Indira Gandhi worried about nature, climate, deforestation in 1970s: Jairam Ramesh
Hyderabad: Former prime minister Indira Gandhi loved Mother Nature more than politics, according to ex-Union minister Jairam Ramesh.
“She was worried about nature, climate change and deforestation in 1970s itself,” he said.
His book Indira Gandhi: A Life in Nature, which revealed a different side of Mrs Gandhi was released here on Friday evening.
Mr Ramesh said that many biographies were penned on the life of country’s first, and only, woman prime minister, but his book highlighted her love for nature, which not many knew about.
Retired Supreme Court judge Justice P. Venkatram Reddy released the book in the presence of Ms Sharmistha Mukherjee, Congress spokesperson and daughter of President Pranab Mukherjee, Rajya Sabha MP T. Subbarami Reddy and Congress leaders from both Telugu states.
Mr Ramesh said, “Mrs Gandhi was born in a political family, grew up in a political atmosphere and finally became a politician. She did not love politics. She was a reluctant politician. Mrs Gandhi was a lover of nature. She loved forests, trees, rivers,wild life and bio-diversity all her life.”
According to Mr Ram-esh, his book described the real Mrs Gandhi and it has more words of her than the author himself. “It dwells on her letters to her father Jawaharlal Nehru when he was in jail, her messages, notes and speeches to colleagues, partymen and citizens of the country,” he said.
He said the book was an unusual and unconventional biography and it touched her non-political side.
He said Mrs Gandhi was very fluent in Bengali and French languages.
Sharing his thoughts in a conversation later, Mr Ramesh said that Mrs Gandhi had denied permission to the hydel project in Silent Valley (in Kerala) in the early 70s only because it would harm nature.
Mr Ramesh said she was the first and last major politician who went all out to protecting nature, a trait which is not seen in present day leaders.
He recalled the words of Mrs Gandhi that a person who did not relate to nature was not a human being at all.
