Remembering Sanjay Gandhi on his birthday

Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, was born on Dec. 14, 1946, in Allahabad.

He studied at Welham's Boys' School and at The Doon School in Dehradun. In 1964, he dropped out of school and went on a three-year apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce in Crewe, UK. In 1966, when he returned, Indira Gandhi was declared as the successor to Jawaharlal Nehru in the Congress party. And so, he became involved in Indian politics.

Not only did he become Indira Gandhi's adviser but he also had a say in policy decisions, postings and public contracts. By the mid-1970s, decision-making on contracts was only in the hands of Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. During this time, dissenting bureaucrats were removed, and disloyal politicians were sidelined. Ministers and civil servants were on their toes trying to carry out Sanjay's orders.

According to media reports, a major impact of Sanjay Gandhi's' involvement in Indian politics was during the Emergency. When the Emergency was imposed in 1975, most Opposition leaders and people who were anti-Congress were rounded up and put in jail, electricity supply to the presses was cut off and news that was published through media outlets was censored.

Sanjay also initiated a slum demolition programme in Delhi that led to the displacement of thousands, rioting and deaths.

Sanjay's most controversial policy during this period was the mass sterilisation programme, where men were coerced to get vasectomies. As per media reports, under the guise of population control, Sanjay oversaw the programme that led to a mandated sterilisation of an estimated 11 million men and women between 1975 and 1977.

Apart from politics, Sanjay was interested in automobile design and car manufacturing. As per media reports, when he returned in 1966, he began making a prototype for what he called the 'people's car' in Gulabi Bagh in Delhi. He made the base frame of the car himself, sourced parts from Jama Masjid and used a motorcycle engine to propel the car. Later, a company called Maruti Motors Limited was established on June 14, 1971, and Sanjay became its first managing director. The company procured the license and the contract from the Congress government to build 50,000 low-priced cars per year, despite not having prior experience in car-building or design portfolios and no working prototypes. In 1974, when the car was on the threshold of production, an anti-corruption drive broke out. Sanjay became involved in curbing protests and Project Maruti was put on the back burner until 1977 when the Janata Party came to power.

Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash on June 23, 1980, near Safdarjung Airport in New Delhi.