In 1995 ,while travelling through Trinidad and Tobago, a journalist of Indian origin, Paras Ramotar asked me how many more Gandhis were still there in India. His family had migrated from Bihar a couple of generations ago as sugar-cane labour. He was confused about Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi et al(and all).
I couldn't resist the repartee, India is a dynastic country and the present rulers are Gandhis I am sure during this conversation on Gandhis, I didn't have Feroze Gandhi on my mind.
The other days I spotted a book in the IIC library Feroze Gandhi, Life and leadership. A Mittal Publication written by Saud Akhtar The book gives a clinical account of who Feroze Gandhi and what all he did as an MP and as the head of National Herald. Unfortunately, Herald is now a part of history and a subject of political battle between Gandhis and their detractors like Subramaniam Swamy.
Its a badly written book, full of information but ill structured. It is dishonest in not highlighting the strained relationship between the spouses and Indira's long spells of absence from his house and opting to stay with her father. The book also doesnt mention about the various grapevines which were in circulation about Feroz's liaison with other women. The same had caused a tremendous discomfort to Indira and Nehru. However it was a well known fact in the corridors of parliament.
Feroze was a product of Indian freedom struggle. He came in contact of young Indira and fell head over heels for her. Wooed her and much against the wishes of her father Nehru married him. But this book hides more than it reveals .e.g, Mahatma Gandhi played a decisive role in clinching Nehru's consent for it. The father had advised the daughter why didn't she look for some other alternatives. Indira's retort was "Why should I consider others , when I had made up my mind!"
In retrospect, it is difficult to say how far Indira reconciled to her decision as things moved. When she married Feroze, her family was in and out of jail for participating in the freedom struggle against the British Raj. Feroze was also an active soldier in this war. At the same time he was taking full care of her family, in particular her mother Kamla who had an indifferent health and spent considerable time in Bhowali sanitorium.
After Independence, Feroze contested and became a Lok Sabha member from Rae Barielly, a constituency which continues to be identified with Gandhis till date besides Amethi. As a young parliamentarian, his performance, was extraordinary. He worked hard to expose the corrupt practices of Indian public sector like ONGC, Oriental Insurance Company, Dalmias and the widely debated Mundra Scandal. It led to the resignation of the then finance minister T. T. K. Krishnamachari in the Nehru government. It was shocking to see, how a treasury member and on top of that the son-in-law of Nehru was exposing the misdeeds of his government. Though on the face of it, Nehru praised his efforts but he was visibly embarrassed that how could such scandals take place right under his nose.
Indira had not entered politics and was looking after her two sons Rajiv and Sanjay. She used to spend a lot of time with her father in his house on York Road. It was a matter of unease for Feroze but he couldn't stop this. With the passage of time, it became a subject of popular grapevine that all was not well in the marriage of Indira and Feroze. There were also wagging tails about Feroze's association with other women. All these stories were carried to the household of Nehru. The couple was feeling the strain of tension and discord.
Kamleshwar, the noted Hindi literateur (the one who writes literature) , wrote a story "Kali Aandhi" on which a popular film directed by Gulzar, "Andhi" was made. The celebrated Bengali actress Suchitra Sen played the role of Indira's character to the hilt. The film was a box office success. Finally, Feroze couldn't bear this turmoil and he died young in 1960 at the age of 48.
It is not surprising that Indira and her sons didn't flaunt the legacy of Feroze. In fact, his name was rarely mentioned. His anniversaries were never observed. No institution named after him. Now Maneka who is at odds with her sister-in-law Sonia has named her son Varun as Feroze Varuin Gandhi.
It is intriguing that why Nehru did not consider to make Feroze a minister in his cabinet or a senior position in the party despite his outstanding performance as a parliamentarian and an journalist.
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