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Ramdas Gandhi (1896–1969) was the third son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was born in South Africa. He outlived his parents and all of his brothers. He and his wife Nirmal had three children; Sumitra Gandhi, Kanu Gandhi and Usha Gandhi. He was active in his father's Indian independence movement.

He had no taste for asceticism, yet participated in the grueling civil protests of the 1930s. Numerous jailings had serious effects on his health. Born and raised in South Africa, he never adjusted to the idealistic poverty imposed by his father. He had a taste for hunting. He died in the year of his father's centenary. At his fathers funeral, Ramdas Gandhi was the one who lit the fire to start the cremation, as Mahatma had wished for. He was joined by his younger brother Devdas Gandhi at the funeral.

v t e Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Family Kasturba Harilal Manilal Ramdas Devdas Samaldas Arun Rajmohan Tushar Gopalkrishna Influences Ahimsa Ashram Bhagavad Gita Henry David Thoreau Civil disobedience Fasting Hinduism Jainism John Ruskin Leo Tolstoy The Kingdom of God Is Within You The Masque of Anarchy Pacifism Sermon on the Mount Shrimad Rajchandra Unto This Last Vegetarianism Life Civil rights movement in South Africa Bardoli Satyagraha Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha Non-cooperation Chauri Chaura Purna Swaraj Salt Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha Poona Pact Quit India Assassination Philosophy Gandhism Economics Sarvodaya Satyagraha The Story of My Experiments with Truth Swadeshi Swaraj Associates Vinoba Bhave Vallabhbhai Patel Acharya Kripalani Mirabehn C. F. Andrews Narhari Parikh Ravi Shankar Vyas Mohanlal Pandya Mahadev Desai Abbas Tyabji Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Dada Dharmadhikari J. C. Kumarappa Hermann Kallenbach Legacy Artistic depictions Gandhigiri Gandhi Peace Prize Gujarat Vidyapith Jamia Millia Islamia Kashi Vidyapeeth Memorial Hospital Seven Blunders of the World Influenced James Bevel Steve Biko 14th Dalai Lama Maria Lacerda de Moura James Lawson Martin Luther King, Jr. Nelson Mandela Aung San Suu Kyi Lanza del Vasto Memorials Physical Gandhi Smriti Kanyakumari Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site National Gandhi Museum Pietermaritzburg Rajghat Observances Gandhi Jayanti International Day of Non-Violence Season for Nonviolence Category Commons Wikiquotes

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Kasturbaa Gāndhi કસ્તુરબા ગાંધી
Born	(1869-04-11)11 April 1869 Porbandar, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	22 February 1944(1944-02-22) (aged 74) Aga Khan Palace, Poona, Bombay Province, British India
Other names	Ba
Known for	Wife of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Religion	Hinduism

Kastürbā Gāndhi (born Kasturba Makhanji)^[1] (Gujarati: કસ્તુરબા ગાંધી, Hindi: कस्तूरबा गाँधी) (11 April 1869 – 22 February 1944) was the wife of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, marrying him in an arranged marriage in 1882.

Early life and background[link]

Born to wealthy businessman Gokuladas Kapadia of Porbandar, Kasturba was arranged to be married to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Both were thirteen years old at their wedding. When Gandhi left to study in London in 1888, she remained in India to raise their newborn son Harilal. She had three more sons: Manilal (1892), Ramdas (1897), and Devdas (1900).

Political career[link]

Working closely with her husband, Kasturba Gandhi became a political activist fighting for civil rights and Indian independence from the British. After Gandhi moved to South Africa to practice law, she traveled to South Africa in 1897 to be with her husband. From 1904 to 1914, she was active in the Phoenix Settlement near Durban. During the 1913 protest against working conditions for Indians in South Africa, Kasturba was arrested and sentenced to three months in a hard labor prison. Later, in India, she sometimes took her husband's place when he was under arrest. In 1915, when Gandhi returned to India to support indigo planters, Kasturba accompanied him. She taught hygiene, discipline, reading and writing.

Health and death[link]

Kasturba Gandhi with Mohandas Gandhi in the 1930s.

Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi (1902)

Kasturba suffered from chronic bronchitis due to complications at birth. While her husband could move his mind from one thing to another, she would sometimes brood over troubles. Stress from the Quit India Movement's arrests and hard life at Sabarmati Ashram caused her to fall ill. Kasturbai fell ill with bronchitis which was subsequently complicated by pneumonia.

In January 1944, Kasturba suffered two heart attacks. She was confined to her bed much of the time. Even there she found no respite from pain. Spells of breathlessness interfered with her sleep at night. Yearning for familiar ministrations, Kasturba asked to see an Ayurvedic doctor. After several delays (which Gandhi felt were unconscionable), the government allowed a specialist in traditional Indian medicine to treat her and prescribe treatments. At first she responded—recovering enough by the second week in February to sit on the verandah in a wheel chair for a short periods, and chat… then came a relapse. The doctor said Ayurvedic medicine could do no more for her. To those who tried to bolster her sagging morale saying "You will get better soon," Kasturba would respond, "No, my time is up." Shortly after seven that evening, Devdas took Mohandas and the doctors aside. In what he would later describe as "the sweetest of all wrangles I ever had with my father," he pleaded fiercely that Ba be given the life saving medicine, even though the doctors told him her condition was beyond help. It was Mohandas, after learning that the penicillin had to be administered by injection every four to six hours, who finally persuaded his youngest son to give up the idea. "Why do you want to prolong your mother's agonies after all the suffering she has been through?" Gandhi asked. Then he said, "You can't cure her now, no matter what miracle drug you may muster. But if you insist, I will not stand in your way."^[2]

After a short while, Kasturba stopped breathing. She died in Gandhi's arms while both were still in prison, in Poona (now Pune).^[3]

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kasturba Gandhi

v t e Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Family Kasturba Harilal Manilal Ramdas Devdas Samaldas Arun Rajmohan Tushar Gopalkrishna Influences Ahimsa Ashram Bhagavad Gita Henry David Thoreau Civil disobedience Fasting Hinduism Jainism John Ruskin Leo Tolstoy The Kingdom of God Is Within You The Masque of Anarchy Pacifism Sermon on the Mount Shrimad Rajchandra Unto This Last Vegetarianism Life Civil rights movement in South Africa Bardoli Satyagraha Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha Non-cooperation Chauri Chaura Purna Swaraj Salt Satyagraha Vaikom Satyagraha Poona Pact Quit India Assassination Philosophy Gandhism Economics Sarvodaya Satyagraha The Story of My Experiments with Truth Swadeshi Swaraj Associates Vinoba Bhave Vallabhbhai Patel Acharya Kripalani Mirabehn C. F. Andrews Narhari Parikh Ravi Shankar Vyas Mohanlal Pandya Mahadev Desai Abbas Tyabji Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Dada Dharmadhikari J. C. Kumarappa Hermann Kallenbach Legacy Artistic depictions Gandhigiri Gandhi Peace Prize Gujarat Vidyapith Jamia Millia Islamia Kashi Vidyapeeth Memorial Hospital Seven Blunders of the World Influenced James Bevel Steve Biko 14th Dalai Lama Maria Lacerda de Moura James Lawson Martin Luther King, Jr. Nelson Mandela Aung San Suu Kyi Lanza del Vasto Memorials Physical Gandhi Smriti Kanyakumari Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site National Gandhi Museum Pietermaritzburg Rajghat Observances Gandhi Jayanti International Day of Non-Violence Season for Nonviolence Category Commons Wikiquotes

v t e Indian independence movement History Colonisation East India Company British India French India Portuguese India Plassey Buxar Anglo-Mysore Wars Anglo-Maratha Wars First Second Third Polygar War Vellore Mutiny First Anglo-Sikh War Second Anglo-Sikh War Rebellion of 1857 British Raj more Philosophies and ideologies Indian nationalism Swaraj Hindu nationalism Gandhism Satyagraha Muslim nationalism in South Asia Swadeshi Socialism Khilafat Movement Events and movements Partition of Bengal Revolutionaries Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy The Indian Sociologist The Sedetious conspiracy Champaran and Kheda Rowlatt Committee Rowlatt Bills Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Non-Cooperation Kakori conspiracy Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre Flag Satyagraha Bardoli 1928 Protests Nehru Report Fourteen Points of Jinnah Purna Swaraj Salt Satyagraha Round table conferences Act of 1935 Legion Freies Indien Cripps' mission Quit India Indian National Army Bombay Mutiny Coup d'État de Yanaon Provisional Government of India Organisations Indian National Congress All-India Muslim League Anushilan Samiti Jugantar Arya Samaj Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh India House Berlin Committee Ghadar Home Rule Khaksar Tehrik Khudai Khidmatgar Hindustan Republican Association Swaraj Party Indian Independence League All India Kisan Sabha Azad Hind more Social reformers Bal Gangadhar Tilak Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Iqbal Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Acharya Kripalani Rahul Sankrityayan Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Gopal Ganesh Agarkar Shahu Maharaj Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Dhondo Keshav Karve Vitthal Ramji Shinde Mahadev Govind Ranade Swami Dayananda Saraswati Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Swami Vivekananda Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Vinoba Bhave Baba Amte Ram Mohan Roy Gopal Hari Deshmukh Indian independence activists Puli Thevar Yashwantrao Holkar Rahul Sankrityayan Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Tipu Sultan Veerapandiya Kattabomman Sangolli Rayanna Baba Ram Singh Mangal Pandey Rae Ahmed Nawaz Khan Kharal Bakht Khan Veer Kunwar Singh Rani of Jhansi Bahadur Shah Zafar Swami Dayanand Saraswati Bal Gangadhar Tilak Gopal Krishna Gokhale Dadabhai Naoroji Bhikaiji Cama Shyamji Krishna Varma Annie Besant Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Har Dayal Subramanya Bharathi Lala Lajpat Rai Bipin Chandra Pal Rash Behari Bose Chittaranjan Das Bidhan Chandra Roy Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Maulana Azad Ashfaqullah Khan Ram Prasad Bismil Chandrasekhar Azad Rajaji K. M. Munshi Bhagat Singh Hemu Kalani Sarojini Naidu Achyut Patwardhan Purushottam Das Tandon Alluri Sitaramaraju Muhammad Ali Jinnah Sardar Patel Acharya Kripalani Subhash Chandra Bose Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Jawaharlal Nehru Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi Allama Mashriqi Kotwal Dhan Singh Gurjar V. K. Krishna Menon more British leaders Clive Outram Dalhousie Irwin Linlithgow Wavell Cripps Mountbatten more Independence Simla Conference Cabinet Mission Indian Independence Act Partition of India Political integration Constitution Republic of India

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Ramdas Padhye is an Indian ventriloquist, puppeteer and puppet-maker.^[1] Over the last 40 years, he has performed more than 9000 ventriloquism and puppet shows in India and abroad. His website is the first Indian website on ventriloquism and puppetry. He has been regularly featuring on India' National Channel Doordarshan since 1972. He was the first Indian ventriloquist to perform ventriloquism and puppet-based shows on NBC, ABC and CBS television in America, and BBC's Channel Four. The art of ventriloquism popularly known as “ Bolkya Bahulya “ or “ Talking Dolls “ or “ Shabdabhram “ or “ Voice Illusion “ is not well known in India. He has given the traditional Indian Puppets and Ventriloquial dolls the technological edge by upgrading them to International Standards without losing their Indian identity and universal appeal. Ramdas Padhye received formal training in the art of ventriloquism and the use of talking puppets from his father, late Prof. Y. K. Padhye, who introduced India to this art around 1920 in its modern format. In 1968, at the age of 23, he performed before the Prime Minister of India Late Smt. Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Spurred by her advice to give distinct Indian touch to the art, Ramdas Padhye introduced several Indian puppets/dolls with whom the Indian masses could readily identify themselves. He then selected several themes of national importance such as “ Family Planning “, “ Small Savings “, “ Child Education”, and "Grow more Food" etc. for his shows and presented them with the help of his witty and entertaining puppets. He regularly visited the hospitals and brought cheers to the lives of Cancer patients and mentally retarded children.

Puppets in films[link]

• AmitRam.jpg

  Ramdas Padhye and wife Aparna with Actor Amitabh Bachchan during shoot of Mahan(1981)

• PreityRamdas.jpg

  Ramdas with Actress Preity Zinta during the shoot of Dil Hai Tumhara

• ZapatlelaRam.jpg

  Ramdas Padhye with actor Laxmikant Berde and Director Mahesh Kothare shooting for Zapatlela

• RajendraPrasadRam.jpg

  Ramdas Padhye with Dr.Rajendra Prasad during the shoot of Ammo Bomma

• PhoonkPuppet.jpg

  Ramdas Padhye with the Puppet Doll for Ramgopal Verma's Phoonk 2

• 

  Ramdas Padhye with the Legendary Indian Singer Lata Mangeshkar

His puppets are have also been used in many feature films:

• Mahan, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman and Praveen Babhi
• Dil Hai Tumhaara featuring Jimmy Shergill & Priety Zinta, directed by Kundan Shah
• Puppet based horror film Zapatlela (Marathi) directed by Mahesh Kothare starring Laxmikant Berde^[2] directed by Mahesh Kothare
• Puppet based horror film Ammo Bhomma (Telugu) starring Dr. Rajendra Prasad
• Ramdas Padhye has also designed the Puppet Doll in Ramgopal Verma's Phoonk 2^[3]

Puppets on Indian Television[link]

Ramdas Padhye's puppets regularly featured on the National television "Doordharshan".His show featured in 1972, when the television first started in Mumbai.His puppets "Ardhavatrao" and "Awadabai" are still remembered by many Indians who have grown up seeing his puppets.Ramdas Padhye has performed several television shows and television specials.His shows include "Meri Bhi Suno", a popular show which gave a social messages with the help of puppets.The show called "Aap He Sochiye" became extremely popular amongst the youth.Ramdas performed several acts along with his wife Aparna in 1980's and 1990s.Aparna, is an accomplished singer and puppeteer in her own rights and regularly assists Ramdas Padhye in his shows.Together they performed a unique ventriloquist show on television.The speciality of this show was the husband and wife theme with the puppets.

Ramdas Padhye also performed various television specials along with his puppet "Bunny", which was popular because of the Lijjat Papad advertisement.

His recent achievements include puppet serial for Singapore TV – 12 where more than 50 puppets were created by Ramdas in his exclusive puppet studio.^[4] This is the first time that a foreign T.V. station has invited Indian Puppeteer for a full fledged puppet serial. Puppets created & operated for “Playhouse Disney” a show for Disney Channel. Walt Disney International Pvt. Ltd chose Mr. Padhye for this job.^[4]"Playhouse Disney" show was produced by Miditech Pvt. Ltd., one of leading production houses in India.They show featured a puppet called "Mitz" which interacted with a live anchor.

Another popular T.V. serial is “Misha” on Zee Marathi.The protagonist of the show "Misha" (the puppet) was an alien who solved the problems of his friend.This serial was directed by Kedar Shinde.This serial became instantly popular amongst the children.The puppet was operated by Ramdas Padhye and his son Satyajit Padhye.It was made by Ramdas Padhye in his puppet studio.

Ramdas Padhye and his team of trained puppeteers are behind the new show "Juicy Pammi" on India's leading Lifestyle channel "ZOOM".The puppets are designed and created in Ramdas Padhye's "Puppet Studio".The show features Puppets of India's various Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt to name a few.The Lead Puppeteers behind the show are Ramdas Padhye, wife Aparna and son Satyajit Padhye.Besides these there are 10 skilled puppeteers who help the lead puppeteers.Each Celebrity Puppet is created by Ramdas Padhyein his Puppet Studio.Each Celebrity Puppet takes 20 days to design.The puppets are made from composite materials like latex, rubber, foam latex etc.Ramdas Padhye's Puppet studio has a collection of different puppets from around the world.Ramdas Padhye's Puppet Studio has designed puppets of various international celebrities like George W Bush, Bill Clinton, and Marilyn Monroe

Puppets in advertisements[link]

The Rabbit remains a part of the Lijjat Papad packing

The Indian advertising industry has also used his puppets in many commercials, the famous being the Lijjat Papad commercial featuring his puppet Bunny.This famous commercial features his puppet Bunny eating Papad (a popular Indian snack).This advertisement made Ramdas Padhye an household name.In fact the product became very popular because of the use of the puppet "Bunny" and the sales of the product sky-rocketed.The main highlight of this advertisement was that Ramdas Padhye himself operated the puppet as well as gave the voice-over.The last tagline of the advertisement "Karram Kurram" became very popular.Also the typical laughter of the bunny at the end of the advertisement became an identity for the product.This advertisement first aired on Doordharshan in 1980's.However it is still running on several channels.This advertisement gave Ramdas Padhye and his puppets a distinct identity.This advertisement was the starting point of a successful career in Ventriloquism and Puppetry.

Ramdas Padhye has also done a commercial for Annapurna Namak with ad-man "Gyaan Currea".His another advertisement includes a ventriloquist act for the product "Krackjack" which is popular biscuit brand in India.

Ramdas Padhye has also done a commercial for Tata Sky with Aamir Khan.In this AD, Aamir Khan plays a ventriloquist and his puppet is a T.V.The entire concept of the AD for Tata Sky revolves around the puppet with Aamir playing the Ventriloquist.In fact he being, a perfectionist learnt from the nuances of Ventriloquism from Ramdas Padhye.He had seen his shows on T.V. when he was in school.Ventriloquism being a difficult art cannot be taught in a day or two.Hence the puppet was operated by Ramdas Padhye from below, whereas Aamir just imitated as a Ventriloquist.The concept of the AD revolves around T.V. being becoming your puppet.Due to the Active Services introduced by Tata Sky people can literally do anything with their T.V. The puppet for the advertisement has been designed and made by Karl Evans from Karl Evans Studio.

Ramdas Padhye was roped in by Europe’s leading Ad-Agency “Alfred” to do a commercial for Holland T.V.Channel. The Ad-film was just for 35 seconds, however it was shot extensively for 4 days at various locations in Jaipur and Goa. It was a cookie commercial and the name of the product was “Sultana Cookies”.Holland’s leading model “Renske van der Sluis” worked with the puppet.The puppet was operated by Ramdas Padhye and his son Satyajit Padhye. The Ad-film was directed by Holland’s Ad-filmmaker “Rick Lenzing”, whose production house “In Case of Fire” has done various commercials around the world.

He has also represented India at several international puppetry conventions like Vent Haven Convention in U.S.A., World Festival of Puppet Art in Prague, International Ventriloquist Festival in Las Vegas. His book called "Inner Voice" is the first Indian book on Ventriloquism inaugurated at the Vent Haven Convention, Cincinnati, U.S.A.^[5] He has exported puppets to various countries including U.S.A, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Cambodia, South Africa from traditional Indian Puppets to Modern Radio Controlled Puppets in his exclusive puppet studio.

His future plans include designing and presenting "Water Puppetry" and "Air Puppetry" using water and sky as background instead of a regular stage, basing his ideas on environmental themes. He also plans to establish a fully-fledged institute for ventriloquism and allied arts in India.

Ramdas Padhye's Puppet Studio[link]

Ramdas Padhye with Barack Obama Puppet

Ramdas Padhye has his own "Puppet Studio" where he designs different kinds of puppets right from string puppets, rod puppets, marionettes, ventriloquial puppets, muppets, body puppets, animatronics puppets, black light puppets, celebrity puppets.

Ramdas Padhye has designed puppets for various companies like Kelloggs,Siemens, Walt Disney India Pvt Ltd,^[4] Wizcraft etc.He has also designed puppets of various international celebrities like Marilyn Monoroe, George W Bush,^[6] Bill Clinton, Frank Sinatra, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt.Ramdas Padhye's Puppet Studio literally gives birth number of characters.

Ramdas Padhye has also designed puppets for several ad-films, television serials, feature films.He has also exported the puppets to various countries like U.S, U.K, New Zealand,Cambodia,South Africa.

Ramdas Padhye mastered the art of making the puppets in 1980's.Earlier he used to get his puppets from other countries.However, as he started requiring more specific puppets for his own shows, he later on started building the puppets as per the requirements of the clients.

Speciality of Ramdas Padhye's Puppet Studio is that, he designs custom made puppets.They are designed keeping in mind the specific needs of users.This has made Ramdas Padhye very popular in India.Ramdas Padhye has also designed the puppet "Tatya Vinchu" from the famous feature film "Zapatlela".In the film Zapatlela, Ramdas Padhye designed 9 replicas of the protagonist, so that it could do all kinds of action sequences in the film.Ramdas used combination different kinds of puppetry techniques like string, rod, muppets etc. for this film.

Ramdas Padhye has also designed puppets for the play "Good Night Baby Dino" which was written and directed by Bharat Dabolkar.It was a children's play which was based on the dinosaur family and which consisted of almost 50 custom design puppets.

Ramdas Padhye has designed Barack Obama Puppet in his workshop. The puppet was designed for an upcoming Ventriloquist Doris Baker. This puppet was outsourced to India for designing.^[7]

Family tradition[link]

Satyajit Padhye, Ramdas' son, is a third generation ventriloquist and puppeteer. Performing his own shows, he targets younger Indian audiences.Satyajit performs birthday party, corporate and wedding shows.He has been an assistant puppeteer with his father for almost 10 years.He has also produced a documentary on AIDS which uses this art of puppetry to create awareness regarding AIDS.^[8] Satyajit has also represented INDIA at the Japan Ventriloquist Festival in Tokyo in 2002.He has won several awards in his high school and inter-collegiate events like Malhar and Youth Festival.Satyajit is also the lead puppeteer for the show "Juicy Pammi" which is on-air on ZOOM channel in India.Satyajit also helps his father in designing the puppets in Ramdas Padhye's "Puppet Studio".Satyajit also participated in India's Got Talent and was one of the finalist,although he failed to win the contest but he made everyone his fan by his strong performance.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ramdas Padhye

• Ramdas Padhye's Official Website
• Ramdas Padhye's Videos
• Ramdas Padhye's Work on T.V and Films
• Puppet designed by Ramdas Padhye for various clients

References[link]

1. ^ PuppetVision Blog: Ramdas Padhye on YouTube
2. ^ Zapatlela (1993)
3. ^ PHOONK 2(2010)
4. ^ ^{a b c} The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Education Tribune
5. ^ http://bharatweb-bharatweb.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html
6. ^ Rockwood's Presidential Puppets Website
7. ^ The Puppet master behind Obama by Shweta Desai
8. ^ AIDS The Deadline - indie.SmasHits.com - "AIDS - The Deadline" is a Short Film on AIDS awareness released on the occasion of the World AIDS Day on 1st December, 2006.This film is unique and different, in the sense that, it uses Puppetry medium to pro...

Rahul Gandhi
Member of Lok Sabha from Amethi
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
General Secretary of the Indian National Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 2007
Chairperson of IYC and NSUI
Incumbent
Assumed office 2007
Personal details
Born	(1970-06-19) 19 June 1970 (age 42) New Delhi, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Indian National Congress
Relations	Rajiv Gandhi (father) Sonia Gandhi (mother) Priyanka Vadra (sister)
Residence	New Delhi, India
Alma mater	Rollins College Trinity College, Cambridge
Profession	Member of Parliament
As of 5 June, 2011

Rahul Gandhi ([ˈraːɦʊl ˈɡaːnd̪ʱiː]; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and member of the Parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency.^[1] Gandhi is the general-secretary of the Indian National Congress.^[2] He is the grandson of Feroze Gandhi and Indira (née Nehru) Gandhi, and fourth-generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Early life and career[link]

Rahul Gandhi was born in Delhi on 19 June 1970 ^[3] as the first of the two children of Rajiv Gandhi, who later became the Prime Minister of India and Sonia Gandhi, who later became President of Indian National Congress, and as the grandson of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He is also the great-grandson of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Priyanka Vadra is his younger sister.^[4]

Rahul Gandhi attended St. Columba's School, Delhi^[5] before entering The Doon School in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), also his father's alma mater,^[6] from 1981–83. Meanwhile, his father had joined politics and became the Prime Minister on October 31, 1984 when Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Due to the security threats faced by Indira Gandhi's family from Sikh extremists, Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka were home-schooled since then.^[7] Rahul Gandhi joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi in 1989 for his undergraduate education but moved to Harvard University after he completed the first year examinations.^[8] In 1991, after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE^[9] during an election rally, he shifted to Rollins College due to security concerns and completed his B.A. in 1994.^[10] During this period, he assumed the pseudonym Raul Vinci and his identity was known only to the university officials and security agencies.^[8][11] He further went on to obtain a M.Phil from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1995.^[12] After graduation, Rahul Gandhi worked at the Monitor Group, a management consulting firm, in London.^[13] In 2002 he was one of the directors of Mumbai-based technology outsourcing firm Backops Services Private Ltd.^[14]

Political career[link]

In March 2004, he announced his entry into politics by announcing that he would contest the May 2004 elections, standing for his father's former constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament.^[15] The seat had been held by his mother until she transferred to the neighbouring seat of Rae Bareilly. The Congress had been doing poorly in Uttar Pradesh, holding only 10 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state at the time.^[16] At the time, this move generated surprise among political commentators, who had regarded his sister Priyanka as being the more charismatic and likely to succeed. It generated speculation that the presence of a young member of India's most famous political family would reinvigorate the Congress party's political fortunes among India's youthful population^[17] In his first interview with foreign media, he portrayed himself as a uniter of the country and condemned "divisive" politics in India, saying that he would try to reduce caste and religious tensions.^[15]

He won with a landslide majority, retaining the family stronghold with a margin of over 100,000 as the Congress unexpectedly defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.^[18] Until 2006 he held no other office.^[19]

Gandhi and his sister, who is married to Robert Vadra, managed their mother's campaign for re-election to Rae Bareilly in 2006, which was won easily with a margin greater than 400,000 votes.^[20]

He was a prominent figure in the Congress campaign for the 2007 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections; Congress, however, won only 22 seats with 8.53% of votes.^[21]

Rahul Gandhi was appointed a general secretary of the All India Congress Committee on 24 September 2007 in a reshuffle of the party secretariat.^[22] In the same reshuffle, he was also given charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India.^[23]

In 2008, senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily mentioned “Rahul-as-PM” idea when the PM of India Manmohan Singh was still abroad.^[24]

Youth politics[link]

In his attempt to prove himself as a youth leader in November 2008 he held interviews at his 12, Tughlak Lane residence in New Delhi to handpick at least 40 people who will make up the think-tank of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), an organisation that he has been keen to transform since he was appointed general secretary in September 2007.^[25]

Under Rahul Gandhi, IYC and NSUI has seen a dramatic increase in members from a two lakhs to twenty five lakhs.^[26]

In various reports it has been proved that Rahul Gandhi has failed in his promise to eliminate family, patronage, money from Youth Congress. It has been seen that an aspiring delegates need to pay a substantial sum as nomination fee. Hence, an aspiring office-bearer with deep pockets sponsors them thereby allowing money power to have a role in the elections.^[27][28][29]

2009 elections[link]

In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he retained his Amethi constituency by defeating his nearest rival by a margin of over 333,000 votes. In these elections congress is said to have revived itself in Uttar Pradesh by winning 21 out of the total 80 Lok Sabha seats and the majority of the credit for this turnaround is given to Rahul Gandhi.^[30] He spoke at 125 rallies across the country in six weeks.

Lokpal bill[link]

Rahul Gandhi opines that the Lokpal should be made a constitutional body and it should be made accountable to the Parliament, just like the Election Commission. He also feels that Lokpal alone cannot root out corruption. This statement came out on 25 August 2011, on the 10th day of Anna Hazare's fast. This statement was considered as a delaying tactic by the opposition and Team Anna's members. It was consequently slammed by prominent opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.^[31] The Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Abhishek Manu Singhvi tabled the Lok Bill report in the Rajya Sabha on 9 December 2011. Almost all points proposed by Team Anna were ignored while Rahul Gandhi's wish for Lokpal to be made into a constitutional body was implemented. Anna Hazare believes that Rahul Gandhi is responsible for the weak and ineffective bill proposed by the standing committee of parliament.^[32]

Land Acquisition Protests Arrest[link]

On 11 May 2011 Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police at Bhatta Parsaul village after he turned out in support of agitating farmers demanding more compensation for their land being acquired for a highway project.^[33] He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi. He was to be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate on 12 May 2011.^[34]

2012 Assembly elections[link]

Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in the 2012 Assembly elections, especially in the highly politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the hope that his popularity would help bring Congress back to power. However, the party did very poorly in the elections winning only 38 seats, a meagre increase of six seats from the 2007 elections^[35]. The Samajwadi Party and its new leader, Akhilesh Yadav swept the elections in UP, and Mr Yadav was sworn as the youngest Chief Minister of UP. The Congress party suffered humiliating defeats in other states (Goa and Punjab), and a close shave in Uttarahakhand. With only one win in the state of Manipur, the Indian press was quick to question the future of Mr Gandhi as the leader of the Congress party.^[36]

Political and legal issues[link]

Comparison of RSS and SIMI[link]

Rahul Gandhi has been critical of nationalist groups like the RSS and compared them to terrorist organizations like SIMI.^[37][38] According to a cable leaked by Wikileaks, in 2009, he allegedly shared concerns with the American ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that radicalized Hindu groups may pose a bigger threat to India than Islamic terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.^[39][40] His comments on radical Hindu groups were criticized by the opposition party, as well as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.^[41]

Sukanya Devi[link]

It has been alleged that Rahul Gandhi had detained a girl and her parents since 2007 after the family accused the Gandhi scion of raping the girl. On 01st Mar 2011, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi,^[42] however the allegations were found to be false. Allahabad high court not only dismissed the case after the girl in question appeared in the court, but slapped a 50 lakh penalty against the petitioner ordering a CBI inquiry against her and websites publishing the story.^[43]

13th Jul 2011 Terror Attack remarks[link]

On 14th Jul 2011, a day after the serial bombing in Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi gave a statement that "it was very difficult to stop every single terror attack". The remark resulted in a number of strong criticism from a number of Shiv Sena party members.^[44]

See also[link]

• Political Families of The World

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rahul Gandhi

• Profile at BBC News
• Profile at Govt. of India website
• Rahul Gandhi collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Rahul Gandhi collected news and commentary at The Times of India

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Medal record
Competitor for  India
Asian Games
Silver	2010 Guangzhou	Heavyweight

Manpreet Singh (born 3 May 1985)^[1] is an amateur boxer from India and a product of Army Sports Institute. He competes in 82 – 91 kg category. Manpreet won Silver medal in 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China. He was defeated by Mohammad Ghossoun of Syria in the gold medal bout by a score of 8:1.^[2]

After his first round defeat in 2010 Commonwealth Games, Manpreet had lost confidence and had to seek psychiatric help at NIS Patiala.^[3]

References[link]