V. P. KASHIN
Candidate of Historical Sciences
The youngest son of Indira Gandhi is rightly considered a " phenomenon of Indian democracy." Without holding any government posts, he removed ministers and shuffled officials at his own discretion, and according to his "recommendations", political figures were sent to prison during the state of emergency. He also led a campaign to reduce the birth rate, which in some places took on a violent character. He was praised and blamed, feared and hated. It was no secret that Sanjay was the first candidate for the post of Prime Minister after his famous mother.
He died at the peak of his political career, leaving unanswered the question of what could have happened to India under his leadership. But every time on the eve of parliamentary elections, as was the case in the spring of 2009, the rivals of the Indian National Congress (INC) party remember Sanjay and his sins, vowing, unlike him, to follow the letter of the law in everything.
THE DARLING OF FATE
On December 14, 1946, Lady Cripps, the wife of a well-known British minister and diplomat, visited the mansion of the Head of the Provisional Government of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. She longed for a Kashmir shawl, and begged the landlord's daughter, Indira, to accompany her to the shop in Connaught Place. That same evening, Indira Gandhi was taken to a military hospital, where she gave birth to a baby boy. Jawaharlal named his grandson Sanjay after the charioteer king of Dhritarashtra, the hero of the epic Mahabharata.
Sanjay's carefree childhood was spent in Delhi at the Prime Minister's residence. There he lived with his grandfather, mother and older brother Rajiv. Foreign leaders often visited them and gave their children gifts. Indira did not trust her sons with nannies and tried to raise them herself. She was very fond of animals and put up small tiger cubs, a panda, several ponies and dogs in the garden. Sanjay's favorite animal was a crocodile. Once he almost bit off the b ...
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