Motilal Nehru first became Congress Party President in 1919 thereby kicking off the famous Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. His son Jawaharlal Nehru was a freedom fighter and became the first Prime Minister of Independent India.
Indira Gandhi formed the third generation and took over the PM’s post after being Nehru’s unofficial chief of staff and also Minister of Information & Broadcasting.
But after that the fourth generation of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has been around for what seems like ages, has been the least experienced when the particular person took charge and probably has been the most destructive.
Let me explain.
When Emergency was imposed in 1975, Sanjay Gandhi was just 28 years old. That’s like being a baby in the old and aged world of Indian politics. Yet Sanjay virtually took charge of the nation.
He became an extra-constitutional authority and made the entire Cabinet virtually report to him instead of Prime Minister Indira.
He did what he wanted and roamed around with his goons. He forced scores of men into forced sterilization and bulldozed slum areas with great impunity.