Demystifying the myth of Indira

Belu Jain Maheshwari

When you are asked to write a biography of one of the most powerful, controversial yet enigmatic politician of the 20th century, whose legacy is still unfolding, the task, to say the least, is not easy. To make matters even more difficult, there is already a lot of printed material available about Mrs Indira Gandhi. Her biographies have been written from all angles, by Indians as well as foreigners, one of them having been banned in India, though widely read. Every person worth his salt who was even remotely connected to Mrs Gandhi has spoken about her. So, to come up with a book which can provide something new on the protagonist is a stupendous task. The problem is of unravelling the truth from layers and layers of material, myth, half truths and falsehoods.

Chikki Sarkaria, the publisher, commissioned the seasoned journalist and avid India watcher Sagarika Ghose, to write on the most powerful Prime Minister of India. Her myth lives on, her persona invokes strong reactions, and the jury is still out on her as a person, as a politician, as a Prime Minister, so another biography. Though the author does not claim to have thrown any new light on Indira, she only makes us take a relook on an enigmatic person, who has shaped independent India’s destiny, institutions, polity and world view, good, bad, ugly.

 As far as possible, Ghose has put her facts fairly, highlighting Mrs Gandhi’s inner strengths as well as her weaknesses. Her contradictions were legendary, on one hand was her arrogance but on the other her connect with the masses was amazing. An innovative tool used by the author is in the form of letters addressed to Indira Gandhi. She has asked questions and explanations on many vexatious decisions and issues made during her life by her, which have never been satisfactorily answered. Why did you impose Emergency, could you not have handled the situation differently, and as suddenly why did you announce elections in 1977, what were the pressures? Why did you allow Sanjay, your son, to become a hydra-headed monster?

 Indira Gandhi can easily be deified or vilified, depending on which side you are and how you perceive her. She is both, a Durga and a dictator, a socialist on one hand but who had no firm ideological leanings. She professed secularism but was bogged by religiosity, built up Bhindranwale, only to eliminate him. She was the epitome of female empowerment but never identified with their cause. She was multi-layered, a person who could be tough talking to the Americans in the day but also attend a concert of New York Philarmonic Orchestra in the evening. Before meeting her biggest foe Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, she oversaw the interiors of his suite. Despite being a dotting mother and grandmother, she could be the quintessential soap-opera type of saas, throwing out her widowed daughter-in-law.

 The book holds interest in spite of having read a lot on her, it talks of her as a person, as a woman, as a politician, though it also takes refuge in salacious gossip to draw attention of the reader. The M. O. Mathai letters, which have never been authenticated, half truths which have been written about her without substantiating or providing any new proof find mention.

In the times we live, with excessive social media intrusion, the book has gained instant recognition, it has been trolled, criticised, judged. There are comparisons with today’s politicians, with the prevalent authoritarian streak. In spite of all the hullaballoo on the book, it holds its own because Indira was not a ordinary, run-of-the-mill person. Hate her or love her, you are intrigued enough to want to know her and understand her. It tries to peel another layer from one of the most charismatic, intriguing person of modern times.