The birth centenary of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi last week was not marked by any particularly impressive celebrations. Gandhi was installed as prime minister in 1967 by a group of Congress insiders—called, menacingly, the “Syndicate”—who thought she would be a compliant figurehead. In terms of pure political charisma, few politicians in the world’s largest democracy have ever matched her; perhaps only Narendra Modi, India’s current prime minister, comes close. Unlike her father, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi had no great ideological commitment to socialism. She could use it to isolate her more moderate rivals in the Congress party and their backers in business.

Source: Mint November 24, 2017 03:11 UTC