Feroze Gandhi
Encyclopedia
Feroze Jehangir Gandhi (Firoz Jahangīr Gāndhī; ; 12 September 1912 – 8 September 1960) was an India
n politician and journalist, and publisher of the The National Herald
and The Navjivan newspapers from Lucknow
.
He became a member of the provincial parliament (1950–1952), and later a member of the Lok Sabha
, the Lower House of India's parliament
. In 1942 he married Indira Nehru (later Prime Minister of India) and they had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi
(also later a Prime Minister) and Sanjay Gandhi
, and thus became part of the Nehru dynasty.
family from Gujarat. He was the youngest of the five children of Faredoon Jehangir Gandhi, a marine engineer, and Rattimai Hatta (later changed to Commisariat). His family had migrated to Bombay from Bharuch
in South Gujarat. Their ancestral home, which belonged to his grandfather, still exists in Kotpariwad. His family was not related to that of Mahatma Gandhi
.
His elder brothers were Dorab Jehangir Gandhi, Faridun Jehangir Gandhji.http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/82389/http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/78998/. He has two sisters one was Tehmina Kershashp Gandhi.
In the early 1920s, after the death of his father, he and his mother moved to Allahabad
to live with their unmarried aunt, Shirin Commissariat, a surgeon at the city's Lady Dufferin Hospital
. He attended the Vidya Mandir High School and then graduated from the British-staffed Ewing Christian College
. He went on to study at the London School of Economics
.
In March 1930, the youth wing of Congress Freedom fighters, the Vanar Sena was formed. Gandhi met Kamala Nehru
and Indira
among the women demonstrators picketing outside Ewing Christian College. Kamala fainted with the heat of the sun and Gandhi went to comfort her. The next day, he abandoned his studies in 1930 to join the Indian independence movement
. He was imprisoned in 1930, along with Lal Bahadur Shastri
, head of Allahabad District Congress Committee, and lodged in Faizabad
Jail for nineteen months. Soon after his release, he was involved with the agrarian no-rent campaign in the United Province
(now Uttar Pradesh) and was imprisoned twice, in 1932 and 1933, while working closely with Nehru.
Feroze grew close to the Nehru family, especially to Indira's mother Kamala Nehru
, accompanying her to the TB Sanatorium at Bhowali
in 1934, helping arrange her trip to Europe when her condition worsened in April 1935, and visiting her at the sanitarium at Badenweiler and finally at Laussane, where he was at her bedside when she died on 28 February 1936. In the following years, Indira and Feroze grew further closer to each other while in England. They married in March 1942 according to Hindu
rituals.
Indira's father Jawaharlal Nehru
opposed her marriage to Gandhi and approached Mahatma Gandhi
to dissuade the young couple, but to no avail. However, over the years, father-in-law and son-in-law resolved their differences, especially as Gandhi adopted Gandhiji's ideology. The couple were arrested and jailed in August 1942, during the Quit India Movement
less than six months after their marriage, he was imprisoned for a year in Allahabad's Naini Central Prison
. The coming five years were of comfortable domestic life and the couple had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, born in 1944 and 1946 respectively.
After independence, Jawaharlal became the first Prime Minister of India
. Feroze and Indira settled in Allahabad with their two young children, and Feroze became Managing Director of The National Herald
, a newspaper founded by his father-in-law. He was also the first chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited
.
After being a member of the provincial parliament (1950–1952), Gandhi won independent India's first general elections in 1952, from Rae Bareli
constituency in Uttar Pradesh
. Indira came down from Delhi and worked as his campaign organizer. Gandhi soon became a prominent force in his own right, criticizing the government of his father-in-law and beginning a fight against corruption.
In the years after independence, many Indian business houses had become close to the political leaders, and now some of them started various financial irregularities. In a case exposed by Gandhi in December 1955, he revealed how Ram Kishan Dalmia, as chairman of a bank and an insurance company, used these companies to fund his takeover of Bennett and Coleman
started transferring money illegally from publicly-held companies for their own benefit.
In 1957, he was re-elected from Rae Bareli
. In the parliament in 1958, he raised the Haridas Mundhra
scandal involving the government controlled LIC insurance company. This was a huge embarrassment to the clean image of Nehru's government and eventually led to the resignation of the Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari. His rift with Indira had also become public knowledge by then, and added to the media interest in the matter.
Feroze also initiated a number of nationalization drives, starting with the Life Insurance Corporation. At one point he also suggested that Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) be nationalized since they were charging nearly double the price of a Japanese railway engine. This raised a stir in the Parsi community since the Tatas were also Parsi. He continued challenging the government on a number of other issues, and emerged as a parliamentarian well-respected on both sides of the bench.
. She returned to look after him in Kashmir
. Gandhi died in 1960 at the Willingdon Hospital, Delhi, after suffering a second heart attack. He was cremated and his ashes interred at the Parsi cemetery in Allahabad.
His Rae Bareli
Lok Sabha constituency seat was held by his daughter-in-law, and wife of Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi
from 2004 until 2006.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n politician and journalist, and publisher of the The National Herald
The National Herald
The National Herald is an English-language Greek American weekly newspaper in New York that was founded in 1997. It is the sister publication of the long-running Eθνικός Κήρυξ the only daily Greek language newspaper in the United States.The National Herald is aimed at Greek American and Cypriot...
and The Navjivan newspapers from Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
.
He became a member of the provincial parliament (1950–1952), and later a member of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
, the Lower House of India's parliament
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
. In 1942 he married Indira Nehru (later Prime Minister of India) and they had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
(also later a Prime Minister) and Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi
Sanjay Gandhi was an Indian politician. The younger son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi, he was a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family...
, and thus became part of the Nehru dynasty.
Early life
Feroze Jehangir Gandhi was born in Bombay, to a ParsiParsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
family from Gujarat. He was the youngest of the five children of Faredoon Jehangir Gandhi, a marine engineer, and Rattimai Hatta (later changed to Commisariat). His family had migrated to Bombay from Bharuch
Bharuch
Bharuch , also known as Broach, is the oldest city in Gujarat, situated at the mouth of the holy river Narmada. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District and a municipality of more than 1,50,000 inhabitants. As Bharuch is a major seaport city, a number of trade activities have...
in South Gujarat. Their ancestral home, which belonged to his grandfather, still exists in Kotpariwad. His family was not related to that of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
.
His elder brothers were Dorab Jehangir Gandhi, Faridun Jehangir Gandhji.http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/82389/http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/78998/. He has two sisters one was Tehmina Kershashp Gandhi.
In the early 1920s, after the death of his father, he and his mother moved to Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
to live with their unmarried aunt, Shirin Commissariat, a surgeon at the city's Lady Dufferin Hospital
Lady Dufferin Hospital
Lady Dufferin Hospital is located in Karachi, Sindh, and it is the largest women's hospital in Pakistan. The hospital, which was completed in 1898, was named after the British peeress Lady Dufferin. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, gave bith to a girl in the hospital in...
. He attended the Vidya Mandir High School and then graduated from the British-staffed Ewing Christian College
Ewing Christian College
Ewing Christian College was established in 1902, as Allahabad Christian College on the banks of river Jamuna in Allahabad, U.P. by the American Presbyterian Mission....
. He went on to study at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Career
Kamala Nehru
Kamala Kaul Nehru was the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru - leader of the Indian National Congress and first Prime Minister of India. Kamala married Nehru on 7 February 1916.-Contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement:...
and Indira
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
among the women demonstrators picketing outside Ewing Christian College. Kamala fainted with the heat of the sun and Gandhi went to comfort her. The next day, he abandoned his studies in 1930 to join the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
. He was imprisoned in 1930, along with Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
, head of Allahabad District Congress Committee, and lodged in Faizabad
Faizabad
City of Faizabad , previous capital of Awadh, is the headquarters of Faizabad District and a municipal board in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, situated on the banks of river Ghaghra . Faizabad has a twin city of Ayodhya, which is considered to be the birthplace of Rama...
Jail for nineteen months. Soon after his release, he was involved with the agrarian no-rent campaign in the United Province
United Province
The United Provinces, was a province of British India and later of Independent India, which came into existence on 1 April 1937 in result of the shortening of United Provinces of British India...
(now Uttar Pradesh) and was imprisoned twice, in 1932 and 1933, while working closely with Nehru.
Feroze grew close to the Nehru family, especially to Indira's mother Kamala Nehru
Kamala Nehru
Kamala Kaul Nehru was the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru - leader of the Indian National Congress and first Prime Minister of India. Kamala married Nehru on 7 February 1916.-Contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement:...
, accompanying her to the TB Sanatorium at Bhowali
Bhowali
Bhowali is a town and a municipal board in Nainital District in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It lies close to Ghorakhal, known for Golu Devta temple and Sainik School Ghorakhal.- Geography :Bhowali is located at...
in 1934, helping arrange her trip to Europe when her condition worsened in April 1935, and visiting her at the sanitarium at Badenweiler and finally at Laussane, where he was at her bedside when she died on 28 February 1936. In the following years, Indira and Feroze grew further closer to each other while in England. They married in March 1942 according to Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
rituals.
Indira's father Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
opposed her marriage to Gandhi and approached Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
to dissuade the young couple, but to no avail. However, over the years, father-in-law and son-in-law resolved their differences, especially as Gandhi adopted Gandhiji's ideology. The couple were arrested and jailed in August 1942, during the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...
less than six months after their marriage, he was imprisoned for a year in Allahabad's Naini Central Prison
Naini Central Prison
Naini Central Prison or Naini Jail at Naini, near Allahabad, is one of most important prison, and Correctional Institution in Uttar Pradesh, built during the British Raj.-Independence movement history:It became famous in pre-independence era, when many freedom fighters, including Motilal...
. The coming five years were of comfortable domestic life and the couple had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, born in 1944 and 1946 respectively.
After independence, Jawaharlal became the first Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
. Feroze and Indira settled in Allahabad with their two young children, and Feroze became Managing Director of The National Herald
The National Herald
The National Herald is an English-language Greek American weekly newspaper in New York that was founded in 1997. It is the sister publication of the long-running Eθνικός Κήρυξ the only daily Greek language newspaper in the United States.The National Herald is aimed at Greek American and Cypriot...
, a newspaper founded by his father-in-law. He was also the first chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited
Indian Oil Corporation
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters are in Mumbai, India. It is India’s largest commercial enterprise, ranked 98th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2011...
.
After being a member of the provincial parliament (1950–1952), Gandhi won independent India's first general elections in 1952, from Rae Bareli
Rae Bareli (Lok Sabha constituency)
Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India-Assembly segments:...
constituency in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Indira came down from Delhi and worked as his campaign organizer. Gandhi soon became a prominent force in his own right, criticizing the government of his father-in-law and beginning a fight against corruption.
In the years after independence, many Indian business houses had become close to the political leaders, and now some of them started various financial irregularities. In a case exposed by Gandhi in December 1955, he revealed how Ram Kishan Dalmia, as chairman of a bank and an insurance company, used these companies to fund his takeover of Bennett and Coleman
started transferring money illegally from publicly-held companies for their own benefit.
In 1957, he was re-elected from Rae Bareli
Rae Bareli (Lok Sabha constituency)
Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India-Assembly segments:...
. In the parliament in 1958, he raised the Haridas Mundhra
Haridas Mundhra
Haridas Mundhra was a Calcutta-based industrialist and stock speculator who was found guilty and imprisoned in the first big financial scandal of free India in the 1950s. The Mundhra scandal exposed the rifts between the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his son-in-law Feroze Gandhi, and...
scandal involving the government controlled LIC insurance company. This was a huge embarrassment to the clean image of Nehru's government and eventually led to the resignation of the Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari. His rift with Indira had also become public knowledge by then, and added to the media interest in the matter.
Feroze also initiated a number of nationalization drives, starting with the Life Insurance Corporation. At one point he also suggested that Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) be nationalized since they were charging nearly double the price of a Japanese railway engine. This raised a stir in the Parsi community since the Tatas were also Parsi. He continued challenging the government on a number of other issues, and emerged as a parliamentarian well-respected on both sides of the bench.
Death
Gandhi suffered a heart attack in 1958. Indira, who stayed with her father at Teen Murti House, the official residence of the prime minister, was at that time away on a state visit to BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. She returned to look after him in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. Gandhi died in 1960 at the Willingdon Hospital, Delhi, after suffering a second heart attack. He was cremated and his ashes interred at the Parsi cemetery in Allahabad.
His Rae Bareli
Rae Bareli (Lok Sabha constituency)
Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India-Assembly segments:...
Lok Sabha constituency seat was held by his daughter-in-law, and wife of Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
from 2004 until 2006.
External links
- Feroze Gandhi Profile at Lok SabhaLok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
website. - http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/10/20/stories/2002102000110500.htmArticle in The HinduThe HinduThe Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
] - Indira Gandhi