SHILLONG: How does the country remember Indira Gandhi? As the engineer of the 1975 Emergency or an authoritative politician?
Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh explores a new facet of the politician, whose aura once took the country by storm, in his new book Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature that was launched by former Meghalaya bureaucrat Toki Blah.
The book is a compilation of her personal letters, speeches, articles, forewords she provided to others’ books and even her observations on files put up to her. That the late prime minister was a naturalist is a lesser known fact. “She is either considered as Durga, the powerful woman, or an authoritative figure and the country was at awe. However, her entry into politics was accidental following the death of Shashtri (Lal Bahadur Shashtri). Had it not been politics, she could have been a naturalist watching birds and admiring the abundance of nature,” said the author during the launch of the book at Royal Tavern, The Heritage Club-Tripura Castle, in the city.
In a conversation with the Editor of The Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, Ramesh said he calls the book an unconventional biography because it draws a different picture of the politician who is remembered for the infamous Emergency.
“Most books on politicians are based on gossips. But this book is based on facts, documents and most importantly, written records of Gandhi himself,” he said.
There were several factors that influenced Gandhi during her formative years and brought her closer to nature. Her father had had significant influence on her.
Gandhi grew up in Teen Murti House, the prime minister’s official residence. The British-era bungalow had a mini zoo inside that housed animals and birds like Himalayan pandas, tigers, crocodiles and peacocks, to name a few.
“She was a lonely child. Jawaharlal Nehru was not around to support her and when he was in jail, mother Kamala Nehru was battling tuberculosis. So Gandhi spent most of the time by herself and nature was her companion,” said Ramesh.
Another factor that nurtured the environmentalist and conservationist in Gandhi was her frequent visits to hills stations with her ailing mother. Kamala Nehru’s brother Kailas Nath Kaul had a collection of snakes. This gave Gandhi further opportunity to explore the wild.
“Among other factors which made Gandhi a naturalist was her one-year stay in Santiniketan under the tutelage of Rabindranath Tagore. Salim Ali, the renowned ornithologist, also had a deep impact on her,” said Ramesh, who said he took around seven months to complete the book
The book has some of Gandhi’s letters written to her father when he was in prison.
When asked whether the book with a fresh take on the leader could transcend political lines, Ramesh said it was highly praised in a right-wing magazine. “Gandhi as an environmentalist is liked by the right wings,” smiled the author. He added that Gandhi was the only prime minister who accorded utmost importance to environment and conservation.
Ramesh was in Guwahati on Monday for a similar event where he was in a conversation with Arupjyoti Saikia, professor and environmental historian. “She was compelling, charismatic and controversial but an environmentalist at heart who found her inner peace in the company of birds, plants and stones, staring at the universe of constellations, living in the hills and protecting the forests and wildlife of India,” Ramesh had said during his tête-à-tête with Saikia.
