Rajiv Gandhi: PM with a ham radio network ensured we vote at 18, put women in power
Had he lived, the prime minister responsible for India's liberalisation and global 'tech savvy' reputation would have turned 80 on 20 August 2024
Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944–21 May 1991), the youngest prime minister of India, has also been described as the most misunderstood and the most under-appreciated prime minister we had as well.
“India is an old country but a young nation. I am young and I too have a dream,” he once told the US Congress.
“I dream of an India strong, independent and self-reliant and in the front rank of the nations of the world in the service of mankind,” he said, and did everything he could to push India into the 21st century looking like it belonged there.
Here is a compilation of recollections from people who worked closely with him on his mission or had a ringside seat — for just a few insights into his life, his views and his contributions as an individual and a leader.
The LoP shouldn't return until his treatment is complete, he said
When Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, he somehow found out I had a kidney problem and needed treatment abroad. One day, he called me to his office and said he was going to include me in India’s delegation to the UN [United Nations] and hoped I would use the opportunity to get the treatment I needed. I went to New York and that is one reason I am alive today. Rajiv Gandhi reportedly told his officials that the Leader of the Opposition should return only when his treatment was complete. I was then Leader of the Opposition (the BJP had two members in the Lok Sabha at the time).(Late) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former prime minister
Also Read: Rajiv Gandhi: a reformer and a gentleman
Beware the lesson of Tahrir Square, he said
Tahrir Square in Cairo will come to New Delhi if you forget Rajiv Gandhi’s vision. People would rebel if decentralisation of power is not given due importance. Rajiv Gandhi had once explained to me that such people would take to guns and oppose democracy itself if their lives do not change even after repeatedly changing their rulers in the elections. Without naming Naxalism, he said such frustration was the reason for the problems surfacing in the central part of the country…
[E]mpowering people to ensure their welfare was the only way to prevent them from rebelling against the democratic system itself… Let the country allow rich industrialists to make crores. But it should also allow ordinary people, who struggle to make both ends meet, to at least have the power to appoint or change the teacher in a local school or decide what civic work should be taken up in their area through the Panchayati Raj system…Mani Shankar Aiyar, former union minister
How will I feed my family if I go into politics?
Following the tragic death of Sanjay Gandhi in an air crash in 1980, Indira Gandhi wanted Rajiv Gandhi to help the party and get into politics. A pilot with Indian Airlines then, Rajiv Gandhi was not interested. One day, Mrs Gandhi requested me to meet Rajiv and persuade him, saying that she needed someone she could trust close to her. When I met Rajiv, I broached the subject and he reacted sharply and ruled out politics as an option. “I have a family. How will I feed them?” was his concern. He eventually gave his consent, won the election from Amethi and became an MP in August 1981.(Late) K. Natwar Singh, former diplomat and minister
The Bofors scandal...
When the Bofors scandal began to rock India, I plucked up the courage to ask Rajiv [Gandhi] about it directly. My whole experience with him was that he was an honest person, free from greed. I never saw him do anything for the purpose of self-enrichment, and I knew him well.
I was reluctant to broach the subject. I didn’t want him to think for a moment that I believed he had done this. But at the same time, I wanted to hear the truth from his own mouth. So, I mustered up my courage and asked him point-blank.
‘Sam,’ he said, ‘I have not taken a penny, and neither has my family.’ Everything I knew about him said that he was clean, not corrupt. As far as I was concerned, this interaction confirmed my belief.
Okay, I thought, the Opposition is using this as a tool, but it won’t stick. But I was wrong. People believed the accusations flying around. I realised that during elections, lies sell well in India.Sam Pitroda, chairman, Indian Overseas Congress
Sam Pitroda wasn't the only one asking...
We were buddies. When I was union law minister in the Chandra Shekhar government, I looked into the Bofors files. One day, Rajiv and I happened to be in the central hall of [the old parliament building] when he said he was told I was looking into the Bofors papers. “What did you find?” he asked. I remember the reply I gave him. “I found that they got the loot and you got the boot,” I said, and we both started laughing.Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and former MP
The Prime Minister for peace and prosperity
His Prime Ministerial tenure, although brief, was very consequential. It was a period of wide-ranging achievements — which he never boasted about. Let me recall a few of them.Jairam Ramesh, MP and former minister
Ramesh notes that Rajiv Gandhi's personal drive and leadership ensured that:
1. Now 18-year-olds have the right to vote
2. More than 15 lakh women are elected representatives in panchayats and nagarpalikas today
3. Peace accords were signed in Assam, Punjab, Mizoram and Tripura
4. Decisive steps were taken to usher India into the IT era
5. Technology missions were launched in rural India
6. Programmes to deliver drinking water, immunisation, literacy, oil seeds, telecom, dairy and wasteland development were foregrounded
7. Vaccine research and production capabilities were expanded
8. A New Education Policy, anchored in science and progressive values, was introduced — over 650 Navodaya Vidyalayas in each district of the country are a direct outcome of this policy.
And there was more.
Thank you, Prime Minister Gandhi, for...
Panchayati Raj: Rajiv Gandhi’s biggest contribution in Indian political history was to take the first step towards according Constitutional status to panchayats.
The Bill giving constitutional status to panchayats and nagar palikas could not be passed in September 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister, as the Congress did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, where the Bill fell short of five votes. The BJP also voted against the Bill.
However, the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Bill became an Act on 24 April 1993, during a Congress government’s rule. It was a revolutionary step since it added a third tier of decision making in the country.
Women were given one-third reservation in the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act. Today, there are almost 32 lakh elected representatives in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, of whom about 15 lakh are women
Liberalisation: The manifesto for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, released just a few weeks before his assassination, provided the foundations for the Rao–Manmohan Singh reforms of June–July 1991. This legacy, however is often overlooked.
It was released by Rajiv Gandhi on 15 April 1991. He had spent long hours on the manifesto through the previous 10 days. Only one newspaper, The Telegraph, captured its significance, reflected in its headline the next day. It read ‘Congress promises liberalisation drive’.
Institution building: The first direct steps to making India a software export powerhouse were taken during his tenure. Institutions that are now doing the country proud, like the C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing), were established in the late 1980s. Financial institutions like the National Housing Bank and the Small Industries Development Bank of India came into being.
And finally, a ham radio network for disaster mitigation
The National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), Hyderabad, pointed out:
Rajiv Gandhi realised the potential of radio hams [amateur radio operators]. He himself cultivated the hobby, and his vision was to open up communications to the people through amateur wireless stations set up through a national network in 6 lakh villages.
Even before he became prime minister, he organised an exhibition in 1981 at Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi on ‘Communication: Past, Present, Future’. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited the exhibition and was shown how to make contact over amateur radio with several ham stations set up in cyclone-prone areas of Andhra Pradesh.
Amateur radio should be promoted as a hobby in national interest and to promote scientific temper among the youth. Communication and information technology would help in disaster mitigation, [Rajiv Gandhi] was convinced.
Arya Ghosh, a life member of NIAR, told the Hindu that on the last day of his life, Rajiv Gandhi made his last call on ham radio from the city of Visakhapatnam while on board an aircraft.
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