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India and the Gandhis’

Interestingly, Mahatma Gandhi and the Nehru-Gandhi family are not related at all. Infact Indira Gandhi married Feroze Gandhi, Indian politician and journalist of Parsi-Zoroastrian descent born in Mumbai whereas Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu from Gujrat.
But the common Indian seems to just love this family. If ever a family came close to a royal stature in India, it would have to be the Gandhi’s. There is some invisible aura that surrounds the Gandhis’ more so today than ever before. I really am not a big supporter of their political pursuits, but I have to confess that they really fascinate me. I like that they are the only leaders that walk amongst swarms of people with out any fear. I am sure most people will have an image of Rajiv Gandhi walking briskly through villages, waving out to common people, shaking hands with sick and the poor without any hesitation or reservation. His mother did the same and now it’s Priyanka and Rahul continuing where their father left. One can only appreciate this if one tries to recollect the last time one reached out and shook hands with the poor or the sick on the roads. Or what one felt when a homeless person came really close asking for alms. I am uncomfortable even shaking hands with strangers. I still remember the day when Rajiv Gandhi’s motorcade passed by me while I was walking home after school. I actually got a glimpse of him behind the window. A few days later he was killed.
With the election in UP, Rahul has plunged himself into the campaign promoting INC. Wearing bright while kurta-pyjama, he has managed to draw huge crowds solely because he is a part of the Gandhi clan. I think this election is his official initiation into to the murky world that is the Indian politics. I definitely see him one day becoming the PM of this Indian Republic. Though I think his sister Priyanka is much more a people person than he his but than she has a family to look after, which I am sure is more rewarding and peaceful than looking after the welfare of over a billion people.

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