Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi - Softcover

Gupte, Pranay

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9780143068266: Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143068261 ISBN 13: 9780143068266

Publisher: Penguin Global, 2012

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16 pictures included. Mother India is the fascinating story of independent India s most complex political figure: Indira Gandhi, the enigmatic and solitary daughter of the country s first prime minister, who rose to become prime minister herself. From being the reticent Indu in the Nehru family, Indira Gandhi became one of the great leaders of the twentieth century. Pranay Gupte explores the life and times of Mrs G , who at the height of her career was often compared to Bharat Mata Mother India. Her Garibi Hatao call and her efforts at bringing about a Green Revolution endeared her to the electorate, but controversy and criticism, too, marked her years in and out of office. From the time she engineered a split in the Congress Party to emerge as its undisputed leader in the 1960s, through the triumphal aftermath of the 1971 war, the infamous Emergency, right up to Operation Bluestar which led to her brutal assassination on 31 October 1984, Mrs Gandhi s legacy is still being determined.

This comprehensive biography not only explores her career and contradictions as a consummate politician, but also her relationships as daughter, wife and mother. Packed with lively anecdotes and cogent insights, this book is both a compelling portrait of Indira Gandhi and a trenchant analysis of the politics of twentieth-century India.

A compelling portrait of Indira Gandhi and a trenchant analysis of the politics of twentieth-century India.

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From the Back Cover:

This is a sweeping biography of the life of Indira Gandhi, one of the great leaders of the twentieth century. It is the story of a remarkable woman who rose to become prime minister of a troubled India, an India of more than 900 million people. The daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, himself a prime minister before her, she grew up in a household fiercely dedicated to independence from England. Her parents spent much of their time as political prisoners. Indira spent much of her time in school or alone. When she was still a teenager, she raised money for the freedom movement and organized rallies; and although she studied at Oxford, she never doubted that she would devote her life to her country. With her mother dead, she accompanied Nehru on all of his state visits. It was her initiation into a political career of her own. As prime minister, Mrs. Gandhi wielded great power. She struggled ceaselessly to bring India into the modern world; she committed herself to programs to better the life of the people; she tirelessly promoted nonalignment and nuclear disarmament. But she was continually beleaguered by conflicts with the Muslims of Pakistan and the Sikhs of Punjab. As Pranay Gupte vividly recounts, these difficulties made Mrs. Gandhi more militant and more eager for control. She became self-interested, let corruption seep into her government, promised much, and delivered little. In the end, she made scores of enemies, and on October 31, 1984, she was assassinated by two bodyguards in her garden. In this stunning portrait, we have a trenchant analysis of a shrewd and deft political figure - a genius in her own right, bitterly opposed by many, but for millions of the masses she was always"Mother India", the embodiment of a thousand goddesses, "the symbol of shakti, or divine strength".

About the Author:

Pranay Gupte is a veteran journalist, author and columnist. He is currently the editor-in-chief of , Al Arabiya s English language website.

Mr Gupte has been a correspondent for the New York Times in Africa, the Middle East and India, as well as an investigative reporter for Forbes and a columnist for Newsweek International. His articles have appeared in major publications globally, including the New York Times Magazine, the Atlantic, Reader s Digest, Harvard International Review and the Washington Post Book Review. He launched and sustained the Earth Times, 1991 2003. He is frequently a guest commentator on TV and radio programmes on CNN, National Public Radio and the BBC, and is an elected life member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Mr Gupte, born in Mumbai, is a US national who lives in New York, Dubai and Delhi.

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