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The Woman, The Icon
TSI talks to people who knew Mrs Gandhi well and finds out that 25 years after she was assassinated, she still remains an enigma, a statesman who dared to take issues head on

Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi

When Emergency was declared, I went to meet Indiraji. She was looking very disturbed and unhappy. I did not ask her anything but it was quite evident from the way she looked that she was herself not happy about the decision.

One day she came over to my place for dinner. I offered her jalebi with ice cream. She just loved the combo. Jalebi was her all-time favourite sweet, but she had never eaten it with ice cream before. She also loved the noodles that I served. The next day itself, she sent her cook to my house to pick up the recipe.

(As told to Priyanka Rai)

J.B. Patnaik, Former Chief Minister of Orissa

Orissa and its people are very fortunate since a leader and statesman like Indira Gandhi had spent her last days with us just before her unfortunate assassination. She had been to Orissa for a two-day official visit. As the Chief Minister of the state and leader of the Congress Legislative Party, I was accompanying her during the tour. After meeting people and visiting places, she was so happy that in a public gathering she declared, “My next visit to Orissa will be as a tourist, not as a Prime Minister."

On October 30, 1984, after addressing her last public meeting at Bhubaneshwar, where she had uttered those famous lines, “I am not interested in a long life. I don't mind if my life goes in the service of this nation. If I die today, every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation,” Mrs Gandhi directly rushed to the airport to return to Delhi.

A few minutes before she boarded the aircraft, I asked her, "Madam, I want to meet you in Delhi. I have something important to discuss." She immediately answered, "All right. But after being confirmed I will be there or not." I was a little astonished with her answer. Whenever I asked for an appointment, she would say: “Yes, come.”

The very next morning, I got the shocking news that Mrs Gandhi was admitted to AIIMS after being attacked by her bodyguards. And the rest is history. When I analyse her last speech in Bhubaneshwar and her response to my request, I strongly believe that Mrs Gandhi perhaps had a "premonition" about her death.

(As told to Dhrutikam Mohanty)

          

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