Indira Gandhi had almost decided to quit politics and move to London for a few years when a tragic incident brought her at the centre of Indian politics, writes Prabhash K Dutta in India Today. Read on:
Two weeks after the mysterious death of Lal Bahadur Shastri at Tashkent (then in USSR, now in Uzbekistan), Indira Gandhi was sworn in as the prime minister of India in January 1966. Indira Gandhi was not the automatic choice of the Congress party leadership, which was dominated by a group, unofficially called the Syndicate.
Indira Gandhi took oath as the compromise candidate but she ended up as the second-longest serving prime minister of the country. Indira Gandhi was the first prime minister who moved away from idealist policy framework and built her politics around populist measures.
On her centenary birth anniversary today, Indira Gandhi is best remembered for historical events like creation of Bangladesh and imposition of national emergency in the country which suspended basic human rights.
She was considered the most authoritarian and most popular leader in India of her times. But, much before that Indira Gandhi had been dubbed as a goongi gudiya (the dumb doll) by socialist stalwart Ram Manohar Lohia.
BEFORE INDIRA BECAME PM
The The Syndicate was a powerful grouping of the then Congress president K Kamraj, Atulya Ghosh of West Bengal, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, S Nijalingappa of Madras, SK Patil of Maharashtra and Biju Patnaik of Orissa.
The Syndicate played a key role in Indira Gandhi's transformation. The Syndicate owes its origin to the question asked by many in early 1960s: Who after Nehru? Morarji Desai was the tallest leader in the Congress after Nehru.
But Desai was disliked by both Nehru and the Syndicate for different reasons. Nehru did not approve of Desai's pro-business policies while the Syndicate feared that if he succeeded Nehru, his ambition would leave no space for them. After Nehru, they outmaneuvred Desai and elevated Shastri, who inducted Indira Gandhi into the Union Cabinet.
Though a compromise candidate for his affable nature, Shashtri outgrew the Syndicate led by K Kamraj with his political astuteness and the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Shastri was even getting uncomfortable with the way Indira Gandhi handled political situations. Once she set out to meet victims of natural calamities without prior approval of Shastri.
It was speculated that before Shastri went to Tashkent to negotiate peace deal with Pakistan, he had made up his mind to drop Indira Gandhi from his Cabinet. Indira Gandhi was the Information and Broadcasting Minister, which was not considered high-profile in 1960s. She was considered a weak leader with mammoth legacy. She was even heckled once in Parliament while she was the minister.
HOW INDIRA GANDHI BECAME PM
Indira Gandhi was said to be so frustrated with her political fate in India that she was seriously considering shifting to London for few years. Under such circumstances arrived the news of sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri on one morning in January 1966. The plan to move to London was shelved promptly. She made her moves and appeared to be in the good book of the Syndicate.
The Syndicate was not yet ready. K Kamraj was said to be harbouring ambition to become the prime minister. The Syndicate controlled most of the Pradesh Congress Committees and was confident of getting numbers in favour at a time when Morarji Desai was once again in the contest.
At the last moment Kamraj backed out saying "No Hindi, no English" how could he unite the nation behind him. But, he was not ready to let Desai have a field day. Indira Gandhi, thought as weak and submissive, suited the profile well.
The Syndicate backed Indira Gandhi and in the election she defeated Morarji Desai by 355-169 votes to take oath as the first, and till date only, female prime minister of India. Desai became her deputy.
HOW INDIRA GANDHI GOT BETTER OF SYNDICATE
During the initial years of her prime ministership, Indira Gandhi appeared nervous and shaky. In 1969, she found it difficult to present the Union Budget. She was too nervous to read out the speech. She was cornered by the Opposition leaders and opponents in the party while Ram Manohar Lohia gave her a nickname, goongi gudiya (the dumb doll).
The staunch opposition and dominating handling by the Syndicate proved to be the trigger point for Indira Gandhi, who responded with utmost force and vigour. She decided to test her leadership mettle by going directly to public. She had begun experimenting with her own capability and popularity among the masses during the 1967 Lok Sabha elections.
Indira Gandhi extensively toured the country. She covered over 36,000 miles. She gave the slogan of garibi hatao (remove poverty), campaigned against Privy Purse enjoyed by the erstwhile princely state rulers and nationalised 14 big banks in 1969. The Syndicate and Morarji Desai opposed these moves.
INDIRA GANDHI AS IRON LADY
Indira Gandhi was expelled from the party. But, she announced her own Congress (I) in response. Her political moves exposed the existing Congress leadership which sided with the rich royals.
In two years' time, Indira Gandhi was the changed politician. By the time India-Pakistan war over the question of Bangladesh happened, Indira Gandhi had emerged as the tallest leader in the country. The Syndicate had been dismantled.
The 1971 war reflected her quick decision-making ability on the question of securing the interests of the country. Indira Gandhi was involved in the strategic-planning of the war, which brought Pakistan to its knees. The defeat of Pakistan was so complete that it never again entered into a full-fledged war with India. The Kargil war was limited in nature.
The success of 1971 war led to Indira Gandhi being referred to as the "only man in Cabinet". The western press hailed Indira Gandhi as the Iron Lady of India. This sobriquet stayed on despite controversial decisions to impose national emergency and order troops to march into the Golden Temple of Amritsar at the height of Khalistan militancy.
Two weeks after the mysterious death of Lal Bahadur Shastri at Tashkent (then in USSR, now in Uzbekistan), Indira Gandhi was sworn in as the prime minister of India in January 1966. Indira Gandhi was not the automatic choice of the Congress party leadership, which was dominated by a group, unofficially called the Syndicate.
Indira Gandhi took oath as the compromise candidate but she ended up as the second-longest serving prime minister of the country. Indira Gandhi was the first prime minister who moved away from idealist policy framework and built her politics around populist measures.
On her centenary birth anniversary today, Indira Gandhi is best remembered for historical events like creation of Bangladesh and imposition of national emergency in the country which suspended basic human rights.
She was considered the most authoritarian and most popular leader in India of her times. But, much before that Indira Gandhi had been dubbed as a goongi gudiya (the dumb doll) by socialist stalwart Ram Manohar Lohia.
BEFORE INDIRA BECAME PM
The The Syndicate was a powerful grouping of the then Congress president K Kamraj, Atulya Ghosh of West Bengal, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy of Andhra Pradesh, S Nijalingappa of Madras, SK Patil of Maharashtra and Biju Patnaik of Orissa.
The Syndicate played a key role in Indira Gandhi's transformation. The Syndicate owes its origin to the question asked by many in early 1960s: Who after Nehru? Morarji Desai was the tallest leader in the Congress after Nehru.
But Desai was disliked by both Nehru and the Syndicate for different reasons. Nehru did not approve of Desai's pro-business policies while the Syndicate feared that if he succeeded Nehru, his ambition would leave no space for them. After Nehru, they outmaneuvred Desai and elevated Shastri, who inducted Indira Gandhi into the Union Cabinet.
Though a compromise candidate for his affable nature, Shashtri outgrew the Syndicate led by K Kamraj with his political astuteness and the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Shastri was even getting uncomfortable with the way Indira Gandhi handled political situations. Once she set out to meet victims of natural calamities without prior approval of Shastri.
It was speculated that before Shastri went to Tashkent to negotiate peace deal with Pakistan, he had made up his mind to drop Indira Gandhi from his Cabinet. Indira Gandhi was the Information and Broadcasting Minister, which was not considered high-profile in 1960s. She was considered a weak leader with mammoth legacy. She was even heckled once in Parliament while she was the minister.
HOW INDIRA GANDHI BECAME PM
Indira Gandhi was said to be so frustrated with her political fate in India that she was seriously considering shifting to London for few years. Under such circumstances arrived the news of sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri on one morning in January 1966. The plan to move to London was shelved promptly. She made her moves and appeared to be in the good book of the Syndicate.
The Syndicate was not yet ready. K Kamraj was said to be harbouring ambition to become the prime minister. The Syndicate controlled most of the Pradesh Congress Committees and was confident of getting numbers in favour at a time when Morarji Desai was once again in the contest.
At the last moment Kamraj backed out saying "No Hindi, no English" how could he unite the nation behind him. But, he was not ready to let Desai have a field day. Indira Gandhi, thought as weak and submissive, suited the profile well.
The Syndicate backed Indira Gandhi and in the election she defeated Morarji Desai by 355-169 votes to take oath as the first, and till date only, female prime minister of India. Desai became her deputy.
HOW INDIRA GANDHI GOT BETTER OF SYNDICATE
During the initial years of her prime ministership, Indira Gandhi appeared nervous and shaky. In 1969, she found it difficult to present the Union Budget. She was too nervous to read out the speech. She was cornered by the Opposition leaders and opponents in the party while Ram Manohar Lohia gave her a nickname, goongi gudiya (the dumb doll).
The staunch opposition and dominating handling by the Syndicate proved to be the trigger point for Indira Gandhi, who responded with utmost force and vigour. She decided to test her leadership mettle by going directly to public. She had begun experimenting with her own capability and popularity among the masses during the 1967 Lok Sabha elections.
Indira Gandhi extensively toured the country. She covered over 36,000 miles. She gave the slogan of garibi hatao (remove poverty), campaigned against Privy Purse enjoyed by the erstwhile princely state rulers and nationalised 14 big banks in 1969. The Syndicate and Morarji Desai opposed these moves.
INDIRA GANDHI AS IRON LADY
Indira Gandhi was expelled from the party. But, she announced her own Congress (I) in response. Her political moves exposed the existing Congress leadership which sided with the rich royals.
In two years' time, Indira Gandhi was the changed politician. By the time India-Pakistan war over the question of Bangladesh happened, Indira Gandhi had emerged as the tallest leader in the country. The Syndicate had been dismantled.
The 1971 war reflected her quick decision-making ability on the question of securing the interests of the country. Indira Gandhi was involved in the strategic-planning of the war, which brought Pakistan to its knees. The defeat of Pakistan was so complete that it never again entered into a full-fledged war with India. The Kargil war was limited in nature.
The success of 1971 war led to Indira Gandhi being referred to as the "only man in Cabinet". The western press hailed Indira Gandhi as the Iron Lady of India. This sobriquet stayed on despite controversial decisions to impose national emergency and order troops to march into the Golden Temple of Amritsar at the height of Khalistan militancy.
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