Indira Gandhi makes a blunder
It was not easy because it turned out the interview took nearly 90 minutes and I wrote it in about 5,000 words the longest one in a career spanning many years of interviews and talks ranging from her father Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the emperor of Ethiopia long before I joined this great newspaper.
After about 60 minutes I asked her a question about her daughter in-law Maneka, wife of her son Sanjay Gandhi who had died in the crash of a small aircraft over Delhi.
I realized that she was upset as she said that she would not answer that question. The interview continued smoothly as she read out to me some outstanding achievements of her government. Then I put the question about Maneka in another form which perhaps took her off guard and she made the statement on the record that Maneka who had left the residence by then had been planted in her house by “some foreign powers.” She did not name the powers but she probably meant the United Sates. It was quite clear that she did not want to elaborate on the serious charge that she was an agent planted in her household as a spy. For if true it would have had earth shattering consequences as it would be a major achievement by the United States to have an agent right in the house of the prime minister of India who did not particularly like the US.
That was the most crucial question and most potent answer of the whole interview because I had known the animosity between the two that led to Maneka’s departure from the house. Indira particularly detested Maneka and could not stand her. But the surprising answer became the topic of Indian conversation and of countless editorials and articles. When questioned by the press she made another mistake by denying that she told me that Maneka was planted in her house. But fortunately I had the tape with me and it was transcribed in my room at Oberio Delhi by her own two secretaries. When the Times of India called me I assured the editor that it was true and I had the tape to prove it. Maneka did not call me but I guessed she was supremely happy with the outcome. I went back home and published the story after notifying the news agencies based in Bahrain which flashed it all over the world the same day Arab News carried it.
That was not my first visit to New Delhi because I had visited many years earlier during my student days in Mumbai. Still I was impressed by the city and got a chance to relearn its history from the ancient to the modern especially during the Mogul period or periods via the British colonial era up to the time of my interview with Indira. From the ultramodern secretariat and houses of Parliament and Supreme Court to the vast spaces around India Gate, Delhi was a lovely city with a glorious past and superb present. You could not but admire it with its five star hotels and its wide streets and the general beauty of its architecture some of which was built many years before the British left it in 1947. Even more attractive was the greenery of the land inside the city and outside it which allowed for long walks during the summer mornings and evenings. The afternoons in summer were intolerable unless you were driving in air-conditioned cars of which there are plenty nowadays. I say nowadays because during my student days and interview there were very few air-conditioned taxis and if you asked for one you would have to pay extra fare.
From Delhi it is possible to travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal which is claimed to be one of the finest buildings in the world. It takes four hours by car, have lunch in Agra and return to Delhi the evening. The pink city of Jaipur nearby is a must for its sheer charm. It is a 90-minute flight or 24 hours by train to Mumbai which is worth seeing since you are already in the capital.
Farouk Luqman is an eminent journalist based in Jeddah.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News' point of view
