Opinion | Sonia Gandhi's 'Unkindest Cut': An Untold Story From 1986

From airport cold shoulders to backstage power shifts, how the sudden ouster of Arun Nehru 40 years ago set off a political wildfire that altered Indian history

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Exactly 40 years ago, the date October 22, 1986, triggered a downslide in Rajiv Gandhi’s prime ministerial career. This day marked two things. The first, visible. The second, invisible. Both equally significant.

The first, meaning the visible part, was that Rajiv Gandhi reshuffled his council of ministers and dropped the most powerful man, Arun Nehru. For most people, it was a shock, since Arun Nehru was reputed to be the most influential person after Rajiv Gandhi. After this date, Rajiv Gandhi kept on losing one key man after another, leading to his electoral drubbing in the next elections.

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Now, the second, meaning the invisible part. Sonia Gandhi had begun to pull the strings of power from behind the scenes ever since Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister on the 31st of October, 1984, in the immediate aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. But the first major casualty of Sonia’s wrath happened almost two years later, with the axing of Rajiv Gandhi’s most trusted lieutenant, Arun Nehru.

The next year, 1987, saw the resignations of Rajiv’s Defence Minister, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, and Minister of State for Defence, Arun Singh. Both........

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