Rajiv Gandhi, a reluctant entrant in the political arena, was the last member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the post of prime minister of India. The death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash in 1980 catalysed his entry into politics. After the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi in 1984, Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Indian PM at the age of 40.
Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, in Mumbai. He was three years old when his grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru became the first PM of Independent India.
As we remember Rajiv Gandhi on his 78th birth anniversary, here are five lesser-known facts about the former PM:
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2. Rajiv Gandhi had a passion for photography. He had been reportedly approached by a publisher to bring out a book of photographs, but he declined. After his death, his wife, Sonia Gandhi published the book Rajiv’s world: Photographs by Rajiv Gandhi, in 1995, which had photographs clicked by the former PM over four decades.
3. Rajiv Gandhi earned the epithet, ‘Mr Clean,’ as he promised to root out corruption from the country. Also, as he was new to politics, even the Opposition had very little to troll him with. However, the media dropped the epithet after Rajiv’s image was tarnished by the Bofors scam, in which several Congress politicians, including Gandhi, were implicated of being involved with a Swedish arms manufacturing company. Later, he was given a clean chit by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court more recently, albeit posthumously.
4. Rajiv Gandhi loved to drive and was perhaps one of the only prime ministers in the country to drive himself during his election campaigns or on other tours.
5. After the sudden death of Sanjay Gandhi, the Shankaracharya Swami Shri Swaroopanand, visited Indira Gandhi and Rajiv. It was during this meeting that Shankaracharya Swami suggested that Rajiv should enter politics.
