Feroze Gandhi
Feroze Gandhi (born
12 August 1912; died
8 September 1960) was an Indian politician and journalist of
Gujarati-
Parsi descent
[On page 93 of her book "Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi", Katherine Frank mentions the name of Feroze Gandhi's father Jehangir Gandhi a Parsi with a Gujarati name. Feroze Gandhi, therefore took the last name Gandhi from his father.] He was the husband of
Indira Gandhi, the former
Prime Minister of India and daughter of
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister. He was educated at the City Anglo-Vernacular High School and
Ewing Christian College, followed by the
London School of Economics. He abandoned his studies in
1930 to join the struggle for Indian independence.
Feroze grew close to the Nehru family, especially Indira's mother
Kamala Nehru and Indira herself. Feroze helped nurse the ailing Kamala, and briefly traveled with Nehru, Kamala and Indira to Europe. Even before Kamala's death, Indira and Feroze had begun falling in love. There is some evidence (see Reference book) that Kamala herself opposed the match, and although Nehru was personally averse to Feroze, he did not involve himself in opposing it. Indira and Feroze grew more close to each other in England. They married in 1942.
Arrested and jailed during the
Quit India Movement less than six months after their marriage, he was imprisoned for a year in
Allahabad's
Naini Central Prison. Indira was also imprisoned. In 1944, she gave birth to
Rajiv Gandhi, a future Prime Minister. In 1946,
Sanjay Gandhi, a major political influence on his mother when she was PM, was born. Indira and Feroze settled in
Allahabad with their two young children, and Feroze became editor of
The National Herald, a newspaper founded by his father-in-law.
Feroze Gandhi contested elections to the
Parliament of India in 1952, independent India's first general elections. His wife served as his campaign organizer, and Gandhi won. But Feroze soon became a prominent force in his own right, criticizing the Government of his father-in-law and beginning a tirade against corruption. His exposure of a scandal involving major insurance companies and the Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari caused the latter to resign, and Nehru major embarrassment. Feroze began building his own reputation and small coterie of supporters and advisors, and continued challenging the government. He was re-elected in 1957. It should be noted that Indira did not envisage a personal future for herself in politics until the death of her husband.
The marriage of Feroze and Indira was tumultuous, as Indira began living with her father, who was alone, and cared for him personally and often acted as his private secretary. When he became an MP, Feroze started living in his own house in
Delhi, away from his father-in-law and wife. This unwilling separation embittered Feroze, and it is speculated that he was having extra-marital affairs as a way of getting back on Indira.
Indira and Feroze were re-united in 1958, when Feroze suffered his first heart attack. Indira took him to recuperate in
Kashmir, where with their young boys, they were together again. However, Feroze died in 1960 of a second heart attack.
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Nehru-Gandhi family
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Photo of Indira and Feroze Gandhi by Homai Vyarawalla*
Article in The Hindu 
