Prologue continues ......

Shastri’s tenure, though very short, was marked by a surge in India’s self-esteem. He gave a new confidence to India’s armed forces. He gave them freedom in the battlefield and did nothing to hobble them. There was no royal pedigree he could lay claim to. He was a commoner. He is remembered as a people’s Prime Minister who demonstrated extraordinary courage in taking the war into the enemy’s territory.

With the passage of time, the influence of Nehru and other great leaders in Indian politics started waning. The grammar of Indian politics had changed. New situations and political contexts brought about a paradigm shift. Economic issues became central to political discourse. A socialist veneer was put on government policies. Poverty and hunger suddenly became serious electoral issues. Indira Gandhi sought the people’s mandate for removal of poverty.

The fact that she got a massive mandate from the people unmistakably proved that poverty was a politically explosive issue.

India’s politics became more aggressive, more issue-oriented, more adversarial and more personalized. There was an emphasis on personal loyalty to the leadership which in the new political context looked natural.

Public endorsement of Indira Gandhi as the most popular leader created a new mood and temperament in the Congress (I) party, which she had carved out of the old Indian National Congress.

Indira Gandhi was a strong and courageous leader who led the country

through very difficult times. She fought against powerful vested interests

in her party. In this fierce fight, the people of India stood by her.

Despite the openly hostile attitude of the USA, with uncanny shrewdness she could

secure the endorsement of much of the world for India’s position in the

war with Pakistan in 1971, which ultimately led to the break-up of Pakistan.

In the Lok Sabha, the House of the People of the Indian Parliament, a leader from the Opposition benches hailed her as Durga, the goddess who vanquished evil. This was the most glorious moment in her political career and the life of free India.

To be continued....