Back home in Italy Sonia came from a family with political history. Because of it the family suffered badly and went through a harrowing time when the opponents came to power. That experience left a bad impression on little Sonia. She detested politics and grew up as an apolitical character. Politics was a dirty word in her personal dictionary.
Then she fell in love with a youngman from India named Rajiv Gandhi. It was true love. Later to her chagrin she found out that her love came from a political family of India. But the consolation was that the youngman too was an apolitical character. He had no intention of joining politics inspite of his family’s involvement with it.
Their love was too strong for any other considerations to matter. Sonia got married to Rajiv Gandhi in full faith that she and her husband would stay away from politics. For many years the status remained so. Her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi was a political creature and the Prime Minister of the country. She respected the apolitical nature of her daughter-in-law who she liked very much. Her elder son Rajiv, the husband of Sonia also did not like politics and never showed any interest in it. She had no objection.
The younger brother of Rajiv liked power games. He joined politics and became a right hand of his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A stage came when Indira Gandhi politically depended on her younger son and allowed him to act as her trouble shooter.
Meanwhile Rajiv and Sonia carried on their own apolitical existence within the political family. Rajiv was a professional commercial pilot and could take care of his wife and children financially. Thus the two sets of family members, one political (Indira-Sanjay) and another totaly apolitical (Rajiv-Sonia) co-existed without any conflict or contradiction. Suddenly, an aeroplane accident took the life of Sanjay Gandhi that left Indira Gandhi alone in political arena. Rajiv had to assist his mother part time inspite of the protest of his wife Sonia Gandhi.
Then, Indira Gandhi got assassinated and Rajiv Gandhi got sucked into politics for the sake of the party and the country. Sonia could do little about it. She herself stayed apolitical. Then, a terrorist bomber claimed the life of her husband. She declined to join politics to carry on the legacy of her political family. For seven years Sonia shunned politics and stayed away engrossed in her two children. Then she saw the party getting dismembered and the country suffering collateral damage. To redeem the situation Sonia plunged into politics. It was a remarkable transformation. A person who was till yesterday apolitical was evolving into a political creature forced by the circumstances and the realisation of her duty to the legacy of her family.
A fully evolved Sonia Gandhi, who once put up a stiff resistence to her husband joining politics, now did not hesitate encouraging her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka join politics to fight for the party and the country. It was a total turn around. Whole family was in the political battlefield and Sonia Gandhi felt no qualms about seeing her children in full time politics. It was perhaps the last course of the process of her becoming the part of India. Here the justice came to only to those who fought battle for it and kept battling relentlessly. To save the legacy of Nehru-Gandhi, Congress party, secularism, the basic rights of the common man and national interests she must wage a continuous crusade. That was the demand of her new motherland, India. To be a truly Indian woman Sonia must fight away the demons of communalism, parochialism, social injustice, illiteracy, hunger, poverty, casteism, callousness etc. There is no respite for Sonia Gandhi because the demons are too many to count.
Rahul and Priyanka
Rahul and Priyanka, the son and daughter of Sonia Gandhi respectively are the two treasures of her life. In them she can still meet her Mummy Indiraji and Rajiv Gandhi. After the demise of Indiraji and Rajiv, the children remained her sole hope and emotional support. The three formed a small private world of affection which helped Sonia Gandhi survive through those long lonely years when she had been apolitical.
Rahul and Priyanka are the kind of loveable offspring any mother would be proud of. They are the another reason why Sonia Gandhi should fight for the future.
Rahul born in 1970 did his schooling in Delhi and Dehradun. When his grandmother Indiraji was brutally assassinated he was a 14 year old. It was a traumatic experience for him. When his uncle Sanjay died he was a ten year old boy. He is two years elder to Priyanka. Later, he graduated in history from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. When his father Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated Rahul was studying in US in Harward University, then about 21½ year old youngman. He rushed back to India to be by the side of his grief- stricken mother and sister. He stayed with the family as the three were now an unseparable emotional unit who needed each other badly for support. Then, Sonia Gandhi wanted no part of politics and preferred political isolation. The Congressmen kept clamouring for Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka to take charge of the Congress party. For seven years after the death of Rajiv Gandhi the three lived a very private life comforting each other. At one stage Rahul went to London to serve as a consultant in a firm with the consent of Sonia and Priyanka.
Then circumstances began to force Sonia Gandhi to take up the responsibilities of the political legacy of the family. Alongwith Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka also interacted with politicians. Rahul too returned to India to assist his mother in her political innings just as his father Rajiv had done to assist Indiraji. This time Sonia Gandhi raised no objections since she now realised that the politics in India was the only effective way of social service and justice to the poor. Infact, now Sonia Gandhi felt every member of the Nehru-Gandhi needed to be part the political crusade Indiraji and Rajivji had battled for.
of a daily wage earner
The political activity of Rahul and Priyanka was mocked at by the BJP leaders who were in power. For them it was a desperate act of a foreign origin widow to cash in on the legacy of Nehru-Gandhi family. But Congress workers were happy and very enthused.
In the beginning Rahul did not talk much and was not articulate. The opponents said he was dumb, and a total green horn who had no political talent. They taunted that at last Nehru-Gandhi family had produced a political dud. But they would rue their words later.
Rahul Gandhi happened to be a late maturing youngman. He preferred to learn by observing and talking less. In 2004 elections Sonia Gandhi pitched him in electoral battle from Amethi, the earlier Rajiv Gandhi constituency. The workers along with Rahul and Priyanka worked hard to make a winning entry. He won his seat handsomely.
As a parliamentarian he continued to be reticent in the house. The opponents reiterated Rahul was indeed politically dumb. Rahul had his own ways and plans of moving up. On the persistence of the leaders and workers Rahul was elevated to the party post of General Secretary.
Suddenly he began maturing up. Rahul became very popular with workers and youth leaders of Youth Congress. Then he devised his own way of feeling the pulse of the down trodden.
Rahul Gandhi often visited his constituency to be in touch with their problems. He spent nights with dalits, stayed in their homes and broke humble bread with them. It endeared him to the backwards and scheduled classes. He worked alongside labourers to see how hard their life was. He went to Vidarbha and stayed at the home a widow whose farmer husband had committed suicide. Rahul felt her pain and poverty.
The opponents derided and called it political stunt of a childish leader. But the reality was that it was making him immensely popular with the masses. Workers now adored Rahul Gandhi. The young brigade of Congress party solidly stood behind Rahul as his lieutenants. More and more young leaders Rahul was rallying in Congress support. He was becoming icon of youth and a symbol of India’s future. Rahul now spoke on important matters in the parliament to silence the dumb callers. The leaders who considered scheduled classes as their captive vote banks ranted agains Rahul Gandhi as he was cutting into their turf. By the time 2009 Lok Sabha elections became due. Rahul Gandhi had become a headache for the clueless opponents who did not know how to counter this new force that was attracting all the youth and their support. Due to Rahul’s political ground work the Congress was making a comeback in UP after banishment of 14 years. Solely on Rahul’s pull Congress party ran neck to neck race in Lok Sabha elections with SP and BSP to the surprise of opponents and observers. Currently Rahul is busy urging youth to join politics, Youth Congress, NSUI, the student wing of Congress to fight for the better future.
Rahul Gandhi had been offered ministerial post but he refused it. He frankly admits he is still raw for a cabinet post. He wants to work for the party and marshal its youth wings.
In future opponents will have to contend with the youthful Rahul storm.