42 years ago, on that fateful day, the tragic death of Sanjay Gandhi

On the fateful morning of June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi took off for his acrobatic practice in a new Pitts S-2A aircraft from the Safdarjung Airport Flying Club and met his tragic end. Ace photo journalist NK Sareen shares some rare pictures that he clicked after the crash

PICTURE TALK
By NK Sareen

This day today, June 23, 1980, marks the 42^nd death anniversary of Sanjay Gandhi, the younger son of Indira Gandhi, India’s third prime minister and the only woman prime minister of India to date.

Sanjay Gandhi was widely believed to be the “heir” to his mother’s chair. There were unconfirmed stories floating around at the time that Mrs. Gandhi was grooming Sanjay for the PM’s chair after her. Rajiv Gandhi, the elder brother and a pilot with Indian Airlines, preferred to lead a quiet domestic life away from limelight back then.

My first and only glimpse of Sanjay was at a meeting of Delhi lawyers after the Emergency was over. To me, he looked like a simple and pleasant young man who was busy having coffee and snacks, chatting and smiling with the legal folks. He certainly didn’t look like the man he was painted as during the Emergency.   

Sanjay was sent to the best schools in India and abroad, but he didn’t pursue university education. Instead, he decided to learn automotive engineering, spending three years at the Rolls-Royce auto maker in England, as he was very much interested in sports cars.

Sanjay’s other interest was in aircraft acrobatics, for which he had obtained his pilot’s licence in the year 1976. He often used to take off from the Safdarjung flying club for his acrobatics practices.

On the fateful morning of June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi took off for his acrobatic practice in a new Pitts S-2A aircraft from the Safdarjung airport flying club, accompanied by his instructor, Subhash Saxena.

Minutes later his plane crashed over Chanakyapuri in Delhi while attempting a dangerous acrobatic manoeuvre, killing Sanjay and his instructor on the spot. Their mutilated bodies were taken to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for stitching before being handed over to their respective families.

Sanjay was the first one of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s family to meet a violent death. Just four years later, Sanjay’s mother was next to meet a violent death, on October 31, 1984, when she was killed by the bullets of her security guards after the Operation Blue Star in June the same year. About seven years later, Rajiv Gandhi, a former Prime Minister, was the next to die a violent death, in a bomb attack by an LTTE woman while campaigning for elections for a Lok Sabha seat near Chennai on the night of May 21, 1991. Within a span of 11 years, three members of the Gandhi family met violent deaths.

In this column, ‘Picture Talk’, veteran photo journalist NK Sareen, a former Photo Editor at Expanse International and a writer, shines light on some of the pictures of personalities he has clicked over the years, with a touch of nostalgia. The views expressed here are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility for the same.