NVIEWS

GANDHI GANDHI
V/s
 IRA
IND IA
Indira and Sonia, two
SON
cogs from a dynastic
wheel but seemingly
very different.
What sets the new
Mrs G apart?

A video still that allegedly shows actress Ranjitha and Swami Nityananda indulging in acts of intimacy.

“I don’t think anyone “Sonia is a hesitant “In Sonia, I see the “She’s shaping her
was smarter than speaker. She wants qualities an Indian legacy in a different
Indira...but Sonia has the policies to speak leader should have. style. Sanjay was a
turned out smarter for her and She is nightmare...Rahul is
than people expected legitimise her accommodating and being promoted more
her to be.” leadership.” believes in gracefully.”
Siddhartha Shankar Zoya Hasan Political consultation.” Dipankar Gupta
Ray, Former West scientist Ashis Nandy Sociologist
Bengal CM Sociologist

When a hesitant Sonia Gandhi took her first early steps in

Indian politics, she made it a point to dress like her formidable
mother-in-law, whose bullet-riddled body she had cradled on
that terrible day in 1984. Indira Gandhi is embedded in our
history—and all our collective memories—as the enigmatic
leader who transformed the nation and the nature of our
politics. She also left us with the contemporary world’s most
durable political dynasty.
 Sonia has adroitly found a position in power
by staying out of power, something Indira could
never have contemplated.

Twenty-six years after Indira’s assassination

and 19 years after she lost husband Rajiv,
Sonia is beginning to create her own legacy.
Her undiluted support for the Women’s
Reservation Bill that passed its first hurdle in
the Rajya Sabha last week is testimony to
that. There is little doubt that the reluctant
male political class within the Congress would
have found some pretext to torpedo the bill if
Sonia had not been so firm. In a TV interview
later, Sonia showed a little gentle humour:
“When some party MPs came to congratulate
me and said they were happy, I asked,
sachmuch (really)!”
Congressman and author Mani Shankar Aiyar
says the passage of the women’s bill marks
the moment when Sonia came into her own.
“On a matter of principle, Sonia Gandhi risked
the future of her government. That’s a
remarkable quality...it sets apart the leader
from the politician,” he says. According to
Aiyar, Indira had that moment when she set
out to abolish privy purses, Rajiv did it with
the panchayati raj legislation and now Sonia
has done so, in the face of some well-
entrenched male opposition.
True, leadership is a test of nerves. Sonia still
dresses like Indira in those elegant handloom
sarees with high-backed blouses. But she’s a
very different sort of personality. Indira will
always fascinate as the ruthless leader who
fought, was attacked, and who fought back
even more fiercely. She took on powerful men
within her own party, the maharajas and
maharanis in their little fiefdoms, the
Opposition that she callously threw into jail
during the Emergency. Indira fought tooth and
nail to keep her prime ministership. Sonia
simply sacrificed high office to reach new
heights.
Indira biographer Inder Malhotra (Indira
Gandhi: A Personal and Political History)
recalls a conversation when she admitted to
having overdone things in the course of the
Emergency. As Malhotra puts it, “She said
she was conscious that she may destroy her
father’s great legacy and that is why she
restored democracy.” That was Indira the
leader but also a daughter, Jawaharlal
Nehru’s daughter. There was also Indira the
lonely autocrat. He recounts another instance
when she told a leading journalist who asked
her about the state of the party: “Where is the
party? I am the party.” She wallowed in the
cult of personality and encouraged slogans
like ‘Indira is India/India is Indira’
Backstory
Indian-born. Very
keen to join
politics. Became
the I&B minister
in Lal Bahadur
Shastri's cabinet
in 1964. Two
years later
became prime
minister.

Style of functioning
Autocratic, inflexible. Depended on a
handful of advisors referred to as the
kitchen cabinet. Did not strive for a
consensus within her party or the
Opposition. Attracted a lot of riff-raff. Was
vindictive, aggressive and brazen.

Sonia is certainly not Indira. Sociologist Ashis Nandy believes that future generations will judge
Sonia much more kindly. She is still building her legacy but she shows the right instincts as a
human being and a politician, he says. “There is a fascination with Indira because of her
strength in the face of great odds. But in Sonia I see the qualities that an Indian leader should
have. She is accommodating and believes in consultation. The other Indian leader who had
that quality was Atal Behari Vajpayee. Indira certainly lacked the ability to consult and
accommodate,” he says

Backstory
Foreign-born. A very
reluctant entrant into
politics. Stayed away
from politics for seven
years after her husband
Rajiv Gandhi's
assassination in 1991.

Style of functioning
Believes in evolving a
consensus within the
Congress and Opposition. Is
open to criticism. Involves
non-politicians in framing
policy decisions. Her
‘western’ sensibilities keeps
party riff-raff at a distance.
Credo is social empowerment.
Also, some would argue that Indira did not have the
instincts of a democrat that not just calls for
consensus but power-sharing. Instead, she nurtured
a coterie whose members wielded excessive power.
An Opposition politician who has survived the reigns
of both the Gandhi women says that possibly
because of her western sensibilities, Sonia keeps a
distance from corrupt or controversial figures
It certainly goes to her credit that she does not have
henchmen like Indira did. Her ambitions appear to be
for her children. Indira too had great ambitions for
son Sanjay Gandhi but he was used as chief
henchman to perpetuate her reign. His excesses
during the Emergency are a matter of public record.
Sonia, on the other hand, does not appear to seek
power for herself but plays the role of keeper of the
Nehru-Gandhi torch that will be passed on to her
Best Remembered For
Bank nationalisation
Withdrawal of privy purses of
maharajas
Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace,
Understanding and Cooperation
Winning the Bangladesh war and
the humane treatment of
refugees from across the border
The Shimla Agreement The
Pokhran-I nuclear test
son. She also cuts a more maternal figure than
Indira ever did. Dynastic politics has something
inherently undemocratic built into it. Yet there is
no indecency that Rahul or Priyanka have ever
perpetuated on the nation in the manner of their
infamous uncle. They come through as rather
earnest young people.
Their vision of India is perhaps shaped by their
mother’s support for social sector legislations.
The Nehru-Gandhi offspring may be critiqued for
being dynasts but they are perhaps set in the
mould of benign monarchs who want to use their
reign for what they think is the good of the people.
Political scientist Zoya Hasan believes that
Sonia’s ideology can be described as consisting
of a strong commitment to non-sectarian politics
that rises above caste, religion, community. Her
political vision is defined by policies like the RTI,
NREGA and now women’s reservation. Says
Hasan: “Indian political leaders are defined by
their rhetoric and oratory. Sonia is a hesitant
speaker. I believe she wants the policies to speak
for her and legitimise her leadership.” As for the
comparison with Indira, Hasan will only say that
the political context is a lot different and politics is
more competitive today.
So, is Sonia perhaps smarter than Indira? Inder
Malhotra says she has many admirable qualities
“but I don’t think she is smarter, although she has
certainly turned out smarter than people expected
her to be”. Siddhartha Shankar Ray, who was one
of the Congressmen closest to Indira, jokes: “You
must never ask if a mother-in-law is better than
her daughter-in-law. It only creates trouble.” But
on a more serious note, he says: “I don’t think any
politician I have known has made smarter moves
than Indira. I think Sonia has learnt from Indira’s
experiences...and any politician who can run the
Congress for so many years without a major
Failures
Emergency and censorship
Promoting son Sanjay Gandhi
Causing a split in the Congress
in 1969
The Garibi Hatao campaign
(critics say it was mere lip
service)
Held guilty of electoral
malpractice
Using fundamentalists like
Bhindranwale to undermine the
Akali Dal
Operation Bluestar
disaster is certainly not a fool.”
At one level, the comparison is unfair as Indira was
prime minister for over 15 years and Sonia has
consistently refused office. But for the past six
years, she has left her imprint on India. Right-wing
commentator Swapan Dasgupta articulates his
views in term of their policies and personalities:
“Indira was ruthless. Sonia is a jholawali!” He
elaborates the classic right-wing critique of both:
“Indira was guided by a very narrow, self-serving,
doctrinaire approach that led to nationalisation of
banks, abolition of privy purses,
overbureaucratisation and an exaggerated tilt to the
Soviet Union. Sonia’s primary motivations are
goody-goody, NGO-type.”Perhaps Sonia’s great
achievement is that she has overcome the Italian-
origin handicap and has now emerged as a decisive
leader. Indira was born into a great political family
and learnt at the feet of Jawaharlal Nehru; Sonia
was born in distant Italy and husband Rajiv was a
pilot who was compelled by circumstances to
evolve into a politician.
Indira reigned at a time when the Congress was
the pre-eminent party of the nation and her early
battles were about gaining control of the party.
Sonia overcame the tragedies of two brutal
assassinations to lead the Congress that was
then in decline and being challenged by the
forces of both Mandal and mandir.
Indira may have fought many great battles but
Sonia has had to surmount many more hurdles.
She has adroitly found a position in power by
being out of power, something that Indira could
never have contemplated. Says sociologist
Dipankar Gupta: “Sonia has kept the engine cool
whereas it was always overheated during Mrs
Gandhi’s time. Certainly in the manner in which
she shaped Indian democracy Indira has had a
greater impact, both negative and positive. But
Sonia is now shaping her legacy in a very
different style. Sanjay Gandhi was a nightmare
for the people. Rahul, in contrast, is being
promoted in a more graceful manner. These are
Key Achievements
Stepping in and reviving the
Congress after it hit a low in
the post-Narasimha Rao-
Sitaram Kesri period
Leading the Congress back to
power in 2004 and 2009
Listening to her "inner voice" in
declining the prime
ministership, trusting an
outsider with it
Shaping a legislation like
NREGA to combat rural poverty,
RTI for transparency, Right to
Education Act
Pushing the Women's
Reservation Bill in the RS
Has never been personally
charged with corruption
although Bofors and
Quattrocchi continue to haunt
her
INDIAN TO BHARATIYA
Exactly 12 years ago, Sonia Gandhi took over the reins of a party
going through the worst crisis in its long history. A lot has
changed since then, both for the Congress and its chief
critical differences.”
Indira was charismatic, brilliant, ruthless. Sonia is
softer, gentler, kinder. She may never be the
fascinating leader that Indira was with all her
triumphs and losses, victories and defeats. Indira
perhaps had her greatest moment after winning
the Bangladesh war when she was hailed as
Goddess Durga by none other political opponents
like Vajpayee.
Sonia also reigns in a different time and age. The
greatest drama associated with her involved her
renunciation of political office in 2004. Women’s
reservation is the big gamble on which she has
staked her government’s survival and her own
reputation. If it passes as she has promised it
will, it stands to transform Indian democracy
much in the manner her mother-in-law did in so
many ways. It is now up to Sonia to navigate the
legislation through the Lok Sabha. She has
certainly evolved into the lady with a quiet
determination.
Failures
Essentially, a believer in the
dynastic legacy
Not a powerful orator,
particularly in Hindi
Often seen as allowing party
to be at odds with PM
Not inclined to play an active
role in foreign policy and
economic issues
In 1998, she went to
Rashtrapati Bhavan
erroneously claiming she
had the numbers to form a
government.
 Congress headquarters on Sunday wore a
deserted look. With government establishments
closed and almost all office-bearers either
enjoying the weekend or out in the "field", the
crowd of party workers and favourseekers who
throng 24, Akbar Road were missing. For
Congress members, though, it was no ordinary
day.
For, it was exactly 12 years ago that Sonia
Gandhi was appointed party chief, in a
development that stemmed Congress's downward
slide, helped it capture the Dilli Durbar after nearly
a decadelong power drought and put the party on
the road to recapturing the pre-eminence it
appeared to have lost to challengers.
Twelve years, to paraphrase former British
Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, may be a long
time in politics, but few would have imagined the
turnaround in the party's fortunes Sonia has
scripted since the day when members of
Congress Working Committee, deeply worried
about the existential crisis facing the party, turned
against the incumbent Sitaram Kesri to hand over
the organisational reins to her.
Congress, which had lost the pole position to a
resurgent BJP in 1996, was adrift and threatened
to sink further. The polarisation brought about by
Mandal-Mandir politics saw the party losing the
crucial constituencies of Muslims, OBCs and
dalits in north India as well as huge political
spaces across states to rivals.
Its 'catch-all' appeal was blunted with the
middle class, put off by the stink of corruption and
compromises, embracing BJP's offer of a clean
alternative and the bold espousal of economic
reforms making the poor and vulnerable doubt the
party's intent. The task that faced Sonia as she
set out to pull organisational chestnuts out of the
fire was tougher than the challenge Indira Gandhi
had encountered after the party's first-ever defeat
in 1977. A procession of Congress leaders inve n t
e d various excuses to join the B J P. Doubts
assailing the f a i t h f u l did not disap p e a r even
when Sonia arrived, with many suspecting that
her "foreign origin" would handicap her terribly.
The results of the 1999 polls when Congress's
tally dipped to just 114 while BJP opened up a
huge gap at the top only reinforced the in-house
sceptics.
In just over a decade, the fortunes have been
reversed with Congress regaining the number one
slot and appearing well on its way to establish the
ascendancy it has traditionally enjoyed. The 2004
polls saw the party score a victory "on points", by
being pragmatic in courting allies and by
capitalising on BJP's pre-poll hubris.
The chance thus gained was, however, used by
Sonia to re-establish the 'aam aadmi' credentials
lost in the wake of reforms and to reach out to the
left-of-centre part of civil society which was never
enamoured of Congress.
Sonia's painstaking work has helped Congress
regain the affections of Muslims and lure upper
castes in the north back to the fold, with the
results of Lok Sabha polls from UP suggesting
that it may be able to re-stitch the social coalition
that helped it dominate the political landscape.
But as it practises oldstyle populism
represented by debt-waivers and guaranteed job
scheme for rural areas, the party has also been
able to identify itself, for the first time since the
euphoria generated by nationalisation of banks
under Indira, with the aspirations of the growing
category of urban Indian youth. The determined
push for women's quota bill on Tuesday, despite
reservations among government leaders, was part
of the enterprise which has been helped
considerably by the arrival of Rahul Gandhi.
Resistance from the Yadav troika appears to
have forced the government to put the women's
bill on hold but the tactical retreat cannot
camouflage the intent to press ahead with efforts
to form a purely Congress government after the
next LS elections.