“Also, in the year of 2004, some media reports, according to them, show that Sonia Gandhi wanted to make a deal with LTTE. For this purpose, Edwardo Faleiro was sent to Sri Lanka on a secret mission to meet LTTE leaders on behalf of Sonia (although, he claimed that his visit to Sri Lanka was personal); hence, Priyanka had now the message for LTTE which she wanted to convey them through Nalini regarding the quitting of animosity for her family.”______________________________
by Ashwini Ahuja
(May 05, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) Violence and hatred has its roots in India since the country partitioned. Mahatma Gandhi, an apostle of non-violence was the first ever biggest leader of the free India who was assassinated in the year of 1948 because of his policies of compassion, love, tolerance and non-violence which were against those who disbelieve in India’s secularism and Hindu-Muslim unity. If we look back, since 1947 to 2008, violence and hatred have eaten out thousands of great lives so far including two prime ministers from Gandhi family- Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her son Rajeev Gandhi except for dozens ministers, police and administrative officers from different states.
And in such times, if some one from the very troubled and bereaved Gandhi family unusually walks some extra distance in order to patch up personal tragedy by meeting the assassin and try to bury the past of hatred and ill will, it is regret to mention, the gesture is seen with cynicism and suspicion by opposition parties.
Needless to say, a lot has been written and heard about Priyanka- Nalini meeting at central Vellore women jail. More than a month has passed but the clamour over their tryst is still looming large fruitlessly.
Media men, politicians who are allergic to Gandhi family see the visit in different shade and link it to upcoming election. Why Priyanka chose the particular time to meet 43 years old Nalini, one of the key conspirators of her father assassination, a common question they all puts forth.
Second, Nalini husband Murugan, a co-conspirator is writing a biography and it is rumoured that the book is full of explosive revelations. This is also the most demanding reason of visiting Priyanka to Nalini, they say.
Also, in the year of 2004, some media reports, according to them, show that Sonia Gandhi wanted to make a deal with LTTE. For this purpose, Edwardo Faleiro was sent to Sri Lanka on a secret mission to meet LTTE leaders on behalf of Sonia (although, he claimed that his visit to Sri Lanka was personal); hence, Priyanka had now the message for LTTE which she wanted to convey them through Nalini regarding the quitting of animosity for her family.
None can deny that there may be possibilities of reviving of the animosity in LTTE towards Gandhi family when the children of Rajeev Gandhi are now in limelight politics; and in such time if Priyanka, the daughter of late prime minister makes efforts to bury the past of hatred for the welfare of family and the nation too is a commendable maturity and wisdom.
But I’m amazed to hear when some say that this visit is a sheer political gimmick to sweep election. India is not such a country where a daughter might play politics with the assassination of her father. It might be rather lack of common sense to think about it. If the daughter says it was ‘her way to coming to peace with violence and loss she has experienced’ we should magnanimously accept it. After forgetting the hatred, anger and ill-will if someone resorts to the path of forgiveness, it should be rather encouraged, not discouraged.
It is first ever political family in India that has showed such gestures which remind us of the values which Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation spread. Such grand gestures are found with difficulty in political families. Did ever any political leader try to meet the killer of his family member except Priyanka?
Rahul, her brother too admitted that he is also not against her sister’s visiting the prison to one of the conspirators of her father’s murder because they think differently.
No doubt, Sonia Gandhi too has a great sympathy for Nalini and she too had buried the hatred for her long ago when she magnanimously wrote to President K. R. Narayan in the year of 1999 to commute the death sentence of Nalini to life imprisonment as response to Nalini’s several letters to her requesting clemency on the ground she had given birth to a baby girl in jail and she wanted to live for the cause of daughter Meghara who was then eight years and now is sixteen years old.
It is pertinent to mention that with Sonia’s personal efforts, the death punishment to Nalini was later (2001) commuted to life. And, now if the daughter Priyanka, with mother’s consultation meets the killer of her father, her emotions should not be vilified. It is a laudable gesture of the daughter of a Gandhi family.
The question is: if the family really wanted to play politics eyeing on upcoming election, as opposition roaring, it could seek enormous publicity out of the event but it was the Nalini’s family and lawyer who revealed the meeting with a little hope for getting some mercy for his client from the court. Before it, it was Chennai based advocate D. Raj Kumar who got information through RTI act after the days of her visit.
Actually, Sonia is not as astute as she is projected. If she is super PM today it is only because of she belongs to Gandhi dynasty and wife of late Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi. It is a tradition in congress if any of Gandhi family shows his desire to work for the party; he or she is offered not only the reverence but the top rank also. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi although sacrificed her premiership due to clamour over her birth at Italy yet her place in congress has remained ever highest in the party.
If we look back, it is because of Sonia’s immaturity in politics after the assassination of her husband Rajeev Gandhi; she allowed the mastermind Arjun Singh and his ilk to topple Inder Kumar Gujral’s united front government on their plea that DMK leaders might be behind the assassination of Rajeev Gandhi. Later, she, after gaining maturity, rectified herself and struck alliance with DMK.
However, if a visit to Vellore central prison is daughter’s personal desire to seek soothe then it should be considered the daughter’s way of coming to terms with her father’s cruel death. All these grand gestures by the mother earlier and her two children now should not allow falling in incongruity.
Some definitely would say how the assassination of India’s Prime Minister can be a personal matter. The country too should have the right to know the mystery of killing? Who was behind the reason of killing of a good man? It is not the only Priyanka question. Nation also wants to know this.
For a daughter, father is always a good and nice man but for LTTE, Rajeev Gandhi was not a good man because he had made a blunder sending IPKF (Indian peace keeping force to Sri Lanka) to fight against LTTE. Rajeev Gandhi then wanted to enforce the peace accord he had signed with the then president J. R. Jayewardene, in July 1987. The LTTE (The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) was angry with Rajeev Gandhi’s blunder decision and they blew him up at an election rally on May 21, 1991 in Sriperumpudur, near Chennai, Tamil Nadu along with 15 others.
So, if the daughter is aggrieved, she has the every right to meet one of the conspirators of her father. There should be no place of suspicion behind it. But even after the 17 years of the fatality, there are still some questions which are so far unanswered despite the punishment to the killers.
First, who persuaded Rajeev Gandhi to campaign in Sriperumbudur while local candidate did not ask for it? Second, who did tell the LTTE Rajeev Gandhi’s travel schedule even the local police did not have any information regarding the visit. Why the family members of the 15 who had died with Rajeev Gandhi were not helped or compensated in any way. Why they were overlooked by Sonia’s family? Should Priyanka’s gestures move the LTTE and they might realize its folly is also an important question now?
Writer is a freelance columnist and novelist
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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