Sanjay Gandhi: News

Sanjay Gandhi was a leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) and the younger son of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He completed his schooling at the elite Doon School in Dehradun and joined a Rolls-Royce factory in England as an apprentice. In time, he also obtained a flying license and became an aerobatic pilot. In the early 1970s, Sanjay was made the Managing Director of Maruti Motors, tasked with bringing out an affordable car for the Indian masses. The move received criticism as he had no prior experience. Ahead of the Emergency (1975-77), Gandhi emerged as a leader of the Youth Congress who seemed certain to succeed his mother as the country’s next PM. He declared a five-point program, which included policies like tree plantation and population control, and became the most controversial politician at the time due to his authoritarian implementation of policies viz. forceful razing of slums, state violence, and forced sterilization campaigns. After serving a jail sentence during the Janata Party Government for the crimes of Emergency, he was elected as a Lok Sabha MP from Amethi in 1980. However, the same year, he died in a plane crash, aged 33.