On the question of filling the vacuum created by Sanjay Gandhi’s death, Indira Gandhi’s mind was made up that her elder son, Rajiv, should step into his brother’s shoes and be her principal advisor and putative successor.
In the first few months of 1980, when Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay were joyously ruling the roost, the entire country knew that dynastic succession had already been established. For, when the time came, no one other than her younger and favoured son would succeed her. Indeed, he was already playing a crucial role in running the government as well as the party. However, who could have foreseen that within six months of her tremendous triumph in the elections, Indira would be struck by the searing tragedy of Sanjay’s death in the crash of a single-engine plane with him at the wheels.
It soon came to light that the aircraft that plunged Sanjay to his doom had been brought into the country in dubious circumstances. Supposed to be a “gift” by a “foreign disciple” to Dhirendra Brahmachari, a “holy man” with enormous influence on the prime minister and Sanjay, it was allowed to be imported in defiance of all rules. Moreover, one month before the disaster, the director general of civil aviation, Air Marshal J. Zaheer, had informed his superiors in writing that Sanjay was “violating safety regulations and thus endangering his own life and the lives of others”. Zaheer wanted this matter to be brought to the PM’s attention “quietly”. Somehow, this did not happen, but Sanjay saw the relevant file. What followed was typical. Within hours, the air marshal was sacked and replaced by his deputy, G.R. Kathpalia, “who used to be dutifully in attendance on several of Sanjay’s flights”.
This was clearly damaging, but it could hardly matter to a mother benumbed by the loss of a beloved son who had died at 33, leaving behind an inconsolable mother, a young wife, Maneka, and a son, Feroze Varun, just three months old. Indira’s grief knew no bounds. On June 23, 1980, she broke down completely and cried uninhibitedly in public. But she controlled herself with astonishing speed. Four days later, she was back at her office desk, “straight-backed, dry-eyed, businesslike and utterly composed”, according to eyewitnesses who also knew that she was “badly wounded within”. Determined to see to it that life and work went on, Indira realised that the burden on her had become heavier because she had to carry the cross of Sanjay’s less-than-savoury legacy. This included not only his rude and crude way of functioning during his lifetime, but also the extravagant posthumous personality cult being built around him.
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By: C R SasikumarOn the question of filling the vacuum created by Sanjay’s death, Indira’s mind was made up that her elder son, Rajiv, should step into his brother’s shoes and be her principal advisor and putative successor. There was absolutely no surprise in the country over this. The problem, however, was that Rajiv was totally apolitical and reluctant to join the political fray. He was happy to work as a pilot in the domestic carrier, Indian Airlines, and to live quietly with his Italian-born wife, Sonia, and their two children. The PM’s loyalists therefore started a vigorous campaign to draft Rajiv and, if necessary, dragoon him. This naturally took a relatively long time, especially because, in Rajiv’s words, his wife was “dead set against” his joining politics. Eventually, Rajiv did succumb to the relentless pressure on him. But the delay in his doing so aggravated a problem that would have been serious even if he had obeyed mama’s command instantly.
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For, Sanjay’s young and ambitious wife, Maneka, considered that she was the rightful heir to his mantle and was prepared to fight for what she believed to be her legitimate right. She ran down Rajiv as “innocent of politics” and “indolent”, and therefore unfit for the role sought to be assigned to him. Sanjay’s numerous acolytes backed Maneka’s claim, if only to preserve the positions of power and influence they had acquired under Sanjay’s tutelage. So even while Rajiv cogitated over his mother’s call and Maneka fumed and fretted, Indira stripped Sanjay’s key associates of whatever power and privilege they had acquired. Always free to enter the prime minister’s house, they suddenly found their way blocked most sternly.
A quiet campaign first to stop and then reverse the bizarre personality cult built around Sanjay was also completed by the time Rajiv changed his dress from jacket and necktie to the traditional Congress garb of kurta-pajama. In June 1981, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from his late brother’s constituency of Amethi, now inherited by his son, Rahul Gandhi. Maneka might have challenged him, and thus her mother-in-law, in the by-election, but she was below the statutory minimum age for an MP. However, the breach between her and her mother-in-law was now complete. Even so, Maneka continued to stay at the prime minister’s house. There were two open secrets in Delhi then: one, that Indira wanted the succession to be confined to her bloodline; and two, she intensely disliked Maneka while being fond of Rajiv’s wife, Sonia.
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For her part, Maneka organised the Rashtriya Sanjay Vichar Manch to pursue her objective. She fixed the forum’s first convention at Lucknow for a day when Indira was to be in London for the Festival of India. Before leaving, Indira forbade her daughter-in-law to hold the convention, but Maneka defied her. This led to Maneka leaving 1, Safdarjung Road in highly acrimonious and unsavoury circumstances.
Maneka did contest against Rajiv during the 1984 general elections. By this time, he was prime minister and got a mind-boggling mandate largely because of a mourning nation’s tribute to its slain leader. However, Rajiv’s image as a well-mannered “Mr Clean”, in sharp contrast to Sanjay’s, also helped somewhat.
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The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator