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Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India
The gripping story of Indira Gandhi’s premiership—and the profound influence she had on India
Indira Gandhi’s ascent as prime minister of India in 1966 was entirely unforeseen. But she soon emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders of her times, who transformed the world’s largest democracy. She served as prime minister for a remarkable fifteen years, leaving behind a complex and deeply controversial legacy.
In this fascinating account, Srinath Raghavan tells the story of Indira Gandhi’s political career and the momentous changes that India experienced under her leadership. From her tentative start in high office to her remarkable electoral victories, the dark days of the Emergency of 1975–77, and her assassination at the hands of her bodyguards in 1984, Raghavan sheds new light on her politics and government, as well as on her adversaries and critics. He shows how the 1970s were the hinge on which the history of the country turned—and how Indira Gandhi transformed the new postcolonial nation into the India of today.
Indira Gandhi’s ascent as prime minister of India in 1966 was entirely unforeseen. But she soon emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders of her times, who transformed the world’s largest democracy. She served as prime minister for a remarkable fifteen years, leaving behind a complex and deeply controversial legacy.
In this fascinating account, Srinath Raghavan tells the story of Indira Gandhi’s political career and the momentous changes that India experienced under her leadership. From her tentative start in high office to her remarkable electoral victories, the dark days of the Emergency of 1975–77, and her assassination at the hands of her bodyguards in 1984, Raghavan sheds new light on her politics and government, as well as on her adversaries and critics. He shows how the 1970s were the hinge on which the history of the country turned—and how Indira Gandhi transformed the new postcolonial nation into the India of today.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published June 10, 2025
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About the author
Srinath Raghavan
12 books113 followersSrinath Raghavan is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research. He is also a senior research fellow at the India Institute at King’s College London. Srinath works on contemporary and historical aspects of India’s foreign and security policies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 5, 2025
Srinath Raghavan ventures into the space of modern political history with this book, having previously tackled very specific niches of civil-military relations in modern India, socio-political-military history, and foreign policy. A rare Nehru-tilted scholar of our times, Raghavan is anything but kind to the first Prime Minister's daughter and political heir, the central deciding factor in this new work of his.
Was Indira Gandhi actually her father's heir, though? Many in the Congress could have staked that claim, and they did try. He was succeeded in office not by her but by the well-regarded, mild-mannered Lal Bahadur Shastri. Raghavan's account steps out how Indira harvested the bequest of her father's political legacy in the twenty months that elapsed between his passing and Shastri's, and how she capitalised on the incomprehensible foolhardiness of senior Congress leaders to outmaneuvre them.
By no means does Raghavan take kindly to the machinations: much of the book describes how she achieved the sort of totalitarian control she did, and large chunks are dedicated to understanding how her actions reshaped the wheels on which political activity in India turned forever. That is the single most important point one comes away with after having read this book: that no leader before her or after her (with the possible exception of Narendra Modi) has altered the very basic functions of Indian politics. Raghavan warns against drawing parallels between Indira and Modi but it is all too clear to see just how similar these two purely political operators are.
Though he dwells on the knic-knacs of political functions as a whole considerably, I wish Raghavan had devoted a little more to stepping out how Indira operated the non-political levers of the government: though not vital, it would have painted a fuller picture to know how she dealt with the most specialist of government functions: diplomacy, military affairs, and intelligence.
The writing style is relatively straight-forward, though I do wish Raghavan had eschewed the use of Indira's full name every time she is mentioned since it just becomes cumbersome to read, though I appreciate the challenge in using either "Indira" or "Gandhi" to describe her.
Was Indira Gandhi actually her father's heir, though? Many in the Congress could have staked that claim, and they did try. He was succeeded in office not by her but by the well-regarded, mild-mannered Lal Bahadur Shastri. Raghavan's account steps out how Indira harvested the bequest of her father's political legacy in the twenty months that elapsed between his passing and Shastri's, and how she capitalised on the incomprehensible foolhardiness of senior Congress leaders to outmaneuvre them.
By no means does Raghavan take kindly to the machinations: much of the book describes how she achieved the sort of totalitarian control she did, and large chunks are dedicated to understanding how her actions reshaped the wheels on which political activity in India turned forever. That is the single most important point one comes away with after having read this book: that no leader before her or after her (with the possible exception of Narendra Modi) has altered the very basic functions of Indian politics. Raghavan warns against drawing parallels between Indira and Modi but it is all too clear to see just how similar these two purely political operators are.
Though he dwells on the knic-knacs of political functions as a whole considerably, I wish Raghavan had devoted a little more to stepping out how Indira operated the non-political levers of the government: though not vital, it would have painted a fuller picture to know how she dealt with the most specialist of government functions: diplomacy, military affairs, and intelligence.
The writing style is relatively straight-forward, though I do wish Raghavan had eschewed the use of Indira's full name every time she is mentioned since it just becomes cumbersome to read, though I appreciate the challenge in using either "Indira" or "Gandhi" to describe her.
December 5, 2025
Srinath Raghavan, the erudite scholar who has previously written valuable works on Nehru and Bangladesh war (among others) pens a semi-biographical, semi-political portrait of the "Long 1970s" through the travails and decisions of the fragile yet indestructible "Durga"- Indira Gandhi. While the research material is new and the context setting is thorough (understanding local economic decisions through the lens of global crises), the author is in a hurry to pack in too much material in limited space. In a book with large ambitions, epiphanies are expected but the book stops short. The biggest decision in Indira Gandhi's career was to withdraw Emergency when she was at the peak of her political legitimacy. Ramachandra Guha's "India after Gandhi" has a theory explaining it. Srinath Raghavan, for all the expectations, does not even try.
June 13, 2025
definitive and rigorously comprehensive chronicle of all important developments during IG era.
The last I was this hooked to political history book was Vinay Sitapati’s Half Lion.
Raghavan tackles a tough subject and presenting the factually rigorous record allows little scope of dramatisation / personalisation, but he’s still managed to craft a gripping text, which in equal parts informs and thrills
The last I was this hooked to political history book was Vinay Sitapati’s Half Lion.
Raghavan tackles a tough subject and presenting the factually rigorous record allows little scope of dramatisation / personalisation, but he’s still managed to craft a gripping text, which in equal parts informs and thrills
December 30, 2025
An analytical book documenting and describing Indira Gandhi's long years as Prime Minister of India. Her thought leanings, desire to power and dynasty, political astuteness and ruthlessness. Shaping of her policies under severe economic compulsions; caste, class, economic disparity; ethnic and regional issues; Bangladesh and refugees issue; and more importantly under the universal franchise in the parliamentary democracy originally developed in the Constitution of India on the hypothesis of quick march on the path of economic and social development of the country, with variety of built-in checks and balances, and the assumption of a certain degree of morality in human behaviour. Her achievements and contributions in the development of the country and her losses and negative contributions.
But above this all, the book, as the title suggests, describes and lay bare as to how her playing with the Constitution of India - the amendments made to suit political convenience, dismantling of checks and balances, and the use of the constitutional institutions for political purposes - all together may be summarised as "This epistle was as good an epitaph as any for the rules of the game of parliamentary democracy"."The historical changes wrought in her time certainly paved the way for some grotesque mediocrities to rule India".
But above this all, the book, as the title suggests, describes and lay bare as to how her playing with the Constitution of India - the amendments made to suit political convenience, dismantling of checks and balances, and the use of the constitutional institutions for political purposes - all together may be summarised as "This epistle was as good an epitaph as any for the rules of the game of parliamentary democracy"."The historical changes wrought in her time certainly paved the way for some grotesque mediocrities to rule India".
August 9, 2025
Fantastic exposition, especially on the lesser known facts about the 1972-75 period. The nuance challenging conventional narratives is very subtle at first but does grow as the book progresses.
Some parts like why she called the election in 1977 still need more reasoning (one part where I’d hoped we’d finally get an answer).
Some parts like why she called the election in 1977 still need more reasoning (one part where I’d hoped we’d finally get an answer).
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews