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Indira Gandhi

Lessons of the past

While Nixon and Kissinger adamantly supported the army rulers of Pakistan, the carnage in East Pakistan continued. The Nixon administration put considerable premium on its reliance on Islamabad for facilitating normalized relations with Beijing, as that was its top foreign policy concern. Kissinger was categorical, 'Yahya must be kept afloat for six more months'

The Congress

Let us turn to Gandhiji, who ruled the Congress with an iron fist concealed by goat’s milk, from 1920 to 1946. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose won the Congress presidential election with a substantial majority in the AICC, defeating Gandhi‘s favourite, Pattabhi Sitaramayya. The great leader strongly disapproved of Netaji‘s conduct. He had been president in 1938 and his standing again for the election was not to Gandhi's liking. He, therefore, saw to it that Netaji could not function in office

The nation’s loss

As a senior member of the Congress party, he was trusted by his colleagues to present cogent analyses of political issues and chart a course that others could follow, including the drafting of party manifestos