MYSTERY BEHIND THE `GANDHI SURNAME The contours of the next Lok Sabha election are clear. Itll be a no-holds-barred Modi vs Rahul fight. Of the two, Rahul is the inheritor of Indias most famous surname `Gandhi’, linked as it is to the Father of the Nation. But the irony is that, contrary to common man’s perceptions, the political beneficiaries of this surname—be it Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi or his cousin Varun Gandhi—have nothing to do with the family or caste of Mahatma Gandhi. Then why did the children and grandchildren of Jawaharlal Nehru not use their legitimate surname `Nehru, but instead opted for `Gandhi? This mystery needs to be unravelled for the benefit of the nation. The surname `Gandhi’ was first used by Jawaharlal’s daughter late Indira Gandhi. There are many theories as to how she happened to adopt this surname. Indira, as we all know, was head over heels in love with Feroze Khan, a family friend of the Nehrus. According to one story, Feroze Khan’s father, Nawab Khan, was a Muslim and mother a Persian Muslim. Jawaharlal Nehru did not approve of the inter-caste marriage for political reasons. Nehru obviously thought that if Indira Nehru were to marry a Muslim, she would cease to be the heir to the future Nehru dynasty. Mahatma Gandhi intervened at this stage and adopted Feroze Khan, gave him his last name (family/caste name) and got the name of Feroz Khan changed to Feroz Gandhi by an affidavit in England. Thus, Feroze Khan became Feroze Gandhi. Though Mahatma belonged to Bania/Gandhi caste (the surname `Gandhi’ was used by Gujaratis belonging to Vaishya, a merchant caste), the proposal was acceptable to Nehru for political reasons. Indira Nehru married Feroze (Khan) Gandhi in 1942 and became Indira Gandhi. Indira thus had the privilege of being the daughter of Nehru and the wife of `Gandhi’. This was how what we now refer to as the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty was born and the famous surname immensely helped the future generations of this dynasty politically. Another story has it that Feroze had a Parsi father whose surname was Ghandi, not Gandhi. It was Mahatma Gandhi, so runs the story, who suggested to Nehru that Ferozes surname be spelt as Gandhi instead of the original Ghandi. An RSS columnist once wrote that Ghandis mother was a Muslim, and since an offspring takes on the religion of its mother, Feroz ought to be considered a Muslim. The erstwhile Jan Sangh, the precursor to BJP, objected to the use of Gandhi surname by Indira and her children, late Rajiv and Sanjay, saying they actually belonged to the `Nehru-Khan dynasty’. The BJP once had a dig at the Congress saying the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which earned its name by changing the surname of Feroze, would one day change the name of India after the dynasty. But Modi cant be expected to exploit this surname issue to his electoral advantage, because two `Gandhis’ -- Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun Gandhi -- have since joined the BJP and are now among its star campaigners. Moreover, BJP is consciously grooming Varun as a bulwark against Congress’ Gandhi, Rahul. So the onus is now on both the Congress and the BJP to explain to the people about their legal and moral entitlement to use the `Gandhi’ surname.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 09:03:57 +0000