Indira Gandhi’s 42nd Death Anniversary: Rahul, Priyanka Pay Tribute, Jairam Ramesh Shares Rare Photo With Patel

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, October 31, remembered his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 42nd death anniversary, recalling a Sanskrit mantra she made him repeat during his childhood and describing it as a “beautiful gift” from her.

Rahul Gandhi also paid floral tributes to Indira Gandhi at her memorials at Shakti Sthal and 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi.

In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha recalled sitting on his grandmother’s lap, holding her hands and listening to her recite the Sanskrit prayer.

“Sitting on your lap. Holding both your hands. Listening to your voice say these words. Repeating them after you. Asato mā sadgamaya; tamaso mā jyotirgamaya; mrtyormā amrtam gamaya; OM Shanti, shanti, Shanti,” he wrote.

“What a beautiful gift you gave me Dadi. What a gift. I never imagined,” Rahul Gandhi added.

The mantra, drawn from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, invokes a journey from falsehood to truth, darkness to light and death to immortality.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also remembered her grandmother, sharing a childhood photograph with Indira Gandhi. Describing her, Priyanka wrote that she was “free as the sky, deep as the ocean, resilient as the earth, brighter than a burning fire”.

Jairam Ramesh Shares Rare Photograph Of Indira Gandhi With Patel

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also marked the occasion by sharing a rare photograph from 1947 showing a young Indira Gandhi greeting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Deputy Prime Minister.

In his post on X, Ramesh remembered Patel on his 151st birth anniversary and Indira Gandhi on her 42nd death anniversary, saying both had shaped the geography and history of the subcontinent.

“Two Indians, both indomitable and resolute. Both shaped subcontinental geography and history,” he wrote.

Ramesh said the photograph was taken in early November 1947 in New Delhi during a function hosted by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for delegates attending the Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organisation. The photograph shows a 30-year-old Indira Gandhi greeting the 72-year-old Patel, with Nehru looking on.

Taking a swipe at those he described as “distorians”, Ramesh said they could not erase the profound respect and admiration Indira Gandhi had for Patel. He also recalled her remarks on the occasion of Patel's birth centenary.

Indira Gandhi's Political Legacy

Born on November 19, 1917, Indira Gandhi was India's first and only woman Prime Minister. She served as Prime Minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination on October 31, 1984.

She was assassinated by her bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi.

Patel, born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, Gujarat, was India's first Home Minister after Independence. He played a key role in the integration of more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union. He died on December 15, 1950.