FEROZE GANDHI

'Feroze Gandhi' (born 12 August 1912-8 September 1960) was an Indian politician and journalist. He was a member of India's first parliament and the husband of Indira Gandhi and father of the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Contents
Early life
Political career
Death
See also
Notes
Reference
External links

Early life


Feroze Gandhi was born "Feroze Gandhy" [1][2][3] into a Parsi family [4] and was educated at the City Anglo-Vernacular High School and Ewing Christian College, followed by the London School of Economics. He abandoned his studies in 1930 to join the struggle for Indian independence.
Feroze grew close to the Nehru family, especially Indira's mother Kamala Nehru and Indira herself. Feroze helped nurse the ailing Kamala, and briefly traveled with Nehru, Kamala and Indira to Europe. Even before Kamala's death, Indira and Feroze had begun falling in love. There is some evidence (see Reference book) that Kamala herself opposed the match, and Nehru was also known to be personally averse to Feroze[5][2]. Indira and Feroze grew more close to each other in England. They married in 1942, after Feroze altered his surname to adhere more closely to the leader of nationalistic sentiment of the time.[7]
Arrested and jailed during the Quit India Movement less than six months after their marriage, he was imprisoned for a year in Allahabad's Naini Central Prison. Indira was also imprisoned. In 1944, she gave birth to Rajiv Gandhi, a future Prime Minister. In 1946, Sanjay Gandhi, was born. Indira and Feroze settled in Allahabad with their two young children, and Feroze became editor of ''The National Herald'', a newspaper founded by his father-in-law.

Political career


Feroze Gandhi contested elections to the Parliament of India in 1952, independent India's first general elections. His wife served as his campaign organizer, and Gandhi won. But Feroze soon became a prominent force in his own right, criticizing the Government of his father-in-law and beginning a tirade against corruption. His exposure of a scandal involving major insurance companies and the Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari caused the latter to resign, and caused Nehru a major embarrassment. Feroze began building his own reputation and small coterie of supporters and advisors, and continued challenging the government. He was re-elected in 1957.
The marriage of Feroze and Indira was tumultuous, as Indira began living with her father, who was alone, and cared for him personally and often acted as his private secretary. When he became an MP, Feroze started living in his own house in Delhi, away from his father-in-law and wife. This unwilling separation embittered Feroze, and it is speculated that he was having extra-marital affairs as a way of getting back at Indira.

Death


Indira and Feroze were re-united in 1958, when Feroze suffered his first heart attack. Indira took him to recuperate in Kashmir, where with their young boys, they were together again. However, Feroze died in 1960 of a second heart attack.

See also



Nehru-Gandhi family

Notes



1. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060520/asp/nation/story_6246911.asp
2. http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20011217&s=khilnani121701
3. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070211/spectrum/book1.htm
4. On page 93 of her book "Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi", Katherine Frank mentions the name of Feroze Gandhi's father Jehangir Gandhy a Parsi with a Gujarati name. Feroze Gandhi, therefore took the last name Gandhi from his father.
5. "Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi" by Katherine Frank
6. http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20011217&s=khilnani121701
7. "Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi" by Katherine Frank | Frank subscribes the change to disguising his Parsi origin, which is rather unlikely considering "Gandhi/Gandhy" is a caste-based Vaishya surname. The difference in spelling can be subscribed to differences in transliteration to English.

Reference



Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, , Katherine, Frank, Houghton Mifflin Books, , ISBN 0-395-73097-X

External links



Photo of Indira and Feroze Gandhi by Homai Vyarawalla

Article in The Hindu

Nehru Dynasty

Indira Gandhi

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