Indira’s decision that defamed Father Nehru and angered her husband Firoz.

After making a decision, her husband Firoz became so angry that he even called Indira a fascist.

Indira Gandhi was still very unhappy with her married life. Relations with her husband Firoz Gandhi reached such a point that she moved to her father’s house. But Pandit Jawahar Nehru was also Prime Minister of the country along with his father. His house Teen Murti Bhawan was the official residence of the Prime Minister. There Indira soon took on the role of official hostess. Not only the hospitality of Indian and foreign dignitaries, but also accompanied Nehru on his foreign trips.

In the news related to who will succeed Nehru, it was said that Nehru only had his daughter in mind. Indira was making all the preparations for her next political trip.

Nehru’s increasing dependence on Indira

Indira became Congress president during Nehru’s lifetime. She was also influencing her father’s decisions. The first decision to dismiss an elected government in independent India was taken during Pandit Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister. Interestingly, Nehru, a staunch democrat, gained this infamy thanks to his daughter Indira. Not only the opponents, but also her husband, Firoz Gandhi, blamed Indira for this and even called her a fascist.

Apart from Nehru’s decisions that were directly related to Indira, Indira also played a very influential role while living in the Prime Minister’s residence. Amid his ill health, father Nehru’s dependence on his daughter had increased. It was necessary for the files that reached them to pass through Indira’s hands. This fact was also accepted by Nehru’s trusted minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Government and party knew the importance of Indira

Indira Gandhi was born into a family that was in the frontline of the freedom struggle. She was the daughter of a father who had taken the reins of the country as head of the interim government even before independence. She herself actively participated in the fight for freedom. After marriage, due to strained relations with her husband, she returned to the home of her father, the prime minister. Could Indira, who grew up and lived in such an environment, stay away from politics?

Of course, Nehru may not have wanted to be seen promoting his daughter in politics, but the government and party dominated by him were well aware of Indira’s importance. In 1955 he became a member of the party’s Central Electoral Committee. She participated vigorously in the 1957 election campaign. In 1958, she was appointed to the Working Committee, the party’s powerful organization.

Nijalingappa left out, Indira took charge

At just 41 years old, the party was eager to hand over greater responsibility to Indira. At the Nagpur session of 1959, the U.N. After Dhebar, the election of S. Nijalingappa as president was considered certain. Suddenly, Dhebar called a working committee meeting. Kamaraj asked for the agenda. They told him the meeting was about the next president. Surprised Kamaraj said that Nijalingappa’s name has already been decided by him.

Lal Bahadur Shastri said that Indira may be asked to be president. Govind Ballabh Pant spoke about Indira’s health. Nehru silenced him by saying that his health was better than both of us. “After knowing Nehru’s position, the rest was a formality. However, Indira said that she had rejected her father. She accepted after Dhebar said her refusal would mean she would not be able to handle the job. The party leaders were doing what Pandit Nehru wanted, but Nehru was saying, “This may be your decision, but I am not involved in it.” It is not right that my daughter becomes Congress President while I am Prime Minister. ,

Kerala government dismissal is a gift from Indira

During Indira Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister, 50 state governments were dismissed through the use of Article 356. Interestingly, Indira was instrumental in the first dismissal of an elected government in independent India. Another thing is that she was not in the government at that time. On 5 April 1957, EMS Namboodiripad formed the first Left government in Kerala. This was the first electoral setback for the Congress. There were many controversies about this government’s reform programs. The reforms, especially in the education sector, caused widespread unrest. More than 1.5 lakh people were jailed. The Lathi charge took place on 248 occasions. Many people were injured.

The situation became even more out of control after the police took the life of a pregnant woman from the fishing community. As Congress president, Indira constantly pressured Nehru to dismiss the Kerala government. At the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Board under the leadership of Indira Gandhi on June 29, 1959, the dismissal of the Kerala government was demanded. Nehru agreed. But President Dr Rajendra Prasad was not prepared. Later, under pressure, on July 21, 1959, he signed the dismissal order.

Nehru was infamous, Firoz was very angry.

The decision to dismiss the Kerala government dealt a serious blow to Pandit Nehru’s democratic image. According to Nehru’s biographer S. Gopal, this was a decision that tarnished and weakened Nehru’s reputation. However, Indira continued to refuse to accept it as her decision. He said: “Marxists have always blamed me for overthrowing the government. But this cannot happen without the Centre’s agreement. My father and Firoz were not happy with this. But Home Minister Govind Ballabh Pant said this should have happened. “Indira may have later tried to distance herself from this dismissal decision, but Feroze Gandhi had held her fully responsible for it.

Swedish author and journalist Bertil Falk, in his book “Firoz: The Forgotten Gandhi”, wrote quoting Janardan Thakur that as soon as Firoz found out about Indira’s insistence, he too became very angry. There were many fights during lunch and Firoz even called Indira a fascist.

Nehru finds himself in a dilemma over the question of sheltering the Dalai Lama.

Pandit Nehru’s indifference towards the Tibet question is not a hidden fact. Sardar Patel had also warned him in a letter dated November 7, 1950. But the decision on the issue of granting asylum to the Dalai Lama in India after China’s annexation of Tibet had far-reaching consequences. Of course, public sentiment in India was in favor of the Dalai Lama. But as a result, relations with China would surely deteriorate further. Nehru and his cabinet colleagues were aware of this.

Nehru was in a dilemma. They couldn’t prepare for this. But Indira Gandhi was instrumental in convincing him of this. Indira herself had told her friend Pupul Jayakar. Jayakar also mentioned this in his book. Indira also constituted the Central Relief Committee for the comfort of Buddhist refugees. This further provoked China. This decision also became one of the reasons for the attack on China in 1962.

He gave Bombay to Maharashtra

During the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, when the Mumbai (then Bombay State) issue heated up between Gujarat and Maharashtra, Indira Gandhi directly intervened in it. Congress leader SK Patil’s statement that Bombay cannot be handed over to Maharashtra for the next five thousand years made the situation even worse.

The possibility of making the city of Bombay a separate union territory was also discussed. Gujarati and Parsi businessmen were in favor of it. On January 16, 1956, Nehru announced that Gujarat and Maharashtra would become separate states and Bombay would become a Union Territory. But after this violence broke out. Between January 16 and 22, 1956, 80 lives were lost to police bullets. Indira intervened openly. Held 150 meetings in Marathi districts in 6 days. He gave priority to the interests of the Congress Party. That formula was decided upon which Nehru accepted. Bombay went to Maharashtra. Morarji Desai, who was the then Chief Minister, was brought to the Center and made Finance Minister. This decision further strengthened the anti-Congress forces in Gujarat.

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