march to the coastal town of Dandi
on the Arabian Sea to defy British policy by making salt from seawater. Throughout his journey
Gandhi addressed large crowds, many of whom joined him in his march. Once he reached Dandi,
Gandhi, the thousands who joined him, as well as others in coastal cities, began to make salt. In
April 1930, however, the government sought to put an end to the tide of civil disobedience with a
country-wide crackdown. The Congress was declared illegal and many members were arrested,
including Nehru, Motilal, and Gandhi.49
48
49
Ibid., 64
30
With her father in prison, Indira continued to work with the Vanar Sena, as well as
spending much of her time with her mother. However, on New Year’s Eve of 1930, the
telephone rang warning Kamala that she would be arrested in the morning.50 At 5 a.m. that
morning, Kamala was arrested, leaving Indira alone save with the servants. But Kamala did not
spend long in prison since she, as well as Nehru and Gandhi, were released on January 26, 1931.
During this time, in a move that Nehru considered to be a “total and unwarranted surrender,”
Gandhi agreed to call off civil disobedience in exchange for working toward self government by
stages, the release of political prisoners, and allowing villagers to make salt for domestic
consumption.51
The Nehru’s returned home to find that Motilal was extremely ill and it was clear he
would not last long. Motilal died on February 6, 1931, leaving Indira in a state of grief, since this
was the first death Indira had experienced.52 Although it is not customary for Hindu women to
participate in or attend funeral rites, all the Nehru women, including Indira, accompanied the
men as Motilal’s Congress flag-draped body made its way through the streets of Allahabad.
Mourners crowded the streets, and followed the procession all the way to the Ganges for his
cremation.
Shortly after the loss of Motilal, the Nehru family travelled to Ceylon on holiday. The
Nehru family soon returned to Allahabad via southern India and the Princely States of
Travancore, Cochin, Malabar, Mysore, and Hyderabad. This was the first time Indira had
observed the harshness of the caste system, the Nehru’s had many Harijan servants who lived
and ate with them. In the South, Indira saw caste prejudice everywhere they went, reporting that
whole streets were barred to Harijans, or untouchables, with signs reading “Brahmins only.”
50
Ibid., 68
51
Ibid.
52
Ibid., 70
31
Indira was raised to ignore caste, which contributed to her future political views when she would
attempt to focus on social reform while in office. While travelling back to Allahabad, Indira also
observed her mother’s dedication to feminism when Kamala made a speech in Hyderabad.
Jawaharlal called her “a champion of women's rights.”53 Indira never understood her mother’s
feminism because in her family she never personally experienced the disadvantages of being a
girl, nor did she see any oppression of women around her. Indira, therefore, never perceived her
gender as an issue when she became more involved in politics. Years later, in a press conference
immediately after her election as Congress Party President, she said “I do not regard myself as a
woman. I am a person with a job.”54
Upon returning to Allahabad, Indira became a quiet, moody adolescent. Her depression
was partially because her aunt had called her “ugly and stupid,” which was devastating for
someone who was already shy and insecure.55 She also had no one to turn to, her parents were
absorbed in politics, Motilal was gone, she didn’t have many friends, and her cousins were much
younger than her. Her plight was exacerbated when she was sent off to the Pupils’ Own School
in Poona. Indira was miserable at first, she was the oldest and tallest student, and had the most
famous parents. Indira’s mood changed, however, when her younger cousins came to the school
in 1932. Indira mothered her cousins; the youngest was barely two years-old. Indira had a history
of caring for things that could not care for themselves, like children and animals. This quality
was reflected in her future political life, because “the poor, the sick, the downtrodden and
oppressed—the majority of the population of India—looked to her and believed she could and
53
Ana Jeronimus and Nia Kelly, “Indira Gandhi,” New Moon Vol. 11, no. 5 (30 June 1995)
54
Indira Gandhi, Selected Thoughts of Indira Gandhi : A Book of Quotes, ed. S.K. Dhawan, (Delhi: Mittal
Publications, 1985), XIX
55
32
would help them.”56 While attending this school in Poona, Indira had an opportunity to get closer
to Mahatma Gandhi.
Since the early 1930s, the British had made efforts to draft a new Constitution involving
self-rule for the native Indians. The British invited leaders of different parties in the Round Table
Conferences in 1930 and 1931. Gandhi did not attend in 1930, but did represent the Congress
Party in the Second Round-Table Conference in September 1931 to December 1931. The
concept of separate electorates for the untouchables was raised by Dr. Ambedkar.57 Similar
provisions were already available for other minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Anglo-
Indians and Sikhs. The Conference ended in December with the British government agreeing
with Ambedkar's contention, and began to produce a Communal Award for minority
representation. Soon after the conference, Gandhi once again began civil disobedience, and he
along with Nehru, were arrested in January 1932. While imprisoned, Indira and her cousins
visited Gandhi at Yeravada Prison on weekends. On September 13, 1932, Gandhi proclaimed he
was embarking on ‘a fast unto death’ in protest against the announcement that separate
electorates would be provided for Harijans, which went against Gandhi’s commitment to the
abolition of untouchability.
Though this was not Gandhi’s first public fast, it still had an enormous impact. Nehru, in
jail himself, expressed his distress to Indira, writing “I am shaken up completely and I know not
what to do. News has come, terrible news that Bapu has determined to starve himself to death.”58
British authorities were also surprised and did not want Gandhi to die while imprisoned by them.
They even tried to allow him to go to his ashram to fast, but he refused to be released from jail.
56
Ibid., 76
57
D.N. “Gandhi, Ambedkar and Separate Electorates Issue,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 26, No. 21 (May
25, 1991), p. 1329
58
33
On the fifth day of his fast, an agreement was made in which Harijans would give up their claim
for separate electorates, but would be guaranteed a number of reserved seats from the Hindu
allocation. Gandhi theatrically ended his fast in front of an audience of 200 at Yeravada Prison.
Indira was the one who gave Gandhi the orange juice that was his first form of nourishment.59
Gandhi’s fast made a great impression on Indira; she learned the power of passive resistance.
Even while imprisoned, Gandhi held enormous political and moral authority. Indira observed the
power possessed by someone who was essentially legally and physically powerless. Indira
learned that this sort of passive resistance could be more powerful than taking action. Indira
reformulated this method by refusing to speak rather than to eat, which later evolved into what
Frank describes as a “legendary genius for silence.”60
While Indira continued her stay at Pupils’ Own School, the rest of her family had to
contend with several issues. In January 1932, the government took possession of the family
home Swaraj Bhawan, also Kamala’s health was suffering, and she spent most of the year
receiving medical treatment in Calcutta. Nehru had been imprisoned since the beginning of 1932
in Allahabad, but was then moved even further away at Dehra Dun. Letters became Indira’s only
connection to her parents for some time. The next year, Indira was to be enrolled in a school at
Santiniketan, about one hundred miles northwest of Calcutta. Before starting school, Indira went
to Kashmir for four weeks with the Pandits. Indira was not raised with a strong religious
presence. As an adult, Indira became “Pan-Indian,” adopting the saris, food, and languages of the
diverse regions of India. According to Frank, the beautiful landscape of Kashmir became almost
a place of worship for Indira. Kashmir became Indira’s idea of paradise, and she returned to
Kashmir throughout her life in times of joy, stress, danger, defeat, and grief.
59
Ibid., 78
60
Ibid., 79
34
To be enrolled at the school in Santiniketan, Indira had taken an exam. She scored well in
English and French but barely passed the other subjects. In a frank letter to the school, Nehru
wrote about Indira’s difficult childhood thus far. He wrote,
From her earliest childhood Indira has had to put up with national political troubles and
domestic upheavals caused by them. Her education has suffered because of these and
there has been no continuity in it. For long periods there has been no peace or quiet in her
home atmosphere owing to her parents’ and other relatives’ preoccupation with public
affairs, and often because of their absence in prison.61
Nehru was acutely aware of his daughters’ struggles, but still encouraged a rigorous education,
hoping this school would prepare her for a European university. Unknown to Nehru, this would
be Indira’s favorite school. Although the Nehru family was not particularly concerned with the
arts, at this school Indira had the opportunity to participate in school dance performances, learn
about Indian and European music, theatre, painting, sculpture, and other crafts. It was at this
school Indira became obsessed with color, especially when it came to clothing. From this point
onward, Indira chose the color of her clothing, usually a sari, based on her state of mind, where
she was, the season, or what was going on in the world.62
Soon after Indira arrived at Santiniketan, Kamala began to experience bouts of severe
illness that caused Indira to have to leave school for long stretches of time. It was only when
Kamala had to stay at a hospital in Bhowali that Indira’s future husband, Feroze Gandhi, really
became a part of her life. Feroze Gandhi had been a fixture at Anand Bhawan in Allahabad for
some time, as one of the many young men in the Congress Party. Feroze was especially attached
to Kamala, and had even proposed to Indira once before, a month before her sixteenth birthday.
This proposal was immediately refused by Indira and Kamala, both agreeing that she was too
young.
61
Cited in Ibid., 86
62
Ibid., 90
35
Feroze Gandhi, unrelated to Mahatma, was the youngest child of Jehangir and Rattimai
Gandhi. Feroze was also a Parsi. Parsis are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who
immigrated to India to avoid religious persecution by the Muslims.63 Parsis are followers of the
Iranian prophet Zoroaster, who founded the religion that contains both monotheistic and dualistic
features. Feroze however, was raised in Allahabad by his aunt, who may have been his birth
mother, since there has been no birth certificate found for Feroze Gandhi. Feroze had remained
apolitical until he attended Ewing Christian College, where he first witnessed a Nehru-led
demonstration and became particularly devoted to Kamala. For Indira, Feroze was a vibrant
presence in a world of disease and death at the sanatorium in Bhowali. Feroze was handsome,
hopeful, helpful and just as dedicated to Kamala as Indira was. Kamala noticed how close the
two were growing, and warned her husband that a marriage to Feroze would be the “mistake of
[Indira’s] life.”64 Kamala knew Feroze well, and was aware that while he was a good man, he
had undesirable qualities, like his affection for women, and did not want her daughter to become
involved with him.
By February 1936, Kamala’s health continued to deteriorate, but she requested to be
moved to Lausanne, Switzerland. Indira stayed close to Kamala, as did Feroze. Nehru meanwhile
made arrangements to travel to Lausanne, making stops in London and Paris. In London, Nehru
had learned that he had been elected the new President of the Congress Party. When Nehru
finally arrived in Switzerland, Kamala convinced him to return to India to attend the annual
Congress meeting. As her illness worsened, Kamala became increasingly detached from Indira
and Nehru, barely responding to them. Nehru was scheduled to leave on February 28, however,
her doctors advised him to cancel his flight. On that same day, Kamala died at 5 a.m. with Indira,
63
Mistry Dinshaw. “Parsis.” Encyclopedia of India. Ed. Stanley Wolpert. Vol. 3. (Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
2006), 281
64
36
Nehru, and Feroze by her side.65 Now Indira, who had been so happy a short time ago, was in a
state of depression.
Soon after her mother’s death, Indira left for school first in Switzerland, then spent a
holiday in Italy, and then in England. During this time, much of Europe was on the brink of war.
Indira listened to Hitler on the radio, writing to her father that he “sounded very threatening,”
and learned that Nazi troops were marching to the Rhineland and the frontier.66 In Italy, Indira
reported that even in remote areas photographs and sayings of Mussolini were printed on village
walls. Nehru wanted Indira to be a part of the political events of the time, writing, “none of us in
this present age, can have an easy time or freedom from storm or trouble. But some of us fall a
greater share…and it is your lot, because of your family…to have to bear this heavy burden.”67
Indira did become preoccupied with world events, and was increasingly worried about her father
and her country.
Indira’s Political Activism and the Final Stages of Indian Independence
In October 1937, Indira began attending Somerville College at Oxford. Indira was
certainly the most famous student and everyone was curious about “the Nehru girl.” Indira,
however, remained quiet and stayed to herself while in school. Indira was aware of her stature at
the College as a political presence, though she was not a leader. Indira was a reluctant leader; she
never actively pursued the power that would be given to her. Indira’s shyness was evident at a
gathering of the India League in London. Indira was asked to speak, but she “froze with
nervousness and when she finally opened her mouth to speak and uttered an unintelligible sound,
65
66
Cited in Ibid., 115
67
Cited in Ibid., 119
37
someone in the audience yelled, ‘she doesn’t speak she squeaks.’68 While Indira was
apprehensive about assuming leadership, she was heavily involved in many political activities.
Indira gathered volunteers for certain events, boycotted Japanese goods at Oxford when Japan
attacked China, organized a benefit performance to raise money for medical aid in China, and
even auctioned one of her bracelets to raise money.69
As Europe moved even closer to all out war with the Nazi invasion of Poland in
September 1939, Indira’s political beliefs began to develop further. In November 1939, the
Soviet Union, which had signed a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, invaded Finland and
won a fiercely fought winter war in March 1940. In India, Nehru wrote an article for the National
Herald that sympathized with Finland’s plight. Indira however, completely disagreed with her
father’s views. She blamed the Russo-German pact and the war with Finland on eight years of
British foreign policy. Indira had a pro-Soviet view because the USSR still rejected both Nazism
and imperialism and she believed their demands against Finland were justified. She also
reminded her father that right-wing Finnish forces had suppressed a revolution after World War
I, slaughtering 15,000 communists. She wrote to Nehru, “all this talk of poor Finland makes me
sick. Just because a country is small in size, do the crimes of its Government lessen also and does
its repression & totalitarianism likewise become softer & more bearable?”70 Her opinions
demonstrate her future political stance, which was considerably more to the left of her father.
Throughout the 1930s, Indira had been suffering from severe illness that left her staying
in several sanatoriums, cut off from her father and Feroze. By New Years Day 1941, Indira was
well enough to travel and flew to Bristol where Feroze was waiting for her. The two had been
engaged for nearly four years at this point, and Indira was ready to be married. The two boarded
68
Ibid., 129
69
Ibid.
70
Cited in Ibid., 154
38
a ship for India on March 10, 1941. The ship made a stop in Durban, South Africa, where Indira
found her political voice. Durban had a large Indian community that gave Indira an enthusiastic
welcome and arranged a formal reception in her honor. Before attending the reception, Indira and
Feroze were appalled to see the living conditions in the segregated black ghettos, and the
rampant racism throughout the area. While Indira had told everyone that she would not speak at
the reception, she now insisted on speaking. Indira began to speak with passion about white
South Africa’s oppression of the black population, which she compared to Hitler’s persecution of
the Jews. In her speech, she predicted that “it may not be today, it may not be ten or twenty
years, but it is they [black Africans] who will rule this country.”71 She went on to condemn the
Indian community for their indifference to the plight of the black majority. After this speech,
Indira found her inner strength and did not hesitate if she had something to say.
Once Indira and Feroze reached India, the whole country became engrossed in their
engagement. Indira first had to convince her father, her family, and Gandhi, most of whom
opposed a marriage between the two. To the Nehru family, Feroze was not good enough for
Indira; he did not complete his education, and had no money. Indira, though, made it clear that
she intended to marry Feroze no matter what. Reluctantly, Nehru consented, as did Gandhi and
the rest of her family. News of their engagement swept throughout India, even eclipsing
headlines like the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese advancement into Southeast Asia, the
British being driven out of Malaya, and the fact that India was wide open to invasion. Their
engagement brought controversy for several reasons. Indira and Feroze were not submitting to a
traditional arranged marriage and they were marrying outside of their faiths. For years, people
had looked toward Nehru and Kamala as the perfect example of an Indian married couple. Indira,
as a public figure, would be setting an unwelcome precedent. On March 26, 1942, Indira and
71
Cited in Ibid., 164
39
Feroze were married in front of friends, family neighbors, and most of the Congress Party
members.
Upon returning from their honeymoon in Kashmir in July 1942, Indira and Feroze
attended the All-India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay to discuss Gandhi’s “Quit India”
resolution. All those who were present overwhelmingly agreed with Gandhi’s stance. The very
next day, Nehru and the entire Congress Working Committee were arrested. Following the
arrests, strikes and demonstrations engulfed India, telegraph and telephone wires were cut,
buildings were torched, and railways, roads and bridges were blown up. The unrest throughout
India was considered to be the most serious threat to British rule since the Sepoy Rebellion. An
arrest warrant was issued for Feroze on August 10, and so he went into hiding. In September,
Indira learned she was to be arrested after participating in a nationalist flag-raising ceremony at
Ewing Christian College. Indira arranged a public meeting anyway and planned to make a
speech. Right before she went on to speak in front of a crowd of 3,000 people, a truckload of
police arrived. They were armed, and when a sergeant raised his weapon near Indira, Feroze,
who had attended in disguise, surged forward, causing the crowd to also come to their aid.72
Indira, Feroze, and a number of others were ultimately arrested and brought to Naini Jail. She
later wrote, “the ride to the jail was a rather extraordinary one, for the police in my van were
apparently so moved by my talking to them that they apologized, put their turbans at my feet,
and wept their sorrow because of what their job compelled them to do!”73 This prison sentence
was a rite of passage for Indira. Everyone she knew had served a jail term, and now it was her
turn.
72
Ibid., 183
73
Cited in Sara Schupack, Leading Women: Indira Gandhi (Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish, 2012), 32
40
Prison was unlike anything Indira had experienced before. Indira had to endure the
cramped, overcrowded barracks where six women per room had to sleep on the stone floor.
Indira hated the lack of privacy and the constant noise of the barracks. After six weeks, however,
Indira, her aunt, and her cousin were upgraded to A-class prisoners, in which they were given
better food and were allowed to sleep in the prison yard to escape the heat. Indira was finally
released on May 13, 1943, after 243 days of imprisonment. After her release from prison, Indira
became pregnant with her first child. On August 20, 1944 Rajiva Ratna Birjess Nehru Gandhi
was born.
While the birth of their son was a celebrated occasion, cracks in Indira and Feroze’s
marriage were apparent as early as 1943. Feroze had never completed his education and
therefore was not financially stable, something Nehru had worried about when learning of Indira
and Feroze’s engagement. Feroze had secured a job in the Congress Party’s legal aid committee,
but was paid through Nehru. They also did not have their own home, but stayed in the Nehru
family home. Indira was uncomfortable with being supported by her father, which caused
friction between her and Feroze. By 1944, shortly after the birth of Rajiv, Feroze began to feel
more and more like a peripheral member of the family. Slowly, though, their situation began to
improve.
On September 2, 1946, the first step in the transfer of power was taken when the new
Interim Government of India was sworn in, led by Nehru. This government gave him all the
powers of a prime minister of a dominion, although his position was called “vice president of the
Executive Council.”74 That summer Indira discovered she was pregnant again and hoped that
with independence on the horizon, she could lead a private, domestic life with Feroze. Feroze
had even gotten a real job as director of the National Herald, the Lucknow-based newspaper that
74
41
Nehru had founded in 1937. Indira and Feroze then rented a bungalow in Lucknow, which they
transformed into a beautiful home for their growing family.
Unfortunately, Indira and Feroze’s blissful existence did not endure for long. Soon after
Feroze became the director of the paper, it began to run up a large overdraft, and it was
discovered that he had pocketed 200,000 rupees. Feroze was inexperienced and was ill-fitted for
his position. Another issue was Indira’s absence. Only a month after moving into their bungalow,
Indira returned to Delhi to stay with Nehru at his government apartment. Indira went to set up
house, but also wanted to distance herself from Feroze after she had become aware that he was
engaging in extramarital affairs. Indira mostly overlooked his trysts with different women;
however Feroze had fallen in love with the daughter of a Lucknow politician named Ali Zaheer.
The affair had become so serious that Feroze told the Zaheer woman that he wanted to divorce
Indira and marry her. She also loved him and wrote to her father of Feroze’s plan. Ali Zaheer
informed Nehru, who confronted Feroze about the situation. Feroze told him he was in love with
another woman and wanted a divorce. Nehru asked Indira what she wanted to do, and she made
it clear that she did not want a divorce. While Feroze reluctantly ended the affair, their marriage
never recovered.
After the affair, Indira began to spend more time away from Lucknow and more time in
Delhi with her father. Indira explained that she “felt it was [her] duty to help [her father]….and
there was no one else but [her].”75 Indira liked to escape her marital problems with Feroze, but it
only encouraged more affairs. Feroze and Indira were briefly united in Delhi when their second
child was born. Sanjay Gandhi was born on December 14, 1946, and Feroze left for Lucknow
soon after.
75
Cited in Ibid., 203
42
By spring 1947, India was getting closer and closer to independence. In May 1947, V.P.
Menon, the Reform Commissioner in charge of dividing India created the ‘Menon Plan.’ Power
would now be transferred to two central governments, India and Pakistan. The plan was
approved by India leaders on June 3, and the next day it was announced that India and Pakistan
were to become independent states on August 15, 1947. At 11:59 p.m. on August 14, 1947,
Nehru Nehru stood before the Constituent Assembly in Delhi and said, “Long years ago, we
made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall redeem out pledge. At the
stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”76
Indira sat in the audience looking on as her father made this speech, which she later recalled to
be a ‘numbing’ experience, saying “freedom was just so big a thing that it could not register.”77
Indira and Indian Independence
India had become free, but the country was in a state of chaos. The announcement of the
boundary lines dividing India and Pakistan had serious consequences. The boundaries caused
what could be considered the greatest migration of populations in history. People packed up their
belongings and left their homes, and many would not arrive safely at their destinations. Hindus,
Muslims, and Sikhs, who had previously lived largely harmoniously, now turned on each other.
Villages were massacred, women were raped, and many were killed. Indira travelled to Nehru’s
York Road house to find that refugees were being sheltered by the household. More arrived
daily, and Indira talked to groups of them each day to check up on the care they were receiving.
Soon Indira was travelling from camp to camp throughout Delhi to help with the relief work.
Gandhi, discouraged that his message of nonviolence was shattered after independence, asked
76
Cited in Ibid., 211
77
Ibid.
43
Indira to help convince Muslims in India to stay in India rather than migrate to Pakistan.78
Indira’s dedication to social reform would be something she would hold on to while in power.
Though often criticized for her proposed reforms, Indira was nevertheless dedicated to helping
those who could not help themselves. Fellow relief worker Subhadra Datta reported the traits that
Indira would also possess while in power, saying, “She was fearless, decisive, and a good
organizer…she was not emotional, but she was empathetic and tough.”79
Once Nehru was named Prime Minister, Indira had the new responsibility of managing a
large number of staff and servants at his new home, Teen Murti. Indira also realized her father
would rely on her even more after Gandhi was assassinated. Refugees from Pakistan directed
their anger toward Gandhi, blaming him for “pampering” the Muslims, and on January 30, 1948,
Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu zealot.80 Once again reflecting later sentiments, Indira
was a reluctant participant when she became hostess over her father’s household. She later
described that she was “resisted every inch of the way about becoming a hostess.”81
When India’s first general election took place in October 1951, Indira was being urged to
join Parliament, but she claimed her children were yet too young for her to leave the household.
Instead, Indira worked to gain support for her father, virtually running his campaign. Feroze,
meanwhile, was often left out and was not even invited to certain formal gatherings. When
Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin and the then First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party,
Nikita Khrushchev, addressed a public meeting, Feroze was denied entry while Nehru and Indira
were on the platform.82 While Indira’s life was mostly consumed by her father, she did find time
78
Inder, Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography (Boston: Northeastern University Press,
1989), 59
79
80
81
82
Ibid., 232
44
to engage in social welfare and cultural work. She established Bal Bhawan, a center for destitute
children in Delhi, became vice-chairman of the Social Welfare Board, president of the Indian
Council for Child Welfare, and vice-president of the International Council for Child Welfare.
Indira’s political involvement reached a new peak when she became a member of the
Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest policy-making body of the Congress Party.
Indira did not seek membership, but her inclusion came about at the insistence of Congress
President U.N. Dhebar and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Many Congress Party members viewed Indira as
a means to get to the Prime Minister and a potentially useful tool in the future. Some Congress
Party members wished to establish Indira as a ‘shadow’ political figure, someone with Nehru’s
stature and position but no strong political ties. Although apprehensive of this new power status,
Indira never considered herself to be merely a reflection of her father. By 1957, Indira was
elected to the Congress Central Election Committee and joined the Congress Parliamentary
Board a year later. Indira was offered further responsibility when she was first approached to
become Congress President in 1959. As usual, Indira was extremely reluctant, saying, “I couldn’t
manage it…I was absolutely certain that I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”83 Union Home Minister
G.B. Pant, however, told Indira, “it’s not a question of your decision. We have decided and you
have to do it. This is your duty.”84 On February 2, 1959 Indira was officially elected President of
the Indian National Congress.
Since India was now independent, Indira’s role as Congress President gave her more
power than her predecessors, including her father. Indira had never been an ardent feminist since
she observed the women around her participate in the struggle for Indian independence as
83
Cited in Ibid., 249
84
Cited in Ibid.
45
equally as the men. Indira, however, did choose to quote from a popular Hindi song in her
presidential inauguration speech:
We are the women of India

Don’t imagine us as flower-maidens
We are the sparks in the fire.85
Indira’s use of this poem shows that while she was aware of the gender roles in India, she did not
consider it to be a hindrance for herself. Years later, Indira was asked by an interviewer if she
believed her political rise would have been easier if she was a male, but she replied, “I think
there would probably have been more difficulties…I think the political world would have been
much more sensitive to the situation and wary of it.”86
Indira had been brought up by one of the most politically involved families in India, and
yet many did not believe Indira had strong political viewpoints. The Congress Party leadership
thought Indira would be malleable, but Indira later showed them that she did have a political
mind. Even Nehru viewed his daughter as an adjunct to himself, not a politically independent
being. Nehru was also cautious of the possible consequences of her rise to power. He did not
want to create a “dynastic arrangement,” since that would be “undemocratic and an undesirable
thing.”87
Quickly after becoming President, signs of Indira’s political character began to shine
through. Throughout her political career she appeared to be leftist, but months after her election
she aligned herself with right-wing groups, specifically in Kerala. Kerala, situated in southwest
India, had a large Communist Party which came to rule over the state by 1959. Indira however,
accused this government of being agents of the Chinese, and fear a Communist government in
Kerala would result in violence and anarchy. Therefore Indira had her father dismiss the
85
Cited in Ibid.
86
Cited in Ibid., 250
87
Cited in Ibid.,
46
democratically elected Communist government in Kerala. This was the first time in independent
India’s history that a state government had been dissolved, which set a dangerous precedent.
Sometime later, Indira’s critics would say that this incident foreshadowed Indira’s future
‘ruthlessness’ and authoritarian tendencies.
Shortly after the situation in Kerala, Indira did not want to serve another term as
Congress President. In a letter to her father she wrote in the middle of the night, she wrote that
she felt she had a “burden,” but now the debt had been paid off, and she wanted to “be free and
find [her] own direction.”88 While not being accusatory, Indira was telling her father that all the
choices she had made had not been her own, but from her birth, her family and historical events
had determined her fate.
88
Cited in Ibid., 254
47
Chapter 3
“I WANT ANOTHER LIFE”: INDIRA’S LAST RESISTANCE TO LEADERSHIP
While Indira yearned for a life away from politics, she could not seem to leave it behind.
Nehru was getting older, and needed Indira, as did Feroze, whose own political career was on the
rise. Indira later revealed that she fully intended to “commit herself totally” to Feroze’s political
career, but this sentiment ended with Feroze’s sudden death.89 Indira was presiding over a
women’s conference in Delhi when Feroze suffered his second and fatal heart attack on
September 8, 1960, four days short of his forty-eighth birthday. Feroze’s death was extremely
difficult for Indira, as she would later describe, “my whole mental and physical life changed
suddenly…it was as though someone cut me in two.”90 After her period of mourning, Indira soon
became active in politics again. She was reelected to the Congress Working Committee and
became a member of the Central Election Committee. Indira also accompanied her father to visit
the United States in November 1961.
Upon arriving in the United States, Nehru met the newly elected John F. Kennedy, but
Nehru remained quiet and distant throughout the visit. Kennedy later described it as “the worst
head-of-state visit I have had,” and talking to Nehru was like trying “to grab something, only to
have it turn out to be just fog.”91 Nehru was distrustful of Kennedy’s charisma and doubted his
political vision. Indira was also unimpressed by Jackie Kennedy. In a seven-part taped interview
89
Cited in Katherine Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 257
90
Cited in Ibid., 258
91
Cited in Ibid., 262
48
conducted in early 1964, Jackie Kennedy revealed her feelings toward Indira when she called
Indira a “prune, bitter, kind of pushy, horrible woman.”92 The trip to the United States was
reflective of Nehru’s lack of stamina. Nehru was getting older and feeling depleted, he began to
rely on Indira more and more.
Indira still dreamt of escaping politics and settling in London. She wrote to her friend
Dorothy Norman, “my need for privacy and anonymity has been growing steadily,” she felt she
deserved this saying, “I can claim to have done my duty to my country and family all these long
years. I don’t for an instant regret it, because whatever I am today has been shaped by these
years. But now I want another life.”93 It was not long, however, before some began to talk of
political succession after Nehru, and Indira’s name was often mentioned. Talk of succession
became even more crucial when Nehru suffered a stroke at the annual Congress session on
January 8, 1964. Rumors swirled that Indira would enter the Cabinet or even become Deputy
Prime Minister, but Indira refused. Indira did, however, become her father’s closest confidant,
and was compared to Woodrow Wilson’s wife, who had somewhat become the head of the
United States government during his presidency. When this comparison was brought to her
attention by journalist Inder Malhotra, she thought it was “absurd,” though it was clear to him
that she did not mind being perceived as the “power behind the throne.”94 Nehru’s condition
worsened and he fell into a coma and died on May 27, 1964.
Hours after his death, family and friends crowded the house to pay their respects. Nehru’s
body was brought to the foyer of the house to allow the public to pay their last respects
throughout the night. The next day, his body was placed upon a gun carriage that slowly wound
through the streets of New and Old Delhi with crowds of mourners looking on. In the immediate
92
Janny Scott, “Jackie Kennedy's Sting for One and All,” The Hindu, 15 September 2011
93
Cited in Katherine Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 267
94
Cited in Ibid., 272
49
aftermath of Nehru’s death, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the obvious choice to take over as Prime
Minister. Shastri was highly respected and had a long ministerial and party career behind him.
There was, however, another contender for the job, Morarji Desai. The then seventy-year-old
was a senior party leader and seasoned administrator. Until two years before Nehru’s death,
Desai was thought to be his natural successor, and no one believed that more than him.
While Desai believed he should hold the position of Prime Minister, opposition had built
up toward him because of his inflexibility and intolerance. When Shastri was unanimously
elected as Prime Minister, Desai, embittered, was in no position to protest. At this time, Indira
was not yet considered in the succession race. Shastri did, however, wish to include Indira in
India’s government. While many in the Indian government thought Indira was best suited as the
head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indira preferred to be assigned to the lighter
responsibility of Minister of Information and Broadcasting. According to Malhotra, “Indira
perfected to a fine art the technique of accumulating more and more power in her hands while
emphatically declaring that she had no power and that she wanted to be rid of whatever little
power she did have.”95
It was not long, though, before Indira began to assume responsibilities beyond her post,
whether Shastri wanted her to or not. Shastri had made a concerted effort to keep Indira at bay.
Shastri wanted to protect his own interests and, while respecting Nehru’s legacy, did not want to
have Indira become a rival center of power. Tension between Shastri and Indira began to
increase when a crisis broke out in Southern India in early1965. Under the Indian constitution,
Hindi was to become the official language of India. Even Nehru had to deal with backlash from
many non-Hindi speaking people, but he assured them that Hindi would never be forced on
unwilling people. Some in Shastri’s cabinet were thought to be Hindi zealots and demanded that
95
Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography, 82
50
Nehru’s assurances be added to the constitution. When Shastri refused, violent clashes began to
erupt in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Both Shastri and the leader of Tamil Nadu did
nothing. Meanwhile, Indira flew in and immediately began to remedy the situation. This was not
the only time Shastri felt as if Indira had overextended her power. In August 1965, reports of
large-scale paramilitary infiltrations by Pakistan in Kashmir caused Indira to fly into Kashmir to
encourage the security forces fighting the infiltrators and addressed public meetings to boost
morale. Indira was soon said to be the “only man in a cabinet of old women.”96
Indira’s political ambition is sometimes attributed to her asserting what she believed to be
her hereditary rights. Although Indira still longed for a private life, her pride would not allow her
to be cast out from government. Indira and Shastri’s strained relationship came to an end when
Shastri suddenly passed away of a heart attack hours after signing a peace treaty in Tashkent in
the Soviet Union on January 11, 1966. Shastri had travelled to Tashkent to resolve the Indo-Pak
War that had begun in August. After Pakistani forces had invaded Kashmir, Indian forces
defended what they believed to be their borders. While there was no formal declaration of war,
fighting had persisted for seventeen days until a cease-fire had been secured by the United
Nations Security Council on Sept. 22, 1965. On January 10, 1965 Russia called for an Indo-Pak
summit to officially end any hostilities where the treaty was signed by Shastri and Pakistani
President Muhammad Ayub Khan.
In less than twenty months India was once again confronted with a second succession.
Indira was now one step closer to her seemingly inevitable position as India’s leader. Indira was
quickly considered to be the ideal candidate for Prime Minister. The Congress Party was
concerned with the next General Election the following year, the first election without Nehru.
According to Malhotra, this is perhaps one of the reasons why the Congress Party rallied behind
96
Ibid., 84
51
Indira, because she alone had some of her father’s charisma and mass appeal.97 Indira looked
beyond divisions of caste, religion, and factions, and was therefore popular among Muslims,
Harijans and other minorities. Indira was also a strong candidate because many in the Indian
government concluded that she would be easy to control.
Indira’s Destiny Fulfilled: Indira Becomes Prime Minister
Once again faced with a succession race, Desai ardently believed that he should become
Prime Minister, and was very vocal about his desire. Indira, however, maintained a low profile in
“dignified silence” as described by Malhotra.98 Desai still faced the same opposition since many
considered him to be extremely rigid, as Frank describes him, “his actions were dictated solely
by his own inflexible principles and political convictions.”99 Indira therefore garnered support
because of her political flexibility, and many believed that Indira would be a figurehead similar
to Sucheta Kripalani, the woman Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Member of Parliament K.
Kamaraj convinced his followers that Indira would do their bidding, that she would be “pliable,
weak…a lump of clay they could mould and remold according to need.”100
Journalist Sudipta Kaviraj later wrote that “the greatest qualification of Indira Gandhi at
the time of her accession was…the fact that she was not too strongly associated with any policy
line to give offence to any of the groups which dominated the polycentric structure of the
Congress party after Nehru’s death.”101 On January 19, 1966, the meeting to choose the next
Prime Minister took place. Huge crowds gathered outside the building, waiting for news. Then
97
Ibid., 87
98
Ibid.
99
100
Ibid.
101
Sudipta Kaviraj , “Indira Gandhi and Indian Politics,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 21, No. 38/39 (Sep.
20-27, 1986), p. 1697
52
the party chief, Satya Narain Sinha, emerged. The crowd is said to have asked “What is it? Boy
or girl?” and Sinha responded “It’s a girl,” causing the crowd to cheer with joy.102 Indira had
won with 355 votes to Desai’s 169. In typical Indira fashion, upon learning she had won, she
humbly called herself a ““desh sevika,” or servant of the nation.”103 When asked by a journalist
about the significance of her election as the country’s leader, following in her father’s footsteps,
she replied, “Perhaps it ensures some kind of continuity—continuity of policy, and also perhaps
continuity of personality.”104
The election of a woman as Prime Minister of India caught the attention of the world
stage. In America, Indira appeared on the cover of Time magazine under the heading: “Troubled
India in a Woman’s Hands.”105 English journalist John Grigg wrote in the Guardian, “Probably
no woman in history has assumed a heavier burden of responsibility and certainly no country of
India’s importance has ever before entrusted so much power to a woman.”106Indira’s election
paralleled a growing feminist movement in the West, yet Indira never considered herself to be a
feminist. Tungku Abdul Rahman Putra, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, later observed that
“the population [of India] is made up of people of different creeds, colors, way of life and castes,
but because of her strong character and the natural leadership quality, a woman though she was,
she managed to exercise control over them.”107 While the outside world saw Indira as a harbinger
of the women’s movement, India did not see it as such. The Bombay Economic and Political
102
103
Sara Schupack, Leading Women: Indira Gandhi (Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish, 2012), 43
104
Nayantara Sahgal, “Nehru's Quiet Daughter,” The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 5, Special Issue (1982), p. 165
105
106
Ibid.
107
G. Parthasarathi, and H.Y. Sharada Prasad, Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists, and Friends
Remember, (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1985), 6
53
Weekly remarked that a “woman ruler is…a social handicap,” to many in India there needed to
be male power behind the throne.108
Indira’s term as Prime Minister was immediately met with extreme difficulties even an
experienced leader would struggle with. India was still in its formative stages of becoming a
stable independent nation. This was made worse by the failure of the rains in 1965 and 1966,
which was devastating for a country that relies on agriculture as the national economy. Famines
became widespread, as did economic hardship causing mass discontent throughout India.
Foreign relations had also suffered for several reasons. Indian-US relations had become strained
due to the use of American arms by Pakistan in its war with India in 1965 and by a difference in
opinion over the Vietnam War. Indo-British relations came to a new low over an incorrect report
of the origins of the India-Pakistan War. Most surprisingly though, was that the Soviet Union,
once India’s most staunch supporter against Pakistan, began to improve relations with the latter.
Indira also had to contend with a growing divide within the Congress Party. Many had felt
alienated when the decision for Prime Minister was being made, and they had now grown
resentful toward Indira. Indira had also given considerable power to a select few, angering many,
even those who had supported the decision to make her Prime Minister.109
In the initial months of Indira becoming Prime Minister, she appeared to be weak, and
unable to make assertive decisions. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, her public speaking had
been limited to campaigning, and so she was a weak parliamentary performer, often becoming
silent and unable to think on her feet. This was noticed by others in the Indian government, and
socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia gave her the nickname “goongi gudiya,” or the “dumb
108
109
54
doll.”110 Indira, nonetheless, would soon learn how to survive and eventually thrive in her new
role as Prime Minister. While Indira had not adhered to specific factions, she had built up a
leftist image as Congress President, but had all but abandoned this stance as Prime Minister.
Indira more so relied on pragmatism when making decisions, basing her choices on what she
believed made sense instead of adhering to a particular policy.
With India still struggling to feed its people, Indira decided to go to the United States on
what she called a ‘goodwill visit.’ According to Malhotra, before her trip, Indira candidly told
him that her “main mission [was] to get both food and foreign exchange without appearing to be
asking for them.”111 On the surface, Indira’s trip to the U.S. seemed to be a success, but in reality
it was a disaster. President Lyndon B. Johnson welcomed India’s “proud, able, gracious lady,” at
a party in Indira’s honor where both leaders ate and drank and got along well.112 Soon both
parties began to discuss business, in which Indira promptly agreed to a substantial devaluation of
the rupee, as well as allowing the U.S. to set up an Indo-American Educational Foundation.
When this was originally suggested some years before, Shastri had rejected it on the grounds that
he was uncomfortable with allowing America undue influence on higher education and research
in India. She also softened India’s stance against American involvement in Vietnam, which
many disagreed with. Indira, though, was in dire need of American aid and was promised over
three million tons of food and 900 million dollars in aid.
Reactions to Indira’s visit to Washington were harsh and criticism was widespread
throughout the Indian government. Indira was called a “sell-out” over her change in stance over
Vietnam, the devaluation of the rupee, and the Indo-American Educational Foundation was
110
111
112
Ibid., 96
55
denounced by all political parties. Indira lashed back at her opponents, especially when she was
accused of deviating from her father’s policies. Vehemently denying this she said,
If it is necessary to deviate from past policies, I would not hesitate to do so. I must pursue
policies which are in the best interests of the country as a whole. If you do not like these
policies, you have every right to remove me and have your own leader…The Congress is
big, but India is bigger.113
Indira was reflecting that because of her family’s importance in India, knew she would be
supported by her countrymen. Although Indira attempted to defend her actions, she had come to
realize that mistakes had been made, which proved disastrous in India. The the devaluation of the
rupee had been finalized, yet American aid was slow and food shipments were erratic.
In the aftermath, Indira wanted to ensure her political survival and would do so by
adapting to any policy best suited to the situation. Indira had previously abandoned her left-
leaning policies, but revived her mildly radical image when she had the government release a
statement “deploring” American bombings of Hanoi and Haiphong in Vietnam. She also visited
the Soviet Union where she signed a joint statement with Premier Alexei Kosygin condemning
the United States “imperialist aggression” in Vietnam.114 As Indira continued to condemn the
United States, President Johnson delayed food shipments to India as a response to her criticisms.
Indira, however, became even more outspoken against the U.S. and announced the cancellation
of the proposed Indo-American Educational Foundation.
Some believed Indira’s policies to be insincere, and thought she was just attempting to
get back in the good graces of her fellow politicians. One Member of Parliament accused her of
“behaving like a capitalist in Washington and a socialist in Moscow.”115 Malhotra seemingly
agreed with this sentiment writing, “everything Indira did was dictated by a keen instinct for self-
113
Ibid., 98
114
115
56
preservation and that every position she took whether radical or rightist, was always
flexible.”116Indira, though, emerged from these events stronger than ever. By 1967, Indira was
assured of her position among the people, which to her, allowed her to bypass the party
organization, its rules, and its norms.
Indira’s Government: Congress Factionalism Comes to a Boiling Point
Indira used her connection with the people throughout the 1967 election campaign. Indira
drew enormous crowds throughout India. She claimed to give a voice to the “the dispossessed
and downtrodden,” yet as Frank explains, her political style was also imbued with her aristocratic
heritage as the “scion of the Nehru family.”117 Not all were impressed by Indira, nevertheless,
she continued to campaign even in the face of hostility. In Orissa, Indira refused to interrupt an
election speech even after she had been struck by a stone. Her nose was broken, but she
continued speaking, using a handkerchief to stop the bleeding.118 In another rousing speech,
Indira was hailed as “Mother Indira” by the people. The affection Indira received, however, was
not reflective in the election results. The Congress Party had a loss of twenty-one percent in
seats, making their majority in Parliament extremely narrow. The Party also lost power in several
major Northern Indian states, causing a dramatic setback for the Congress. What Indira had in
her relationship with the people, she lacked in having a strong issue-oriented, ideological stance.
Even with the Congress Party’s major losses, Indira’s chances as Prime Minister were
strengthened. It was thought that Indira would be the most acceptable candidate to lead the non-
Congress state governments. Even with her lack of experience, many in the Indian government
still believed that Indira could successfully lead the country as long as they were there to help.
116
Ibid.
117
118
57
Indira was unanimously voted as Prime Minister, but had to concede to accepting the
appointment of Desai as her Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Desai’s animosity
toward Indira increased, and he encouraged his supporters to undermine Indira’s policies as
much as possible. Indira also had to contend with the increase in radicalism within the
government. A radical group known as the “Young Turks” wanted the Indian government to
focus on the old objectives and social programs the Congress Party had once stood for. These
radical groups had all but paralyzed Indira’s government and put an immense strain on the
Congress Party. Contention also came out of the rise of P.N. Haksar as Indira’s Principal Private
Secretary. Haksar quickly became the dominant policy maker and had a major influence over
Indira. These factors attributed to the widening of factions in the Congress Party.
By 1968, many in the Congress wished to see Indira removed from her post. Congress
President S. Nijalingappa feared that a forced resignation would “break the party and the whole
country would be in chaos.”119 By the next year, however, it was clear that the Congress could
not be salvaged and a split was imminent. On November 1, 1969, Nijalingappa called for Indira’s
expulsion from the Congress, charging her with having created a “personality cult” that
threatened the democratic working of Congress.120 After intense lobbying, 297 of the 429
Congress Party members sided with Indira. Each side claimed to be the real Congress Party, but
Indira’s supporters became known as the Congress (R) or Requisitionist, and Desai and the INC
became known as the Congress (O) for Organization.
Though Indira lost her majority in both houses of Parliament as a result of the split, she
gained supporters in the Communist Party of India, as well as several other regional parties and
119
120
58
independents. Indira had emerged from the split a “confident, assertive and dominant leader.”121
Indira’s motives for centralizing the government around her can be credited to her feelings that it
was her familial responsibility to take care of India and its people. Having a leadership role in
India had be so deeply ingrained within her since childhood, therefore Indira felt that India could
not survive without her.
Indira’s government after the split was vulnerable, and she was advised by Haksar to call
a mid-term election in 1971 in order to get popular endorsement of her policies. Even through
the Congress split, Indira’s popularity with the people never wavered. Shortly after the
announcement of the parliamentary elections, a Newsweek reporter asked Indira what the main
issues in the election were, to which she replied “I am the issue.”122 While her opponents
campaigned on the slogan “Indira Hatao,” (Remove Indira), Indira retooled their slogan to
“Garibi Hatao,” (Remove Poverty).123 This slogan had a considerable impact; Indira was now
looked upon by many as India’s savior. Indira’s election campaign was more energetic than it
had ever been before. Indira often stood in an open car for hours addressing the crowds invoking
radical rhetoric to rouse the masses, but at the same time, reassured the higher classes that she
would be mindful of their interests as well. As a result, Indira and her supporters triumphed in
the parliamentary elections. While Indira had prevailed over internal struggles, an external crisis
had been brewing for quite some time.
Indira’s Finest Hour and Subsequent Fall from Grace
Since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Pakistan had been a geographical
nightmare. More than a thousand miles of Indian territory separated the eastern, and more
121
122
123
Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi,325
59
populated region, from the west, where political power resided. The dominating Punjabi elite of
West Pakistan also did not hide its disdain for the distant Bengalis of East Pakistan. It was clear
that the only uniting factor of Pakistan was the Muslim religion. Tensions between the two
regions therefore grew and a movement for greater autonomy for East Pakistan began. Leader
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, often called Mujib, made demands to West Pakistan that all but called
for independence except for a loose political confederation.
After having been under military rule for thirteen years, a general election was held in
Pakistan in December 1970. Mujib and his party, the Awami League, swept the polls, making his
supremacy in the east absolute. Mujib had won enough seats to entitle him to assume office as
President of Pakistan. But this was immediately resisted by military leader General Yahya Khan
and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, leader of Pakistan’s People’s Party and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister. In
response, the Awami League launched a massive civil disobedience movement in East Pakistan.
Yahya then ordered a brutal crackdown on East Pakistan, in which university teachers, writers,
poets and other intellectuals were slaughtered in cold blood. Mujib was arrested and imprisoned
in West Pakistan; soon thereafter the entire East Bengali population was in revolt.
Among the Indian people, there was a wave of sympathy for the Bangladesh people who
were being massacred by the Pakistani Army. As Pakistani atrocities continued, more and more
Indians began making pleas to intervene. Indira, though, was cautious to get involved because
she did not want to violate international law, or discredit the Bangladesh struggle as a
“conspiracy by Hindu India.”124 Indira did not let the situation overwhelm her, even when she
knew war with Pakistan was fast approaching. Instead, Indira first focused on helping the
124
Cited in Malhotra, Indira Gandhi, 133
60
terrified refugees pouring in from East Pakistan. Indira also appealed to the world community to
“stop Pakistan’s brutal repression.”125
Indira tried to make West Pakistan’s treatment of the Bengalis a human rights issue,
hoping that international pressure would create a peaceful settlement. Indira went so far as to
embark on a twenty-one day tour of Europe and America in an attempt to galvanize world
opinion.126 On July 7, 1971, Henry Kissinger, President Nixon’s national security advisor,
arrived in Delhi as part of a tour in Asia. Kissinger made it clear that if India went to war over
Bangladesh, the United States would not help India. At this time, the efforts to get support from
the Western world failed, Indira still hoped to prevent open hostilities between India and
Pakistan.
Indira’s reluctance to confront West Pakistan ended on December 3, 1971 when General
Yahya Khan bombed several Indian air bases, essentially starting the war. By the sixth of
December, Indira announced the recognition of an independent Bangladesh and that the Mukti
Bahini, the Bangladeshi guerilla forces, would be fighting alongside Indian forces. The
combined forces of Indo-Bangladesh armies quickly defeated the Pakistani Army. By December
16, 1971, the Pakistani Army surrendered with over 93,000 officers and men laying down their
arms. That afternoon, Indira excitedly addressed the anxious Members of Parliament, telling
them, “Dacca is now the free capital of a free country.”127 Indira was now at the peak of her
power and glory.
The liberation of the Bangladesh people won Indira an immense amount of admiration.
According to Malhotra, many Indians hailed her as Durga, the eight-armed, tiger riding,
invincible goddess in the Hindu pantheon, while others worshipped her as an incarnation of
125
Ibid., 134
126
127
61
Shakti or female energy.128 Indira’s heroism did not last long, and Indira soon experienced a
dismal decline in the eyes of the people. One of the biggest issues Indira had to contend with was
the failure of the rains, which was made worse because the once full granaries were now emptied
to feed the millions of Bangladeshi refugees that had poured into India. The war had also
strained the government’s finances causing economic discontent. The economic crisis was also
exacerbated by the widespread corruption in Indira’s government. Since the Congress split, many
expected Indira’s party to be honest, yet the corruption actually became even more apparent.
Indira was also increasingly establishing supremacy and getting rid of anyone who could rival
her power.
After having reached the pinnacle of her fame and popularity, several factors contributed
to her subsequent downfall. Sanjay Gandhi, now in his twenties, took advantage of his mother’s
position and had secured 7.5 million rupees in a car business venture.129 After years of trying, the
car failed to materialize by 1973. Many were troubled by Sanjay’s attempts to create a business,
and Indira was criticized for it. Indira’s reputation was also damaged when she had her choice of
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed just as the Supreme Court was looking into Indira
and Parliament’s growing power. During this time, former freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan,
or JP, had gotten fed up with Indira’s government and decided to reenter politics. With the
exception of the Communist Party, opposition forces rallied to JP to end Indira’s government. In
a letter to Dororthy Norman, Indira addressed JP’s crusade telling her, his “theme is that I am the
world’s greatest dictator.”130 JP’s reach ranged from the far right to far left organizations, all
with the objective to overthrow Indira’s government.
128
Ibid., 141
129
Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi,352
130
62
By 1974, Indira could no longer ignore JP and agreed to meet. Although the meeting was
supposed to be reconciliation between the two, the meeting became a heated confrontation.
Indira accused Narayan of being backed by the United States through the CIA. He retorted that
she was attempting to establish a Soviet-backed dictatorship. On March 6, 1975 Narayan led a
five-mile long march through Delhi to Parliament and openly called for Indira’s resignation.
Shortly after, Desai embarked on a ‘fast unto death,’ in protest of Indira delaying state assembly
elections in Gujarat. Indira had no choice but to schedule elections for early June. Indira, though,
had an even bigger problem. Indira had been charged with electoral malpractice in the 1971
general elections and that March she faced the Allahabad High Court.
June 12, 1975 proved to be a fateful day for Indira. That afternoon, Indira learned that her
Congress had been defeated in the Gujarat state assembly elections by the Janata Front, a five
party coalition, including JP Narayan and Morarji Desai. She also received the news that the
Allahabad High Court had found her guilty of electoral malpractices. This verdict invalidated
Indira’s election as a Member of Parliament, which barred her from holding office for six years.
The High Court ruled that the Prime Minister should be unseated and the Congress Party should
make “alternative arrangements.”131 For Indira and others still, her leadership was essential to
government and her party’s slogan “Indira was India and India Indira” attested to that.132
According to Frank, Indira had “personalized politics to such a degree that it was virtually
impossible to imagine another member of Congress…leading the country.”133
While the High Court’s ruling was a devastating blow to Indira, she ultimately decided to
appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling. The Supreme Court also allowed Indira to continue serving
as Prime Minister but could not vote in Parliament, making her somewhat powerless. JP and
131
132
Cited in Ibid., 372
133
63
Desai nevertheless continued to try to get Indira thrown out of government. Unbeknownst to
them, their actions of threatening her government and preparing to stage a coup are exactly what
prompted Indira to suspend Parliament and impose a state of emergency. Indira saw that India
was engulfed in chaos. On June 25, 1975, Indira speaking with the Chief Minister of West
Bengal, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, said that “drastic action is needed” and worried that
“democracy will come to a grinding halt.”134 After extensive research, Ray told Indira that under
Article 352 of the Indian constitution the government could impose a state of emergency in the
face of “external aggression or by armed rebellion,” in which “armed rebellion” was interpreted
as an internal disturbance.
Armed with this information, Indira made up her mind to enact this emergency. Indira
told Ray that she did not want to discuss the Emergency with her Cabinet, but go directly to the
President. Indira, aware of the possible backlash she would receive, emphasized the urgency and
necessity of the Emergency when they approached the President with the order, justifying why
the Cabinet could not be notified in time. After some consideration, the President approved the
Emergency. On the evening of June 25, the ‘Emergency Order Proclamation’ was written and
sent to the President to sign. In the early hours of June 26, 1975 eight Cabinet members and five
ministers of state entered Indira’s office, each were given a copy of the Emergency Proclamation
Order along with a list of prominent opposition leaders who had been arrested. The cabinet
members, while shocked, ratified the Emergency within half an hour. Indira had now created her
own “self-described” democracy.135
134
Cited in Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi,374
135
Sara Schupack, Leading Women: Indira Gandhi, Benchmark, 58
64
Chapter 4
INDIRA’S FINAL EPISODE: THE EMERGENCY, REMOVAL, REVIVAL, AND
HER DEATH
Indira had been raised in an environment that had made her simultaneously powerful and
powerless. Indira’s family had been so vital to Indian development, and because of this she was
often neglected by her parents and others in her family, making her extremely insecure. With the
death of her father, and the sudden death of Shastri, Indira was given power she had never
experienced before. Perhaps out of a sense of duty or some kind of need for psychological
fulfillment play, Indira reluctantly accepted to her place upon the Indian ‘throne.’ And with the
declaration of the Emergency in 1975, it was clear that she did not want to let go of the power
she had been given.
In the years leading up to the Emergency, India had been in a state of chaos. India had
suffered through another agricultural crisis in 1972 which lead to an economic crisis. Widespread
discontent and agitation led to protests by community leaders, students, and peasants. Strikes
also threatened to paralyze India's vast railway network. The political climate also contributed to
Indira’s Emergency. The government was weakened by corruption that was rampant in Indira’s
government and by the opposition, mainly represented by JP, who continuously made efforts to
undermine the government. JP even encouraged the police and the army to disregard orders from
the government. Perhaps most importantly, Indira feared imprisonment after being convicted of
65
electoral fraud by the Allahabad High Court. All of these factors led Indira to believe that drastic
measures needed to be taken, and therefore the Emergency was declared.
On the morning of June 26, 1975, Indira addressed her countrymen on All India Radio,
telling the people that, “The President has proclaimed an Emergency. This is nothing to panic
about.”136 She went on to explain that a “deep and widespread conspiracy” had been brewing for
some time that, if not blocked, would have “resulted in a grave threat to public order and damage
to the economy beyond repair.”137 She also explained that arrests had been made, which included
Narayan and Desai, as a precautionary measure. She also defended censoring the press because it
had been guilty of “irresponsible writing” and therefore they needed to “restore a climate of
trust.”138 Indira contradictorily argued that in order to preserve democracy, she needed to
suspend democratic institutions and procedures. According to author Nayantara Sahgal, Indira
“fell between [two systems of ruling], debasing democratic values and destroying the system
while avowing her dedication to it…With tens of thousands of citizens jailed without charges or
trial and her critics silenced, she could repeat calmly and with conviction, ‘I am a democrat.’”139
Soon after the Emergency Proclamation was issued, most opposition leaders, and anyone
else Indira considered a threat, were either in jail or under house arrest; and dissidents within her
own Congress Party were helpless in voicing their concerns. Despite the uneasiness of those in
the Indian government, the early months of the Emergency suggested that it was a success. There
were no more strikes, no protest marches, prices fell, and beggars had even disappeared from the
streets. It seemed peace had been restored to India. Less than a month after the Emergency was
announced, Parliament was convened. The Emergency was endorsed by both houses, 336 to 39
136
Katherine Frank, The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 381
137
W.H. Morris-Jones, “Whose Emergency —India’s or Indira’s?” The World Today, Vol. 31, No. 11 (Nov., 1975),
p. 453
138
139
Nayantara Sahgal, “Nehru's Quiet Daughter,” The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 5, Special Issue (1982), p. 160
66
votes in the Lok Sabha and 136 to 33 votes in the Rajya Sabha. Any form of dissent was
restricted by a resolution suspending anything except for “urgent and important government
business” to be discussed.140
During this Parliament session, Indira and her government enacted several controversial
changes that suggested that the Emergency was not in defense of democracy but rather a naked
grab for political power. Indira used this Parliament session to pass amendments like the thirty-
ninth amendment, which invalidated the High Court’s verdict against Indira. Other amendments
prevented judicial review of election results and granted the Prime Minister immunity from civil
and criminal charges committed before or during his or her term in office. In what is considered
the most controversial amendment to the constitution, the forty-second amendment gave
parliament the power to amend the basic structure of the constitution. Parliament now had the
power to restructure any feature of government. Other provisions allowed the prohibition of
anything deemed ‘anti-national’ activities, and granted the ability to send in armed forces
without consulting state government.
Censorship was at an all time high during the Emergency. The government banned
anything they found to be ‘of objectionable manner’ and gave guidelines to ensure that only
‘positive’ information be emphasized. While some major newspaper owners succumbed to the
new guidelines, others ceased publication rather than submit to censorship. With most of the
press now serving as a propaganda machine, any internal issue was eclipsed by the so called
“progressive gains.”141 Indira tried to gain the support of the Indian intelligentsia, especially
since her father was greatly esteemed among them. Indira had also gained the respect of many
intellectuals, scientists, artists, authors, and poets for her left-leaning policies, as they considered
140
141
Ibid., 386
67
her opponents too conservative. Their admiration for Indira came to an abrupt end, however,
with the announcement of the Emergency. Indira’s camp tried to get signed statements by
professors, film directors, and other eminent intellectuals, but to no avail.
The Emergency and Sanjay Gandhi’s Growing Power
The Emergency was also declared in order to enact several economic reforms. Indira
created a twenty-point program that was meant to be an “assault on poverty.”142 The program
ultimately proved to be superficial because state governments lacked the administrative
organization to implement reform. The reforms that were successful included an enhanced
enforcement of laws regarding tax evasion and smuggling, which helped to stabilize prices and
end shortages of essential commodities. The program that got the most attention was Sanjay’s
five-point plan. Sanjay’s program focused on adult literacy, the abolition of bride dowry, the
ending of the caste system, beautifying the environment, and a radical family planning program.
Since the declaration of the Emergency, Sanjay had become increasingly involved in politics,
and used his mother’s position to his advantage.
Sanjay’s actions came to an unexpected climax, however, on August 6, 1975 when he
gave a revealing tape-recorded interview for the Indian magazine Surge. Sanjay revealed that he
was hostile to many of his mother’s policies, and disliked many of her allies. Sanjay went on to
discuss his contempt for nationalization, instead preferring to support the interests of big
business and multinational corporations. Causing the biggest stir was Sanjay openly remarking
that the Communist Party of India (CPI) consisted of the most “corrupt people anywhere,”
knowing that it was the CPI that had given Indira the most support during the early months of the
142
Ibid., 390
68
Emergency.143 Interviewer Uma Vasudev immediately gave out the interview to Reuters and
several other news agencies. The following day, the story had become front page news across
Indian newspapers, as well as ninety American newspapers and the British press.144 Upon
hearing the news, Indira contacted her Principal Secretary, P.N. Dhar. Dhar and Indira decided
the best course of action was to have the interview withdrawn from Surge and other papers and
Sanjay would publish a clarification of his statements regarding his opinions of the CPI. Sanjay’s
brazen remarks showed how little control Indira had over him.
The backlash Indira received from Sanjay’s interview was immediate as Indira was
barraged by the CPI who demanded an explanation. By August 28, the interview had been
withdrawn from all Indian media, and was stopped from being published by the original
interviewer at Surge magazine. The following day, Indian papers published Sanjay’s ‘clarified’
responses about the CPI in which he detracted what he called “a sweeping statement” about the
entire party’s wealth and corruption. He also acknowledged that there are “far more wealthy
people and…more corruption” in other parties, and while he did not agree with the Communists,
“the CPI [had] supported and worked wholeheartedly for progressive politics.”145 Sanjay’s
statement was merely a formality; it was clear that he did not agree with his mother’s political
views, but favored a more pro-capitalist, and pragmatic political philosophy.
Sanjay continued to build up a power base, having several members of Congress pushed
out, controlling others, and was even rumored to be part of a murder plot. In late 1975, B.K.
Nehru visited Delhi as Indian High Commissioner and was shocked to find how much power
Sanjay had acquired. Nehru wanted to talk to Indira about it, but was warned by P.N. Haksar that
Indira was “absolutely blind as far as the boy was concerned; she regarded him as perfect, he
143
144
Ibid., 393
145
69
could do no wrong.”146 Haksar cautioned Nehru that any mention of suspicion toward Sanjay
would result in his banishment. Indira’s allowance of Sanjay’s antics is attributed to the fact that
Indira led a lonely life. She did not have many close friends, and the Emergency had even
contributed to a loss in friends, like long time friend Dorothy Norman. Indira was not as close to
her elder son Rajiv, and she did not consider those in her inner circle as personal friends.
Therefore Indira was left with Sanjay, who took advantage of his elevated position with his
mother. It became overwhelmingly clear that Sanjay was being prepped to be his mother’s heir.
Indira’s opposition now declared that the Emergency was not to revamp democracy but to create
a dynasty.
In February 1976, the general elections were postponed and the Emergency was
extended. Many were wary of continuing the Emergency, Dhar even tried to convince Indira
that prolonging the Emergency may do more harm than good. Indira’s opinion remained fixed,
however, especially since Sanjay wanted the Emergency to continue indefinitely. Fearful of
being jailed, dissent was minimal when the general election was delayed. According to Amnesty
International, more than 110,000 people had been arrested and jailed without trial during the first
year of the Emergency.147 Some were jailed in relatively pleasant surroundings, while others had
to contend with horrible conditions. Prisons were overcrowded and political prisoners were
housed with hardened criminals. It is reported that twenty-two Emergency prisoners died in jail.
Victims of the Emergency not only extended to political opponents but to the poor as well,
whom Indira had purported the Emergency was intended to help. It was the homeless, beggars,
menial laborers, and peasant farmers who suffered the most from the Emergency, specifically
due to Sanjay’s five-point plan of slum clearance and sterilization program.
146
Cited in Ibid., 397
147
70
Sanjay and the vice-chairman of the Development Authority, Jagmohan, were
instrumental in implementing the program of slum clearance and beautification. Sanjay and
Jagmohan examined Old Delhi, which was riddled with tenements and shacks. At Sanjay’s order,
tens of thousands of people were told that they were going to be relocated to vacant land twenty
miles away, in the outskirts of the city. On April 13, 1976, demolition teams entered the city,
bulldozing homes and businesses. After six days of demolition, an uprising broke out. Soon
women and men formed a mob that quickly escalated when police began to use tear gas to
disperse the crowd. When people continued to riot, police reportedly opened fire. Conflicting
reports cite that between six and 150 people were killed, with hundreds injured.148
The sterilization program created by Sanjay was an attempt to halt India’s overgrowing
population. With the advancement of medical care, nutrition, and improved hygiene, death rates
in India had plummeted. The Indian population rate increased by twelve million people a year.
Other contraceptives had been ineffective in stemming the population thus far; therefore,
sterilization seemed to be the safest and cheapest method of controlling population. In Indian
culture, however, fertility was essential to one’s sense of self-worth, and children were
considered a source of income and as caretakers for parents when they reached old age.
According to Malhotra, “to most unlettered Indian males there is no difference between
sterilization and castration.”149 Knowing that sterilization would be resisted, no political party
would adopt the policy; but Sanjay realized with the declaration of the Emergency, family
planning could be the central issue that represented a ‘New India.’
In April 1976, the government introduced the National Population Policy. It began as a
program giving and withholding incentives, depending on those who followed or did not follow
148
Ibid., 403
149
Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi, 181
71
the programs’ stipulations. Families were to limit their family size to three children; incentives to
do so included subsidized housing and free medical care. Those who did not undergo
sterilizations after the birth of their third child would not receive such benefits. When these
provisions did not produce dramatic results, Sanjay turned to harsher methods to try to amend the
situation. Sanjay sent out an army of family planning ‘motivators’, who were assigned to give
rewards to those who submitted to sterilization. Sanjay also created a quota system for
government employees, requiring them to produce a certain number of people to be sterilized in
order to be paid. The quota system was soon expanded to include the police, doctors, nurses, and
teachers. For those without government jobs, sterilization was ‘encouraged’ by making
sterilization certificates a sort of passport necessary to navigate daily life for people in all walks
of life. While some Indians were ‘motivated’ or bribed, others still were being forcibly sterilized.
The Emergency had allowed for the arrest of thousands of homeless for ‘vagrancy’, where they
were taken to sterilization camps and underwent compulsory vasectomies.
For her part, Indira ignored what she believed to be false allegations about forced
sterilizations. Indira had even stated that, “we do not believe in coercion: we think that there
should be persuasion… this must be done on a massive educational scale.”150 She had people
look into the reports, and was falsely reassured that they were unsubstantiated rumors. It was not
until a forcibly sterilized schoolteacher arrived at P.N. Dhar’s office that Indira finally reacted.
Indira revealed that she had been suspicious of the family planning program, but lacked evidence
after Sanjay’s people insisted that the reports were false. Indira sent a message to all state chief
ministers that “anyone engaged in harassment while propagating family planning will be
150
Indira Gandhi and Rami Chhabra, “Population Policy in India: Two Comments,” Population and Development
Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), p. 169
72
punished.”151 Indira’s message had come too late for many. In the first five months of the
Emergency, 3.7 million Indians had been sterilized, and by the end, nearly 23 million people
were sterilized. The family planning program was not only harmful to its victims, but it also
undermined Indira’s credibility with those who she had claimed to be committed to helping, like
the poor, Muslims, Harijans, and other oppressed peoples.
The Emergency Ends and Indira Rises Again
In November 1976, Sanjay convinced Indira to postpone the general elections once again.
This postponement, to Sanjay’s chagrin, only lasted until January 1977 when Indira announced
general elections would be held in two months. Indira announced that “every election is an act of
faith. It is an opportunity to cleanse public life of confusion. So let us go to the polls with the
resolve to reaffirm the power of the people.”152 According to author Sudipta Kaviraj, “her
ascendancy was so great that the opposition could not even defeat her until she invited them to
do it” with the elections.153 Indira then ordered the release of the most well-known political
prisoners and suspended censorship guidelines. Her Cabinet, Chief Ministers, and even the
President were surprised by her decision. Some believed that Indira was assured by intelligence
reports that she would win if she called elections now. Others believed that Indira was growing
weary of the image the Emergency was giving her. Even with Indira’s irrational belief that India
could not survive without her leadership, she still believed in democracy.
Shortly after announcing the general elections, Indira zealously campaigned in twenty-
two states, speaking at hundreds of public meetings. Those who came to these meetings were
151
152
Cited in Ibid., 410
153
Sudipta Kaviraj , “Indira Gandhi and Indian Politics,” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 21, No. 38/39 (Sep.
20-27, 1986), p. 1697
73
smaller in number, and at times hostile, in comparison to crowds before the Emergency. Soon
after the call for elections, several of those in Indira’s Congress defected. Jagjivan Ram, the
powerful Harijan Minister of Irrigation and Agriculture founded a new party, the Congress for
Democracy, and joined the Janata Party. No defection came as more of a surprise to Indira that
her aunt, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, coming out of political retirement and dramatically bestowing
her support on the Janata Party. In a public statement, Pandit said that Indira and her Emergency
had “smothered and destroyed” democratic institutions, and the “erosion of our cherished values
must be stopped and we must go back to the ideals to which we are pledged.”154
On March 16, 1977, India’s sixth general election was held. After the results had been
tallied, Indira and her Congress were decimated by the Janata Party, the Communist Party of
India, and other regional parties. The Indian people were ecstatic over the results of the election,
people lined the streets celebrating that Indira Gandhi’s reign had finally ended. In the early
morning hours after the election results had been revealed, Indira instructed the President to
officially end the Emergency. Indira then resigned. For the first time, Indira was left without a
job, an income, and a home. Indira was now presented with several options for her future. Her
resignation could now allow her to live in London just as she had wanted to before becoming
Prime Minister. She could have also escaped to Kashmir, one of her favorite places in the world.
In the aftermath of her fall from grace, Indira opted to stay in India, specifically New Delhi, to be
in the hub of things. A family friend vacated his bungalow for Indira and the rest of the family to
stay.
One week after the general elections, Morarji Desai was sworn in as the fourth, and first
non-Congress member, Prime Minister of India. At age eighty-one Desai had finally reached his
goal of becoming Prime Minister. Desai quickly moved into Indira’s old bungalow, even though
154
74
it was not the official home of the Prime Minister. He also limited security forces allotted to
Indira as a former Prime Minister, blaming her desire for protection on “her vanity.”155 Indira
was now devoid of any income and resources. Several industrialists, however, supported Indira
with the hopes that they would be rewarded if she ever regained power.
The Janata Party had run on the promise that they would repair the damage done by
Indira and the Emergency. The new government began by repealing a number of amendments
and ordinances that had previously been enforced. While the Janata Party did attempt to make
more significant changes, factionalism prevented the new government from functioning the way
it had hoped. The only issue they could agree upon was their desire to bring Indira and Sanjay to
justice. As Frank describes it, “instead of tackling what to do about India, Janata focused on what
to do about Indira.”156 The Janata’s attempt to hold Indira accountable more often became
viewed as a campaign of “hatred and harassment” by the people.157
In May 1977, Home Minister Charan Singh went so far as to make a statement in
Parliament alleging that Indira had planned to kill opposition leaders while they were jailed
during the Emergency. Indira, who had remained quiet for months after her resignation,
responded that this statement was “shocking and preposterous” especially since he and another
Minister had been released at the “first intimation of ill-health.”158 Indira then went on to say that
instead of pursuing its “smear campaign and character assassination,” the Janata Party should
have been paying attention to more pressing problems of the people, like “increasing
155
156
157
158
Ibid.
75
lawlessness” and “spiraling prices.”159 Singh’s statements and Indira’s response now opened a
window of opportunity for Indira to return to the public’s good graces.
Indira’s next move was to travel to a remote village in Bihar where Harijans had been
relentlessly attacked. Even though the trek was difficult, Indira at one point even rode on an
elephant, she saw to it that the Harijans be helped. Upon arrival, she saw she was warmly
welcomed, reassured that perhaps she could regain the support and affection of the people. In
response to Indira’s activism, the Janata Party called for Indira’s arrest. On October 3, 1977, the
police arrived at the home she had been staying in to arrest her. When she was brought to the
police van, she was surrounded by the shouting slogans of her supporters. The following day she
was released by the magistrate, since there had been no charges filed against her. Her arrest by
the Janata Party resulted in a loss of their credibility, but Indira was now poised for a return to
power.
On November 7, 1978 Indira formally reentered politics by becoming a Member of
Parliament. By this time the Janata Party had been destroying itself with severe factionalism
among its top leaders. When elections were called in January 1980, the Janata Party was in
disarray, and now those who had cheered over Indira’s defeat now clamored for her leadership.
On January 6, 1980, Indira was chosen as India’s leader once again. When a journalist asked
Indira how it felt to be back as India’s leader again, she replied “I have always been India’s
leader.”160 Indira’s return to power had been almost seamless, the people seemed to have
completely forgotten about the Emergency and any issues they had with her.
Soon after her election, however, many were once again wary of her plans for Sanjay’s
future. It was clear that he was prepared to become her successor. Her plans were abruptly halted
159
Ibid.
160
76
though by Sanjay’s sudden death. On the morning of June 23, 1980, Sanjay had tried to perform
aerobatic stunts in his airplane, when it suddenly plunged back toward the ground, where he and
his copilot died on impact. Sanjay’s death was a devastating blow for Indira. Her grief, however,
never overwhelmed her. As Malhotra describes her, crushing “grief could not be allowed to
come in the way of public duty.”161 Sanjay’s death also elevated Rajiv’s position. He was being
pressured to enter politics by those in Indira’s camp, and although he had no interest in politics,
his sense of duty outweighed his reluctance. On May 5, 1981, Rajiv announced that he would
stand in a June election for Amethi, Sanjay’s constituency. While critics pointed out that he had
no political base and no knowledge of politics, the Indian masses welcomed Rajiv’s involvement
in government. One of Indira’s biographers later wrote, “‘Indian history…is an unbroken saga of
rule by hereditary monarchs. Family connection is also of the utmost importance in every
Indian’s life…tradition enjoins that a man…follow the vocation of his forefathers’… Indira was
merely following a well established pattern.”162
Indira Enters Her Final Battle
In the early 1980s, Indira had to contend with several conflicts throughout India. In
Assam in the northeast, Muslim Bengali immigrants who had settled in Assam during the 1971
were now nearly outnumbering the Assamese in their own state. The Hindu Assamese began to
ask the government to deport Bengalis back to Bangladesh. The situation began to grow volatile,
and paramilitary forces were sent in. In the Punjab, tension had been building since the Congress
lost all of the seats in the Lok Sahba to the Sikh Akali Dal party. Even before that, many were
critical of how the Punjab was divided during Partition. In 1977, the Akali Dal party demanded
161
162
77
sole possession of the state capital of Chandigarh. When the party defeated the Congress in the
elections, Sanjay sent in loyalists to find a new sant, or Sikh holy man to divide the Sikhs and
break up the party. They found a demagogue named Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a
fundamentalist who wanted to ‘purify’ Sikhism and return it to its orthodox state. Although he
was meant to be a puppet figure, he began to show signs of ambition and autonomy. By 1980 he
declared his independence and refused to be a tool of the Congress.
Bhindranwale, now independent, became much more radical, even calling for a sovereign
Sikh state. Lala Jagat Narain, the owner of a Punjabi chain of newspapers who denounced
Bhindranwale, was found shot dead on September 9, 1981. His assassination was undeniably at
the hands of Bhindranwale, and he was arrested on September 20. Protests against his arrest
elevated the charismatic leader, and he emerged from jail as a “national hero.”163 After his
release, violence escalated, especially against the Hindu population. By the time Indira had come
to fully realize the situation, it was too late. Bhindranwale and his army of followers moved into
the complex of buildings that comprise the holiest Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar,
as their base of operations. Over the course of the next two years, sewers outside the Golden
Temple began to fill with bodies, the victims of Bhindranwale’s gang. On April 23, 1983, A.S.
Atwal, the Sikh Police Chief of Amritsar, was shot dead after leaving the temple. He was one of
several prominent Sikhs killed because they did not support the separatist movement.
After Atwal’s assassination, many in the government pleaded with Indira to do something
about the unrest in the Punjab. Indira’s concerns for the conflict in the Punjab were outweighed
by her need to advance Rajiv’s political career. She wanted to solve the issue in Punjab, but to
have Rajiv receive credit. Instead of heeding sound advice to negotiate, Indira allowed
Bhindranwale to continue his reign of terror. On October 5, 1983 Bhindranwale’s men stopped
163
78
the Amritsar-Delhi bus and forced six Hindu passengers to get off. They were lined up and
shot.164 Two weeks later, the Calcutta-Kashmir train was derailed, and nineteen people were
killed and 129 injured. By spring 1984, plans were being made for a military invasion of the
Golden Temple in Amritsar. This plan was drawn up by Rajiv and his team, but Indira hoped it
would never have to be implemented.
By April 1984, Bhindranwale and his army had killed eighty people and injured 107,
mostly prominent Hindus and pro-Congress Sikhs. Negotiations had been attempted several
times, but amounted to nothing. The Punjab was essentially the “breadbasket” of India, since it
was the main source of grain supplies. If the problem in Amritsar was not resolved, and grain
supplies were halted, the rest of India would suffer greatly. On May 30, 1984, Indian troops
began to surround Amritsar. On the morning of June 2, Indira made a speech telling the people,
via radio and television, that the situation in the Punjab was “uppermost in all our minds. The
whole country is concerned.”165 Unbeknownst to the people, “Operation Blue Star” was about to
be underway. On the morning of June 3, all foreign journalists were expelled from Punjab, rail,
bus and air movement were halted, telephone lines were cut, and the border with Pakistan was
sealed. An invasion seemed imminent to everyone, Bhindranwale even told journalists, “If the
authorities enter this temple, we will teach them such a lesson that the throne of Indira will
crumble. We will slice them into small pieces… Let them come.”166
In the evening of June 5, 1984, Indian army officers called for all civilians to leave the
Golden Temple, and for the armed extremists to surrender. That night, after civilians had come
out, Indian troops forcibly entered the temple. After the skirmish, more than half of the ninety
Indian troops were killed or injured before they reached the Akali leaders, but Bhindranwale was
164
Ibid., 473
165
Ibid., 480
166
79
not among them. The following morning, soldiers continued to search for Bhindranwale. The
troops were specifically instructed to use minimum force, to inflict as little damage as possible,
and not to violate the holiest shrine, the Harmandir Sahib, the sanctum sanctorum where the Sikh
holy book had been read for the past 200 years. Bhindranwale and his men barricaded
themselves in another part of the temple, Akal Takht, also a holy shrine. At the outset, Indian
soldiers were decimated by the well defended positions of Bhindranwale’s men. Tanks and
artillery were then used in an attempt to gain entry, greatly damaging the shrine. Bhindranwale
and his men had died, but the desecration of the temple deeply grieved Sikhs.
The cost of Bhindranwale’s death was high. Operation Blue Star was a disaster. Of the
1,000 troops sent into the Golden Temple, it is estimated that between 300 and 700 were killed,
as well as half of the Special Forces commandos.167 The death toll of civilians was also
numbered into the thousands. On June 9, at Indira’s request, Indian President Zail Singh visited
the temple. As he and his security team walked through, a burst of gunfire rang out. The bullet
hit Singh;s security guard in the shoulder, barely missing the President. The fallout from the
events at the Golden Temple intensified anger, and the assassination attempt of Singh was only a
foreshadowing of what was to come.
Following Operation Blue Star, Indira was fearful of assassination. She even discussed
funeral arrangements with Rajiv and Sonia. Others in the Indian government were also
concerned for her safety. The Defense Minister wanted Indira to change her security from police
to military, but she refused saying she was the leader of a democracy, not a military
government.168 The head of the Intelligence Bureau also called for the removal of all Sikh
security from her home, but Indira immediately vetoed this. She did not want to appear partial,
167
168
Ibid., 484
80
and insisted she would remain secular. By the autumn of 1984, Indira’s popularity was at an all
time low. Indira, however, remained calm and steadfast. In a document that was not revealed
until after her death, Indira wrote,
If I die a violent death as some fear and a few are plotting, I know violence will be in the
thought and the action of the assassin, not in my dying – for no hate is dark enough to
overshadow the extent of my love for my people and my country; no force is strong
enough to divert me from my purpose and my endeavor to take this country forward.169
Indira, feeling that her death was imminent, still firmly felt that she could help fix India’s
problems. She had never wanted this life, and she felt she was thrust into this position, but taking
on her family’s legacy had been more worthwhile than personal fulfillment.
Even in the wake of the Golden Temple debacle, Indira continued to campaign in
anticipation of the next elections. On October 30, 1984, Indira made a speech in the capital of
Orissa as part of her election tour. Indira’s speech was rousing as usual, but shifted tone when
she announced to the crowd:
I am here today, I may not be here tomorrow…Nobody knows how many attempts have
been made to shoot me…I do not care whether I live or die. I have lived a long life and I
am proud that I spent the whole of my life in the service of my people. I am only proud of
this and of nothing else. I shall continue to serve until my last breath and when I die, I
can say, that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it.170
The Governor of Orissa told Indira he was surprised at her remarks toward a violent death in her
speech, to which Indira replied that unlike her grandfather and mother, she wanted to “die on her
two feet.”171
On the morning of October 31, 1984, Indira was to conduct an interview with Peter
Ustinov, who was making a documentary of Indira for the BBC. At about 9:10 a.m., she began
walking from her home to her Akbar Road office. Waiting to escort her was her bodyguard,
Beant Singh, a Sikh from the Punjab, who had been her bodyguard since her reelection in 1980.
169
170
Cited Ibid., 490
171
Cited in Ibid., 491
81
With him was a young constable, another Sikh, Satwant Singh. As Indira approached them,
Beant pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Indira. Indira asked him, “What are you doing?”
just as Beant fired his gun, the bullet striking Indira in the abdomen. Beant then fired four more
shots, followed by a spray of bullets by Satwant after Beant shouted for him to shoot. Those who
had been walking with her were stunned, and remained frozen for a short time. Indira’s personal
servant, Nathu Ram ran back to the home to get the physician on duty. Meanwhile Beant and
Satwant dropped their weapons, and were shortly apprehended by police from the nearby
guardroom
Soon after being shot, a car was called to bring Indira to the hospital. Just as they were
about to depart, Sonia Gandhi came running out their home calling out “Mummy! Oh my God
Mummy!” and jumped in the car with them. Sonia had become the daughter Indira never had;
they had become extremely close over the years. The car reached the All-India Institute of
Medical Science at 9:23 a.m. No one had warned the hospital of Indira’s arrival, panicking the
young doctors on staff, but one young doctor called in the Institute’s senior cardiologists, and
soon the hospital’s top doctors were working on Indira. Great efforts were made to revive Indira,
but at 2:23 in the afternoon, Indira Gandhi was pronounced dead.
Conclusion: Indira Gandhi, India’s Fated Leader
Indira Gandhi and her family had been at the center of Indian affairs since before her
birth. Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, had been a prominent member of the Indian community.
Motilal also had close ties with Britain, but this relationship eventually turned into one of
contempt because of Great Britain’s reluctance toward completely releasing India from their
sphere of influence. Motilal, along with his son Jawaharlal Nehru, combined their efforts with
82
figures and organizations like Mohandas Gandhi and the Indian National Congress to bring about
change in India. At Gandhi’s insistence, the younger Nehru was declared president of the INC in
1929. Jawaharlal spent the next thirteen years relentlessly pursuing independence from India. All
the while a young Indira, born in November 1917, was at the forefront of an intense fight for
control of the country.
Indira’s father was not the only one invested in India’s future. Indira observed others in
her family fully commit themselves to an independent India, including her mother Kamala.
Indira was born in a time where women were becoming active in politics, which was another
factor that contributed to her rise in government. Indira’s mother, as well as other female family
members, participated in demonstrations and other acts of civil disobedience. Indira commenting
on how many Indian women had risen to positions of power said, “what is remarkable about
India is…once [women] had [risen to power], they have been accepted without question by the
public.”172
While Indira was raised to respect Indian traditional values, Jawaharlal did not enforce
such customs, including the Hindu religion, the caste system, or specific political factions. This
was also a factor to her political future because many in the Indian government considered her
qualities as beneficial when choosing a leader. Indira had closely interacted with Harijans in her
childhood home, and was almost unaware of how they were considered throughout India. Indira
later commented on her commitment to unity among the Indian people when she said, her
government “respects all religions and stands for the equality of all citizens of India, regardless
of their religion or their caste…A person is less than human when he deprives somebody of his
citizens rights only because of his religion…And I feel the same way about racialism or any
172
Indira Gandhi, My Truth, ed., Emmanuel Puchpadass, (New Delhi: Vision Books), 1982, 187
83
discrimination based on race, color or sex for that matter.”173 Indira had been raised in a
politically charged household, and so never developed her political character independently.
Indira, therefore, at times followed the policies laid by her father, and at other times she took a
stand for her own beliefs.
Indira had been groomed for power all her life, but neither she nor her father realized this.
The circumstances of her childhood and young adulthood made her rise to power almost
inevitable. Indira had reluctantly accepted more and more power until she apparently believed in
her own indispensability. In 1975, Indira enacted an Emergency allowing herself almost absolute
power. After some extreme internal problems, including unrest in the Punjab, Indira lost what
had been so precious to her, the faith of her people. Indira had always been supported by the
people, the poor, Hindus, Muslims, and Harijans alike. After events, like the desecration of a
Sikh holy shrine, Indira had lost her massive following. The people’s anger toward Indira
culminated when Indira was killed by her own bodyguard on October 31, 1984. Like his mother
before him, her son Rajiv was immediately given power. Indira was still in the operating room
when Rajiv was being asked to become the next Prime Minister of India, and at 6:30 p.m. that
evening, Rajiv was sworn in. That night, sometime after eleven, Rajiv addressed the nation on
All India Radio, saying:
Indira Gandhi has been assassinated. She was mother not only to me but to the whole
nation. She served the Indian people to the last drop of her blood. This is a moment of
profound grief…We can and must face this tragic ordeal with fortitude, courage, and
wisdom. Indira Gandhi is no more but her soul lives. India lives. India is immortal. The
spirit of India is immortal.174
173
Ibid., 91
174
84
The following day, Indira’s body was moved to Teen Murti where and endless stream of
mourners came to pay their respects to their fallen leader. Thirteen days after Indira’s ashes had
been gathered, Rajiv flew with them to Kashmir and scattered her ashes over the Himalayas.
Though at times a controversial figure, Indira’s impact on India’s history is undeniable.
Indira led her country even through severe challenges helping India transform into a respected
member of the world community. Her love of country and sense of duty drove her every move.
After her death, Indira was remembered by many as a dedicated leader. Margaret Thatcher,
British Prime Minister, remembered her “indomitable courage and resolution in adversity” and
praised her for building on the “foundations of modern India laid by her father.”175 Former
President Ronald Reagan credited Indira with spending “her life in search of a better life for the
people of India” and her accomplishments were “a great legacy to her nation and the world.”176
Perhaps the most appropriate description of Indira came from Francios Mitterand, President of
the Republic of France, when he described Indira as having the rare quality of “[knowing] how
to listen and make herself heard with as much conviction as with tact, without ever relinquishing
her natural modesty.”177 Indira possessed both the strength and humility to be a remarkable
leader. As a child of the nationalist struggle, Indira was forever bound to her country, and was
destined to lead India.
175
G. Parthasarathi and H. Y. Sharada Prasad. Indira Gandhi: Statesmen, Scholars, Scientists, and Friends
Remember. (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House1985), 430
176
Ibid., 371
177
Ibid., 300
85
Bibliography
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26, No. 21 (May 25, 1991), p. 1328-1330.
Dinshaw, Mistry. “Parsis.” Encyclopedia of India. Ed. Stanley Wolpert. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 2006.
Frank, Katherine. Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. New York: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2002.
Gandhi, Indira “India and the World,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Oct., 1972), pp. 65-77
Gandhi, Indira and Rami Chhabra, “Population Policy in India: Two Comments,” Population
and Development Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 168-171.
Gandhi, Indira, “Scientific Endeavor in India” Science, Vol. 217, No. 4564 (Sep. 10, 1982), pp.
1008-1009.
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University Press, 1988.
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No. 38/39 (Sep. 20-27, 1986), pp. 1697-1708.
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University Press, 1989.
Morris-Jones, W.H. “Whose Emergency —India’s or Indira’s?” The World Today, Vol. 31, No.
11 (Nov., 1975), pp. 451-461.
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Friends Remember. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1985.
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Biography By Pupul Jayakar Pantheon Books” The Toronto Star, February 5, 1994,
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86
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Indira Gandhi A Destined Leader

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State University of New York College at Buffalo - Buffalo State College

Digital Commons at Buffalo State

Indira Gandhi: India’s Destined Leader

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/history_theses

at a time when no one else could.

State University of New York

Indira Gandhi: India’s Destined Leader

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

Michael C. Lazich, Ph.D.

York Norman, Ph. D.

Andrew Nicholls, Ph.D.

Kevin Railey, Ph.D.

Chapter 1: BRITISH INDIA AND THE RISE OF INDIAN

Chapter 2: INDIRA’S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND INDIA’S CHANGING

Chapter 3: “I WANT ANOTHER LIFE”: INDIRA’S LAST RESISTANCE TO

Chapter 4: INDIRA’S FINAL EPISODE: THE EMERGENCY, REMOVAL, REVIVAL,

fractured elements of Indian society.

named her Minister of Information and Broadcasting in his government.

victory in national elections.

then took over the government.

son, were withdrawn.

Depictions of Indira Gandhi vary greatly from an authoritarian tyrant to a great

Spain saw her as a contributor to “peace, liberty and progress.”3

or political-constitutional-without as much as batting an eyelid…legitimizing amorality and

inevitable. To begin, therefore, it is vital to identify the historical circumstances surrounding

when she became Prime Minister.

as her biggest political error and must be addressed to understand.

According to G. Parthasarathi, Indira had a wide constituency of “civilized people extending

the twentieth century.

during a given moment in her life.11

the Indian world.

In addition to these book length biographical and autobiographical overviews of Indira’s

BRITISH INDIA AND THE RISE OF INDIAN NATIONALISM

of Indira Gandhi’s birth in 1917.

known as the Sepoy Rebellion.

governed directly by Parliament, with an acting Viceroy or Governor-General in India.

Minister Disraeli added “Empress of India” to Queen Victoria's imperial title.

The Indian National Congress and the Early Nationalist Movement

never form a united front against the British.

nation-wide movement against British rule.

he also gained the support of Muslims by supporting a pan-Islamic khalifat movement to

method of noncooperation and civil disobedience. Gandhi was a strong proponent of

nonviolence. According to Gandhi, “non-violence presupposes ability to strike. It is a conscious,

between Hindus and Muslims.

The Road to Independence and the British Transfer of Power

As a result of Gandhi's noncooperation movement spreading throughout India, the British

representation in the proposed Commonwealth. In seeking to remedy their differences, the

he became the youngest president of the INC.

Muslim dominated provinces.

concerned with a possibly difficult transfer of power to Indians.

meeting in Lahore, Jinnah clearly stated his views, stating:

Muslim League became a powerful force in Indian politics.

Commonwealth of Nations, with Jinnah as the nation’s first Governor-General.

Early Life of Indira Gandhi

Jawaharlal was educated in England for seven years beginning in 1905.

other, and shared similar values and dreams.

the Nehru family.

foreshadowing future events.40

which was not often enough