Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi ( Hindi : संजय गांधी; born December 14, 1946 in New Delhi , Delhi , † June 23, 1980 in New Delhi) was an Indian politician and is the younger son of Feroze and Indira Gandhi . During the state of emergency in India in the mid-1970s, it was politically as influential as it was controversial. He gained political legitimation only five months before his death when he was elected to the Indian parliament .
biography
Together with his older brother Rajiv , he went to school in Dehradun and England , but did not attend college afterwards. While Rajiv later pursued his own career as a pilot, Sanjay remained close to his widowed mother and increasingly exercised political influence - both in person and through his mother.
Maruti project
When in 1971 the production of a “people's car” for the Indian middle class was decided - India had a state-controlled economy - Sanjay Gandhi was exclusively commissioned with its development and production and became the first managing director of the company Maruti founded for this purpose . Public criticism of this approach hit Indira Gandhi, but was diverted by the Bangladesh war . However, vehicle production no longer began during Sanjay's lifetime.
During the state of emergency
In 1975, in response to opposition protests and strikes against her policies, Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency over India: the upcoming elections were postponed, martial law introduced, freedom of the press and constitutional rights restricted in order to ensure national security. State governments not led by the Congress Party were dismissed and the state concerned was placed under Government's rule .
During this period of political unrest (1975 to 1977), Sanjay Gandhi became his mother Indira's most important advisor. He also exerted his influence on members of the emergency government, although he neither held an official position nor was elected to a corresponding position. Later Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral resigned as Minister for Information and Broadcasting when Sanjay mingled in his official business and tried to give instructions.
In 1976, Sanjay Gandhi began putting his ideas for economic and social transformation into practice. He had slums in Delhi cleared and the residents forcibly removed from the city. The city of Noida was created as part of its economic development measures .
Sanjay envisioned controlling population growth through family planning programs . Men with two children or more should have a voluntary vasectomy . In the course of the program, however, there should have been forced sterilizations , which is why the family planning program is still heavily criticized in India today and there is a general negative attitude towards such state programs.
After the state of emergency
After Indira Gandhi lifted the state of emergency in 1977 and lost the belatedly held elections, Sanjay unsuccessfully proposed a new state of emergency. When Charan Singh , the interior minister of the new Janata Party government , arrested Indira and Sanjay Gandhi, daily newspapers published allegations of forced sterilization, torture and murders against Sanjay. However, due to lack of evidence, both were soon released.
The Janata government lost its prestige because it was unable to solve the country's problems and Indira Gandhi won the 1980 elections. Sanjay Gandhi won in his constituency in Uttar Pradesh and was elected to the Indian parliament for the first time for the Congress Party.
death
Sanjay Gandhi died in the crash of a self-piloted airplane on June 23, 1980 near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi .
family
Sanjay Gandhi is the younger son of Feroze and Indira Gandhi . He had a son, Varun Gandhi, with his Panjab wife, Maneka Gandhi . Both are politically involved in the BJP . Sanjay's brother Rajiv Gandhi succeeded his mother in the office of Prime Minister of India.
Individual evidence
- ^ Twelve reported killed in the New Delhi Clash . In: The New York Times , April 20, 1976
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gandhi, Sanjay |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Indian politician, son of Feroze and Indira Gandhi |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 14, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Delhi , Delhi |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 23, 1980 |
| Place of death | New Delhi , Delhi |