India's Indira

It were the discussions on TV channels that reminded most people that it has been 25 years since we lost Indira Gandhi-the charismatic leader of Congress party and India’s most widely known prime minister after Nehru. There have been many assessments of her career. The favourable ones mention some of the progressive steps taken under her leadership including nationalization of commercial banks, abolition of privy purses, the decisive victory over arch-rival Pakistan and for providing leadership to the Non-aligned group in international politics. The critical voices justifiably fault her for curbing inner-party democracy, declaring emergency, press censorship, assault on Golden Temple, empty slogans like Garibi Hatao. There is some truth in all these observations.
Indira Gandhi was brought in ironically by the Congress’ old guard who believed they could manipulate her easily. However she proved to be their undoing when she split the party and forced them into oblivion. Her early encounters with such hardened politicians may have made her steely enough not to brook any opposition to her. The way she axed Vasant Sathe, who was gaining popularity as I&B minister in her cabinet was a case in point. Today, the Left parties claim credit for the progressive steps taken by her disregarding the fact that the Congress’ economic policy was anything but Left-of-Centre in that phase. She wooed USSR and annoyed US a lot by giving the same orientation to the foreign policy. The non-aligned group in UN was dismissed by the West as India’s baby despite it being a 118 nations-strong group representing 55% of world’s population. Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Palestine’s Yasser Arafat, Yugoslavia’s Tito & Egypt’s Nasser rubbed shoulders with her at one summit after another. Her frontal attack on the issue of UK-owned Diego Garcia being turned into a US naval base was a constant thorn in West’s flesh. At home, she called the shots in all states and dictated who should be the CM and for how long. Over time, she was surrounded by a coterie restricting access to others. The decisive war against Pakistan brought her a lot of fame. The military gains were largely lost during the Simla summit where Bhutto surprisingly sought the territory captured on the Western Front rather than 80,000 POW in India’s custody. India exploded a nuclear device at Pokhran in 1974 under her leadership that led to sanctions. She was unseated in an electoral malpractice case that led to demand for her govt.’s ouster under the leadership of J.P Narayan. She fought back, declared internal emergency, imposed press censorship, and imprisoned opposition leaders but lost power in an election called 18 months later. This was the darkest phase of her political career. This was the only time I met her in 1978.

Indira Gandhi was determined to prove that she continued to be popular. A South Indian travel group included a visit to her residence in the sight-seeing itinerary for local tourists. I received an invitation to the release of a book on her infamous son, Sanjay Gandhi at her residence and took my wife of less than a year to see her. She adored Indira Gandhi and was sceptical of my claim. We sat under shamiana in the open, some twenty rows away from the dais, which was crowded by the local leaders. The rays from the afternoon sun fell on my wife’s eyes, which she shielded with a brochure. Indira Gandhi strode into the venue briskly, held the book, made some off the cuff remarks, ignored the crowd on the dais and walked back while we stood up. As she passed by our row, she leaned toward my wife and smilingly said, “Aap par to sara waqt dhoop hi padti rahi”. My wife, totally disarmed by her keen observation and unexpected attention, was too dumbfounded to muster even a response.

Indira Gandhi returned to power soon after but the spark was gone. Punjab began to burn with hundreds of Hindus being shot in its fields. Golden Temple became a sanctuary for Sikh terrorists with arms being smuggled in kar seva trucks day in and day out. People who wrote against Bhindrawalan, Lala Jagat Narain of Punjab Kesari for instance, were summarily shot dead by his goons. Senior Akali leaders lay low while a parallel govt. ran from Akal Takht. Finally, Indira Gandhi’s govt. ordered Operation Blue Star to flush out the Sikh terrorists. She paid for it with her life as twp of her own Sikh bodyguards sprayed bullets into her.

Controversies apart, Indira Gandhi was a powerful symbol in her own right. When she assumed power, all men and many women mocked her. ‘Petticoat raj aa gaya hai’ was the popular refrain. But she proved herself superior to most men. Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee, BJP’s senior leader and later prime minister of India, compared her with Goddess Durga when she won the 1971 war against Pakistan. She was elegant, stylish, aristocratic and sensitive- all at the same time.
R.I.P.