| Language | English |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0143032453 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0143032458 |
| No of pages | 608 |
| Font Size | Medium |
| Book Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Published Date | 29 Oct 2004 |
About Author
Related Books
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0143032453 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0143032458 |
| No of pages | 608 |
| Font Size | Medium |
| Book Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Published Date | 29 Oct 2004 |
The story should have had a fairy-tale ending: a beautiful young girl meets her handsome Prince Charming, has two children, and lives happily every after. In 1968, however, when Sonia Maino married Rajiv Gandhi of India, the fairy tale was only half realized. She snagged a handsome prince, but she also inherited the troubled history of his country. Rajiv Gandhi was a member of a family that had ruled India since the 1940s.
His grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was India's first prime minister, and his mother, Indira Gandhi, held that office throughout the 1970s. Rajiv himself briefly served as prime minister in the 1980s, but was assassinated in 1991 as he attempted to reclaim the post. Almost a decade after her husband's death, Sonia Gandhi reluctantly followed in her famous family's footsteps by entering politics.
In 2004, after serving as president of India's Congress Party, she was called upon by members of Parliament to take up the reins of prime minister. Gandhi shocked the nation, and the world, when she declined. Members of the opposition breathed a sigh of relief, but others feared that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty had come to an end.
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Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi were eloquent and prolific letter writers. The letters in this volume, selected from the extensive correspondence between the two over more than forty years, are like conversation on paperbut more revealing, as Sonia Gandhi observes. Intimate, articulate and unreserved, they provide illuminating new insights into the character and personality of two of the most towering figures of modern India.
Remarkable for their honesty, sensitivity and humour, and replete with vivid descriptions of major personalities and events of their times, the letters chart Indira Gandhis development from a shy, frail schoolgirl into a charismatic political leader; they reflect the love of nature and books that father and daughter shared, and reveal their candid views on a variety of subjects, ranging from family and friends to issues of political and national importance.
Above all, this volume reflects the depth and tenderness of the relationship between Jawaharlal and Indira, and the formidable moral and physical courage that was the hallmark of both personalities.