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Cover Feature
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Remembering Indira
A quarter century after her assassination, the legacy of Mrs Gandhi lives on in the nation's political arena
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 “She put Nixon in his place”
The man who served in the Prime Minister’s secretariat during Indira Gandhi’s early years at India's helm assesses her achievements and enduring legacy
I am committing the ultimate act of immodesty by quoting from one of my books: “So often Indira Gandhi is depicted as solemn and serious. Seldom is it mentioned that this graceful, sparkling, engaging human being was a caring humanist, a voracious reader, with wide-ranging non-political interest, that she was endowed with charm, elegance, good taste, that she enjoyed the company of artists, authors, poets, painters and the talented, that she had a sense of humour…” When she was assassinated on October 31, 1984, the spring went out of my life.
I had the great opportunity to work in her secretariat (not PMO at the time) from 1966 to 1971. I was the first member of the IFS to be personally chosen by her to be a member of her staff. At the time Prime Minister’s secretariat was a small, well-knit unit. Esprit de corps was much in evidence. One interacted with the Prime Minister almost on a daily basis. She was in many ways a liberating force. She approved of candour, humour, loyalty, discretion. She had no time for the pompous, the cautious, the calculating and the pretentious. The pompous were deflated by one severe look that reduced the man/woman to (metaphorically) asking for blood transfusion. The collapse was instant.
How do we assess her achievement after a quarter century? Her great father laid the foundations of a democratic, secular, pluralistic India. His daughter strengthened the foundations and carried his idea of India further. During the seventeen years of Nehru’s term in office only once the green lights turned red – 1962. For her, the angels stopped fluttering in 1975 – Emergency – and 1984 – Operation Bluestar.
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 Indira Gandhi used to say, “my father was a saint. I am not.” To Jawaharlal Nehru realpolitik had a bad odour. Not for her. He really had an easy political ride from 1947 to 1962. Not Indira Gandhi. She had to fight and fight hard before she obtained supremacy. I remember so well the atmosphere at 1 Safardarjung Road when the results of the 1967 Lok Sabha elections started pouring in. There was no comfort, no cheer. The outcome was dismal. She presided over a government, which depended on the tacit support of the Left. With great courage and sagacity she navigated the Indian political craft in rough waters with a steady hand. As far as I know, she very seldom was subject to a common phenomenon called cold feet. When necessary, she would dig in her heels and not budge come what may.
In my five years in the Prime Minister’s secretariat, I travelled around the world with her. What a presence she had! Among all the Kings and Captains of the world she stood out, beautiful, confident, regal and yet immensely human. Even her common touch had something of the aristocratic swing of her father.
I asked her after she had met Margret Thatcher, “Madam, what did you make of the Iron Lady?” Her answer: “What Iron Lady? I saw a nervous women sitting on the edge of the sofa.”
Her father was loved. She was loved and feared. He was a world leader of his epoch, she of hers.
She grew in her job. She infused inspiration. She invited loyalty and she received it in plenty. But there is the other side of the coin. Until she demolished the odious Syndicate, removed Morarji Desai as Finance Minister, she needed strong nerves to meet the political challenge and came out on top.
I have just put her letters to
me in my forthcoming book, Yours Sincerely. She enjoyed receiving and replying to letters. They made her intellectually relaxed. The real epistolary treat that one gets from Sonia Gandhi’s Two Alone, Two Together is quite something. She has edited the book, which contains a huge number of letters father and daughter wrote to each other, with amazing frequency. Open the book on any page and you will not be disappointed.
Her great triumph was the creation of Bangladesh. She displayed patience, grit, intuitive foresight and statesmanship of the highest order. She got Europe and Russia on her side, also the international media and liberal America. Mr. Nixon and the too clever by half Henry Kissinger were isolated.
Foreign policy was her forte. She wrote an article for Foreign Affairs in October 1972. She spelt out hardcore India’s foreign policy. “India’s foreign policy is a projection of the values which we have cherished through the centuries as well as our current concerns. We are not tied to the traditional concepts of a foreign policy designed to safeguard overseas possessions, investments, the carving out of spheres of influence and erection of cordons sanitaires. We are not interested in exporting ideologies.”
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Comments
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jaideep chatterjee From DURGAPORE--
12/3/2009
who was she?
Durga mata No.2?
Crusader aginst corruption?
Admirer of Russian communism?
Atypical Indian lady Bureaucrat?
Next to margaret Thetcher?
Saviour of bangla desh from the clutches of west pakistan(problemistan)?
or?
an INDIAN WITH MOTHERLY ATTITUDES??
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