Indira name in the air, Nehru on successor five days before demise: ‘My life is not ending so very soon’

At this press conference held in Delhi, media persons asked Nehru a range of questions including those related to the succession matter.

A reporter first asked Nehru, “You are reported to have said in an interview with a television set up that you are not grooming Mrs Indira Gandhi (his daughter) for the post of the Prime Minister. Will it not be in the interest of good government and stability of this country that you solve this problem of succession in your lifetime in a democratic manner?” The PM replied, “That is a leading question,” with the hall erupting in laughter.

When flagged that “It is on everybody’s lips,” he promptly replied, “They may be talking like that. My life is not ending so very soon.”

Another probing question was then fired away at him: “In view of the great strain which you are carrying and the various suggestions which are coming that you should retire and meet as an adviser to all the statesmen who will be working, have you given any thought to this suggestion at any stage?” On this poser too, Nehru’s response sparked laughter as he said, “Yes, whenever such suggestions are made, I give some thought to them.”

The account of this press conference is among 77,000 pages and 35,000 documents made publicly and freely available online by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund (JNMF) on The Nehru Archive, a 100-volume archive launched recently to mark his 136th birth anniversary.

Amid the conversations about his succession plan, there was also a talk in political circles then that in order to facilitate Indira Gandhi’s appointment as his successor, Nehru designed the Kamraj Plan in the last quarter of 1963. This plan, aimed at rejuvenating the Congress and the government, proposed that Union ministers and chief ministers would step down and take up organisational work, while those in the organisation would join the government.

After his departure, Nehru was succeeded by Gulzarilal Nanda for two weeks, with Lal Bahadur Shastri then taking over as the PM on June 9, 1964. After Shastri’s demise, Nanda again became the PM for two weeks before making way for Indira Gandhi on January 24, 1966.

Questions on Nehru’s successor were raised in Parliament as well. On April 18, 1964, Nehru faced one such question in the Lok Sabha. He informed the House that he was heading to London to attend an eight-day conference of the Commonwealth PMs. A member Nath Pai then reminded him that during a similar situation earlier, to a question as to who will be handling important matters of the State in his absence, the PM had said that when the occasion comes, he will address the issue of his officially designated deputy. Nehru replied by underlining that “I do not remember of any previous occasion when any special arrangements had to be made or were made.”

Two days earlier, on April 16, 1964, one M P Bhargava wrote to Nehru, urging him to appoint a Deputy PM to boost coordination among various ministers and state governments. Nehru evaded the suggestion, replying to him that “While there has been lack of coordination to some extent, occasionally, there may be slight differences in what is said, in particular between the Central Ministries and the States. In any event, I do not see how a Deputy Prime Minister can coordinate these possible differences occasionally. I do not see, therefore, any particular benefit in appointing a Deputy Prime Minister at this stage.”

Nearly three weeks prior to Bhargava’s letter, Nehru received a letter from Ajit Prasad Jain, who had been the UP Congress chief during 1960-64. Jain wrote to Nehru on March 25, 1964, pointing to the government’s mismanagement in Parliament, “May I, in all humility, suggest that a time has come, when you should nominate one of the members of the Cabinet to be next after you and first among the peers?”

Just a few months after taking charge as the PM for his final term on April 2, 1962, Nehru started getting such suggestions even from outside the Congress circles. On July 13, 1962, a Punjab National Bank deputy general manager Mohan Singh wrote to the PM: “For the past so many years, the big question which most Indians visiting some of the countries in Europe and USA were usually asked was who will succeed your Prime Minister, if anything happened to him. Of late, however, this has become an important topic of discussion in India as well.”

Singh went on to say: “I was recently in Bombay and at almost every party I attended the conversation ultimately veered round to this question… I heard a person saying that if anything happened to Panditji, Indira would take over as Prime Minister and that she will lean heavily on Krishna Menon…. No one man can shoulder and discharge efficiently even half the responsibilities that you have taken on yourself. So let these responsibilities be shouldered by a team consisting of Sarvshri Lal Bahadur Shastri, Morarji Desai, T T Krishnamacharya and Mrs Indira Gandhi, under your guidance and supervision for say six months or so. Thereafter you should apply your mind to the world problems.”

Nehru replied to Mohan Singh two days later, on July 15, 1962, stating that “I confess I do not understand all this gossip as to who will succeed me. I cannot help this talk even though it appears quite pointless to me… Indeed, all our planning is for the future. But the future is the outcome of our present-day activities… I have no intention at present of retiring, and I believe I am quite fit enough to carry on for some time. What will happen after I leave is more than I can say. But I have faith in the Indian people, and there are many competent men who can undertake responsible positions in India… As for my work in the international sphere, that is an outcome of my work for India. I cannot separate the two. If we succeed in India in any measure, that will have its effect on the influence we exercise on the rest of the world. Otherwise my personality will not make much difference.”

Interestingly, Nehru forwarded both the letters along with his cover note to T T Krishnamachari, then Union finance minister, on July 15, 1962, stating “I do not quite remember who he (Mohan Singh) is, although I must have met him. I am sending this letter to you as well as a copy of my reply, as I thought these might amuse you.”

Eventually, the control of the party went to Indira Gandhi who, despite resistance from the older guard, managed to establish a firm grip. Since then, the Congress has evolved into an organisation identified with the Nehru-Gandhi family that acts as the pivot around which the party functions. After the assassination of Indira in 1984, the control of the party went to her elder son Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by the LTTE in May 1991.

After a few years under the leadership of non-Gandhis, Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv’s wife, replaced Sitaram Kesari at the helm of the Congress in March 1998. While Mallikarjun Kharge is the current party president, the succession question seems to have been settled, with Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi remaining the face of the party. In recent weeks, his sister and Wayanad MP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, has also drawn attention with her speeches in Parliament making an impact and her light-hearted interactions with BJP leaders.