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==Death==
==Death==
Feroze suffered his first heart attack in 1958. Indira took him to recuperate in [[Kashmir]], where with their young boys, they were together again. However, Feroze died in 1960 of a second heart attack at the [Willingdon Hospital]], now [[Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital]]. Delhi. He was later cremated and his ashes interred at Paris cemetery at Allahabad, the town where his eldest brother Fardiun's son, Rustom Gandhi family still lives <ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19980210/04150074.html Dynasty keeps away from Feroze Gandhi's neglected tombstone] Coomi Kapoor, [[The Indian Express]], 10 February 1998.</ref>.
Feroze suffered his first heart attack in 1958. Indira who stayed with her father at [[Teen Murti House]], the official Prime ministers residence, was away with her father on state visit to Bhutan rushed back and took him to recuperate in [[Kashmir]], where with their young boys, they were together again <ref>[http://www.samaylive.com/news/indira-gandhis-courage-was-an-inspiration/666400.html Indira Gandhi's courage was an inspiration] [[Samay Live]], 07 Nov 2009.</ref>. However, Feroze died in 1960 of a second heart attack at the [[Willingdon Hospital]], now [[Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital]]. Delhi. He was later cremated and his ashes interred at Paris cemetery at Allahabad, the town where his eldest brother Fardiun's son, Rustom Gandhi family still lives <ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19980210/04150074.html Dynasty keeps away from Feroze Gandhi's neglected tombstone] Coomi Kapoor, [[The Indian Express]], 10 February 1998.</ref>.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 18:36, 21 November 2009

Feroze Gandhi
Member of the Indian Parliament
for Pratapgarh District (west) cum Rae Bareli District (east)[1]
In office
1952-04-17 – 1957-04-04
Member of the Indian Parliament
for Rae Bareli[2]
In office
1957-05-05 – 1960-09-08
Succeeded byBaij Nath Kureel
Personal details
Born(1912-09-12)12 September 1912
Mumbai
Died8 September 1960(1960-09-08) (aged 47)
Delhi
Resting placeParsi cemetery, Allahabad
NationalityIndian
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseIndira Gandhi
ChildrenSanjay Gandhi,
Rajiv Gandhi
Portrait of Feroze and Indira Gandhi.

Feroze Gandhi (born Feroze Khan) (12 September 1912 – 8 September 1960) was an Indian politician and journalist, and publisher of the The National Herald and 'The Navjivan' newspapers from Lucknow. He become the member of the provincial parliament (1950—52), amd later a member of the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of India's parliament. In 1942 he married Indira Nehru (later Prime Minister of India) and they had two sons Rajiv Gandhi (also later a Prime Minister) and Sanjay Gandhi, and thus became part of the Nehru-Gandhi family [3][4].

Early life

Feroze Gandhi was born in Mumbai to Jehangir Gandhi and Ratimai Gandhi (a Parsi).[5][3][6] He was not related to Mahatma Gandhi family, and though speculations abound that he changed his surname from Khan to Gandy and later to Gandhi for political reasons which were supported by Mahatma Gandhi.[7][8]

Education

He moved to Allahabad early on and attended the City Anglo-Vernacular High School and Ewing Christian College. Later, he was to study at the London School of Economics. He abandoned his studies in 1930 to join the struggle for Indian independence. Feroze grew close to the Nehru family, especially Indira's mother Kamala Nehru and Indira herself.[9] Indira and Feroze grew closer to each other while in England. They married in March 1942 according to Hindu rituals.[6]

The couple were arrested and jailed during the Quit India Movement less than six months after their marriage, he was imprisoned for a year in Allahabad's Naini Central Prison.

They had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.

Career

After independence, Jawaharlal became the first Prime Minister of India. Feroze and Indira settled in Allahabad with their two young children, and Feroze became Managing Director of The National Herald, a newspaper founded by his father-in-law. He was also the first chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

His father-in-law was strongly opposed to his marriage with the young Indira and even approached Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to dissuade the young couple, but to no avail.

However, over the years, father-in-law and son-in-law resolved their differences, especially with Feroze adopting Gandhiji's ideology.

Political career

Feroze Gandhi contested elections to the Parliament of India in 1952 , independent India's first general elections from Rai Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Indira came down from Delhi and worked as his campaign organizer, and he won. Feroze soon became a prominent force in his own right, criticizing the Government of his father-in-law and beginning a tirade against corruption.

In the years after independence, many Indian business houses had become close to the political leaders, and now some of them started various financial irregularities. In a case exposed by Feroze in Dec 1955[10], he revealed how Ram Kishan Dalmia, as chairman of a bank and an insurance company, used these companies to fund his takeover of Bennett and Coleman started transferring money illegally from publicly-held companies for their own benefit.

In 1957, he was re-elected from Rae Bareilli. In the parliament in 1958, he raised the Haridas Mundhra scandal involving the government controlled LIC insurance company. This was a huge embarrassment to the clean image of Nehru's government and eventually led to the resignation of the Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari. His rift with Indira had also become public knowledge by then, and added to the media interest in the matter.

Feroze also initiated a number of nationalization drives, starting with the Life Insurance Corporation. At one point he also suggested that Telco be nationalized since they were charging nearly double the price of a Japanese Railway engine. This raised a stir in the Parsi community since the Tatas were also Parsi. He continued challenging the government on a number of other issues, and emerged as a parliamentarian well-respected on both sides of the bench[10].

Death

Feroze suffered his first heart attack in 1958. Indira who stayed with her father at Teen Murti House, the official Prime ministers residence, was away with her father on state visit to Bhutan rushed back and took him to recuperate in Kashmir, where with their young boys, they were together again [11]. However, Feroze died in 1960 of a second heart attack at the Willingdon Hospital, now Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Delhi. He was later cremated and his ashes interred at Paris cemetery at Allahabad, the town where his eldest brother Fardiun's son, Rustom Gandhi family still lives [12].

See also

References

  1. ^ "Biographical Sketch of First Lok Sabha". Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  2. ^ "Biographical Sketch of Second Lok Sabha". Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  3. ^ a b "Member's Bioprofie". Government of India. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  4. ^ A forgotten patriot: Feroze Gandhi made a mark in politics at a comparatively young age.. The Hindu, Oct 20, 2002.
  5. ^ World Family Tree Volume 64, Tree 2015
  6. ^ a b "AROUND THE WORLD; Mrs. Gandhi Not Hindu, Daughter-in-Law Says". New York Times. May 2, 1984. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ Nehru Dynasty vepachedu.org.
  9. ^ "Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi" by Katherine Frank
  10. ^ a b Shashi Bhushan, M.P. (1977). Feroze Gandhi: A political Biography. Progressive People's Sector Publications, New Delhi,.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)p.166, 179. See these excerpts
  11. ^ Indira Gandhi's courage was an inspiration Samay Live, 07 Nov 2009.
  12. ^ Dynasty keeps away from Feroze Gandhi's neglected tombstone Coomi Kapoor, The Indian Express, 10 February 1998.

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