Nehru–Gandhi family

Nehru Gandhi family
Current region	New Delhi
Place of origin	India
Members	Motilal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Indira Gandhi nee Nehru Braj Kumar Nehru Feroze Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Maneka Gandhi Rahul Gandhi Varun Gandhi
Traditions	Hinduism

The Nehru-Gandhi family is a prominent Indian political dynasty. Their political involvement has traditionally revolved around the Indian National Congress. Members of the family have traditionally led the Congress party and the Republic of India since independence.

The Guardian wrote in 2007 "The Nehru Gandhi brand has no peer in the world - a member of the Gandhi family has been in charge of India for 40 of the 60 years since independence. The allure of India's first family blends the right to rule of British monarchy with the tragic glamour of America's Kennedy clan."

Mahatma Gandhi was not related to this family. The Gandhi surname came from Feroze Gandhi, whom Indira Priyadarshini Nehru (the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru) married, and later chose to change her name to Indira Gandhi after marriage.

Family tree

First generation

• Motilal Nehru (1861–1931) was a lawyer, a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement and an important leader of the Indian National Congress, who also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was the founder patriarch of India's most powerful political family, the Nehru–Gandhi family.
• Swaruprani Nehru (1868–1938) was the wife of Motilal Nehru. She became active in the Indian independence movement when her husband and son were jailed by the British.
  • Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990) was the eldest daughter of Motilal Nehru. She was an Indian diplomat and politician. She was prominent in Congress Politics. She became a diplomat, serving as ambassador to the USSR, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and later as President of the United Nations General Assembly.
  • Krishna Hutheesing (1907–1967) was the youngest daughter of Motilal Nehru. She was a famous Indian writer and biographer.
• Nandlal Nehru (1845–1887) was an older brother of Motilal Nehru. He was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the princely state of Khetri in Rajputana.
  • Brijlal Nehru (born 1884) was the son of Nandlal Nehru and a nephew of Motilal Nehru. He was the Finance Minister of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.

Second generation

• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) was the first Prime Minister of India. He was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement and had succeeded his father as President of the Congress in 1929.
• Kamala Nehru (1899–1936) was the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was a prominent social reformer and was involved in the national polics of India during her lifetime. She was an active member of the All India Congress Committee.
  • Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi nee Nehru (1917–1984) was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was the third Prime Minister of India and was also the President of the Congress.
  • Feroze Gandhi (1912–1960) was a prominent Indian politician and journalist, son in law of Jawaharlal Nehru and husband of Indira Gandhi. Note that Feroze Gandhi is not related to Mahatma Gandhi. Indira fell in love with Feroze Khan and secretly married him in a London mosque (under adopted name of Maimuna Begum) against the wishes of her father. Feroze Khan (son of Nawab Khan, a grocery supplier to Anand Bhavan) adopted his mother's maiden surname Ghandhy (who was an Iranian Parsi lady), twisted it around, and became Feroze Gandhi. Later, they once again got married as per Hindu rites and have two sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Thus a perpetual trick has been played on the Indian public by naming them as 'Nehru-Gandhi' family.

• Brij Lal Nehru (born 1884) was a cousin of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was the Finance Minister of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.
• Rameshwari Nehru (1886–1966) was the wife of Brij Lal Nehru.
  • Braj Kumar Nehru (1909–2001) was the son of Brij Lal Nehru and a nephew of Jawaharlal Nehru. He was notable as the Indian diplomat and ambassador to the United States and as High Commissioner to United Kingdom. He later served as Governor of several Indian states and was a top advisor of his cousin Indira Nehru-gandhi

Third generation

• Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) was the third Prime Minister of India. She was also the President of the Congress.
• Feroze Gandhi (1912–1960) was a prominent Indian politician and journalist, son in law of Jawaharlal Nehru and husband of Indira Gandhi. Feroz Gandhi is not related to Mahatma Gandhi.Feroze and Indira fell in love with each other but the inter caste marriage was not acceptable to Nehru. When he confided to Mahatma Gandhi about this Gandhi adopted him and gave his surname. Thus Feroze Jehangir Gandhy became Feroze Gandhi. They got married as per Hindu rites and have two sons Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.

• Braj Kumar Nehru (1909–2001) was a cousin of Indira Nehru-Gandhi. He was notable as the Indian diplomat and ambassador to the United States and as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He later served as Governor of several Indian states and was an advisor of his cousin Indira Nehru-Gandhi.
• Magdolna Nehru (1908) is the widow of Braj Kumar Nehru.

Fourth generation

• Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) was the eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi.
• Sonia Gandhi (1946) is the widow of Rajiv Gandhi. She was Italian. She took Indian citizenship after marriage with Rajiv Gandhi. She is the President of the Indian National Congress and has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha since 2004. In September 2010, on being re-elected for the fourth time, she became the longest serving president in the 125-year history of the Congress party. Led Congress Party to victory in two successive elections, and in process looting over two billion dollars from the Indian population.
  • Rahul Gandhi (1970) is the only son of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He is the vice president and also General-Secretary of the Congress. He is the Chairman of the Congress coordination panel for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
  • Priyanka Vadra (1972) is the only daughter of Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi. She holds no active position in the Congress party but has featured prominently in campaigns.
• Sanjay Gandhi (1946–1980) was one of the most powerful politicians in India during the 1970s. During his lifetime he was widely expected to succeed his mother as Prime Minister of India and President of the Congress, but following his early death in a plane crash his older brother Rajiv became their mother's heir, and succeeded her as Prime Minister after her death.
• Maneka Gandhi (1956) is the widow of Sanjay Gandhi. She is a prominent politician in India but is estranged from the rest of her family. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
  • Varun Gandhi (1980) is the only son of Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive and the youngest National Secretary in the history of the party.

Fifth generation

• • Rahul Gandhi (1970) is the only son of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He is the Vice-President of the Congress. He is the Chairman of the Congress coordination panel for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
  • Varun Gandhi (1980) is the son of Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive and the youngest National Secretary in the history of the party.

Photos

The Nehru family, standing (L to R) Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Krishna Hutheesing, Indira Gandhi and Ranjit Pandit; Seated: Swaroop Rani, Motilal Nehru and Kamala Nehru (circa 1927).

Anand Bhavan, ancestral home of the Nehru-Gandhi Family in Allahabad, India.

• 
  Motilal Nehru (May 6 1861 – February 6 1931), lawyer, activist
• 
  Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990), diplomat, politician
• 
  Indira Gandhi (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984), politician
• Feroze Gandhi (12 September 1912 – 8 September 1960), journalist, politician
  Feroze Gandhi (12 September 1912 – 8 September 1960), journalist, politician
• 
  Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991), pilot, politician
• Sanjay Gandhi (14 June 1948 – 23 June 1980), pilot, politician
  Sanjay Gandhi (14 June 1948 – 23 June 1980), pilot, politician
• 
  Sonia Gandhi (born, 9 December 1946), politician
• 
  Rahul Gandhi (born 19 June 1970), politician
• Varun Gandhi (born 13 March 1980), politician
  Varun Gandhi (born 13 March 1980), politician

See also

• Political families of the world

External links

• Nehru and Indira Gandhi
• The making of the Gandhi dynasty at The Guardian
• Nehrus and Gandhis