Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi (December 14, 1946 - June 23, 1980) was an Indian politician of Kashmiri and Parsi heritage; he was the younger son of Feroze Gandhi and his wife Indira Gandhi. He was a close political advisor of Indira Gandhi, when she was the Prime Minister. He was accused of abuses during the Emergency and died in a stunt airplane crash shortly after his mother's return to power. He had been elected to the Parliament of India five months before his death.
Early life
Sanjay and his elder brother Rajiv Gandhi studied at The Doon School, as well as in England. Sanjay never attended college, but took up an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce. He was very interested in sports cars, and he also obtained a pilot's license. During his years in England, he was convicted for reckless driving. Many speculate that he along with some brash friends even resorted to stealing cars. The Indian High Commission had to bail him out on several occasions. He did not complete his apprenticeship, returned to India and began living with his mother in Delhi. While his brother Rajiv was building a career as an airline pilot independent of politics, Sanjay grew close to his mother, and became involved in political affairs.
Maruti Udyog controversy
In 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Cabinet proposed the production of a "people's car" - a cheap, affordable and efficient indigenious machine that middle-class citizens could afford. While Sanjay had no experience, design proposal or tie-ups with any corporation, he was awarded the contract and the exclusive production license. The criticism that followed this decision was mostly directed at Indira, but the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and victory over Pakistan drowned out the issue. India's victory and subsequent Congress landslide in the elections only left Indira Gandhi more powerful. The Maruti Udyog Ltd., the nation's premier automobiles corporation of today was founded by Sanjay Gandhi, but the company did not produce any vehicles. A test model put out as a showpiece of progress was criticized. Public perception turned against Sanjay, and many began to speculate of growing corruption.
No official and proper investigation has been carried out, but reports of journalists and investigations carried out by them suggest that Sanjay had created a money-laundering empire, handing out kickbacks for fees paid by large corporations that sought to curry favor with the son of the Prime Minister. According to many, Sanjay conducted a campaign of collecting funds, land, capital and production materials from industrialists, who were regarded as currying favour. This is believed to have resulted in substantial personal profit for Sanjay, as well as new political connections, although he produced no vehicles. Several Congress politicians were also suspected of involvement.
Alleged role during Emergency
In 1974, the opposition-led protests and strikes had caused a widespread disturbance in many parts of the country and badly affected the government and the economy. Prime Minister Gandhi declared a national emergency, enforced martial law, delayed elections, censored the press and suspending some constitutional freedoms in the name of national security. Non-Congress governments throughout the country were dismissed. Thousands of people, including several freedom fighters like Jaya Prakash Narayan and Jivatram Kripalani who were against the Emergency, both ailing old men, were arrested.
In the extremely hostile political environment just before and soon after the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi rose in importance as Indira's advisor. With the defections of former loyalists, Sanjay's influence with Indira and the government increased dramatically, although he was never in an official or elected position.
Involvement in politics and government
It has been suggested that Sanjay's influence with his mother helped to ensure that the Emergency was declared and it is clear that Sanjay only increased his power with the Emergency (1975-1977). Although he had not been elected and held no office, Sanjay began exercising his new-found influence with Cabinet ministers, high-level government officers and police officers. While many Cabinet ministers and officials resigned in protest, Sanjay reportedly appointed their successors.
In one famous example, Inder Kumar Gujral, the future Prime Minister resigned from the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting when Sanjay attempted to direct the affairs of his ministry and give him orders. Gujral is reported to have angrily rebuked Sanjay and refused to take orders from an un-elected person.
Jama Masjid slum and Family planning controversies
Sanjay reportedly ordered officials of the Delhi Development Authority to clear the heavily populated, mostly Muslim slum near the Turkmen Gate and Jama Masjid in Delhi, forcibly destroying thousands of ramshackle homes, and killing a large number of people.
Sanjay also publicly initiated a widespread family planning program, his "vision" for a contained population growth and a nation without crowding. But this resulted in government officials and police officers forcibly performing vasectomies, literally castrating young men, and in some cases, sterilizing women. Officially, men with two children or more had to voluntarily submit to this, but many unmarried young men, political opponents and ignorant, poor men were also sterilized. This infamous program of his is still remembered and criticized in India, and is blamed for creating a public anathema about family planning, which hampered Government programs for decades.
Allegations of criminal activities
Although no investigation was properly carried out, Sanjay was rumored to have plotted the assassination of political opponents, and hired prostitutes in hotel rooms with his friends. These allegations increased his infamy in the eyes of the people.
1977-1980: Disgrace and return
Prime Minister Gandhi opted for fresh elections in 1977 (one year overdue), released her opponents and ended the emergency. But when she and her Congress Party was defeated in a massive landslide by the Janata Party coalition, Sanjay recommended a re-imposition of Emergency which Gandhi decided against. The new Janata Government promptly appointed tribunals to look into Emergency abuses. As Home Minister, Charan Singh ordered the arrest of Indira and Sanjay. Newspapers published reports of Sanjay's abuses: vasectomies, tortures, murders and graft. It was during this time that Sanjay Gandhi was largely demonized in the eyes of the public.
The arrest of Indira Gandhi began to viewed as unfair and they were soon released for lack of evidence. The Janata coalition begin to crumble and the tribunals collapsed due to lack of evidence. In 1979, Prime Minister Morarji Desai resigned. His successor was Choudhary Charan Singh, who upon failing to secure support from a majority of MPs who had earlier formed the Janata coalition, turned to Indira Gandhi for support. She promised him that support, but at the last minute, withdrew it, forcing new elections and the end of Janata's time in power.
Vigorously attacking the confusion in the years of the crumbling Janata government, Indira exploited her heroine-Goddess image of the 1971 war and the tough ruler of the early Emergency years. She tactfully apologized for "mistakes" during Emergency, and made allies out of key political foes. The people of India were tired of the chaos and inefficiency of the Janata administration, which had failed to address any of their basic problems. In January of 1980, Indira and her Congress (I) Party returned to power in a landslide. Sanjay was elected to a parliamentary seat from Amethi, in Uttar Pradesh.
Personal life and family
It has been controversially suggested that Sanjay exercised a deep emotional control over his mother, which was often misused. He tapped his widowed mother's apparent loneliness to build his influence and control over political affairs and national policy. Sanjay Gandhi had married a young Punjabi woman, Maneka. He had affairs with many women before marriage including Maneka, who was daughter of an armed forces officer. It is rumoured that she got pregnant with Sanjay before marriage and her father pressurised Sanjay and Indira Gandhi for marriage. Indira Gandhi under pressure agreed to marriage of her son to Maneka but Maneka's father died under mysterious circumstances thereafter, presumably Indira Gandhi got him killed. Sanjay and Maneka had a tumultous marriage and allegations of Sanjay's infidelities are reportedly documented. The marriage endured, however, and they had a son, Varun Gandhi.
Sanjay's relationship with his elder brother was especially worse, as Rajiv was deeply affected by his mother's situation after her political defeat in 1977. According to accounts provided in Frank's biography of Indira, Rajiv directly blamed Sanjay for her condition, affirming his destructive influence upon his mother and the government.
Death and legacy
Sanjay nevertheless was now openly being groomed as his mother's successor, but it was not to be. Without a permit and against the advice of the civil aviation supervisor at a Delhi Flying Club airport, Sanjay and his co-pilot died when low level aerobatics in Sanjay's Pitts aircraft went tragically wrong. He was cremated near the Shantivan. The Congress Party immediately embarked on naming schools, hospitals and parks after him. His brother Rajiv, quickly became its apparent successor.
Maneka Gandhi split from Indira, as not she but Rajiv succeeded to Sanjay's position, inheriting his role and legacy. She formed a separate political party, Sanjay Vichar Manch (Platform for Sanjay's Thought) that never picked up. Working as an environmentalist, she joined the BJP. Varun Gandhi is also a BJP member and activist today.
According to the interview with Varun Gandhi on BBC World Hardtalk on 17 October 2005, Mrs. Katherine Frank was sued by the Gandhi family for misstatements in her book, Indira: Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi for her coverage of the life of Indira's son Sanjay, and the alleged episodes of family disputes. The court decided in favour of the Gandhi family and the book had to be revised accordingly.
References
- Ved Mehta, A Family Affair: India Under Three Prime Ministers (1982) ISBN 0195031180
- Katherine Frank, Indira: the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi (2002) ISBN 039573097X