Sanjay Gandhi’s “Minor Cult” in Contemporary India

Abstract

The article explores the role of Sanjay Gandhi (1946–1980) in socio-political and cultural life of contemporary India and traces the roots of his “personality cult” in the society. Though over forty years have passed since his death, the controversy surrounding his figure does not subside even today. In India a number of public facilities boast Sanjay Gandhi’s name and his controversial persona often becomes the subject of populist rhetoric of political parties, news reports, as well as the prototype of characters in fiction. Sanjay Gandhi entered the Indian politics in the notoriously famous mid-1970-s marked with the declaration of national Emergency. In order to gain more political influence, he started strengthening the Indian Youth Congress — the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. Simultaneously Sanjay Gandhi gathered a clique of his personal advisers, some of whom were important politicians from different states of the country. They were the ones who implemented into life Sanjay Gandhi’s socio-political programs including the family planning and city-beautification projects etc. But nowadays, too, the name of Sanjay Gandhi evokes mixed feelings in the Indian society. Different political parties, including the Congress, continue to blame him for the excesses of the Emergency. This article is an attempt to study the phenomenon of Sanjay Gandhi’s “personality cult” through tracing its history, identifying the factors of its formation, and giving some examples pertaining to the “cult”.