Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday, 31 October shared childhood photographs with their paternal grandmother and late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, offering rare personal glimpses into their bond with the 'Iron Lady of India' on her 42nd death anniversary. The tributes, posted publicly on social media, drew wide attention for their emotional depth and intimate detail.

Rahul Gandhi's Tribute

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, shared a childhood photograph of himself seated on Indira Gandhi's lap. In a post on social media platform X, he recalled the memory of holding her hands and listening to her recite a Sanskrit Shanti Mantra from the Yajur Veda.

'Sitting on your lap. Holding both your hands. Listening to your voice say these words. Repeating them after you,' Rahul Gandhi wrote, quoting the verse: 'Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.'

'What a beautiful gift you gave me, Dadi. What a gift. I never imagined,' he added. The post underscored a side of Indira Gandhi rarely foregrounded in political discourse — her role as a grandmother who transmitted spiritual tradition.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's Remembrance

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress Member of Parliament, also shared a childhood photograph alongside her tribute. She remembered Indira Gandhi in elemental terms, describing her as a woman of extraordinary breadth of character.

'What a beautiful woman she was! Free as the sky, deep as the ocean, resilient as the Earth and brighter than fire,' Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

Congress President Pays Homage

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute in Hindi on his social media, recalling Indira Gandhi's final speech delivered just a day before her assassination on 31 October 1984. Kharge quoted her words: 'As long as there is breath in me, service will not cease, and when my life departs, then I can say that every drop of blood that is mine, every single drop of blood, will keep one India alive.'

'A symbol of indomitable courage, unwavering resolve and visionary leadership, a heartfelt tribute to India's first woman Prime Minister and our eternal source of inspiration, Smt. Indira Gandhi Ji, on her martyrdom day,' Kharge wrote. He added that her dedication to safeguarding the unity, integrity and honour of the nation would 'forever remain alive in the country's national consciousness.'

Indira Gandhi's Legacy

Born on 19 November 1917 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, Indira Gandhi was the daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kamala Nehru. She served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

Among her defining achievements: decisive leadership during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to the creation of Bangladesh; advancing the Green Revolution to steer India toward food self-reliance; authorising India's first peaceful nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974; chairing the Non-Aligned Movement; and nationalising 14 of India's largest commercial banks to redirect credit toward agriculture, small industries, and rural development. Her birth anniversary on 19 November is observed nationally as National Integration Day, instituted by the Indian National Congress in 1985.

As India marks four decades since her death, the personal tributes from her grandchildren offer a counterpoint to the monumental public image — a reminder that behind the Iron Lady was also a grandmother who read Vedic verses to a child on her lap.