Ever since Mr. Kissinger made his famous statement about Mrs. Gandhi in 1971, most Western assessments of her have centred on her toughness. The Observer profile we publish elsewhere on this page is no exception. This emphasis has been justified. Mrs. Gandhi has demonstrated her determination, strength of character and courage on several occasions. It is well recognised that she took enormous risks in splitting the Congress party in 1969 and 1978, in imposing internal emergency in 1975 and in ordering elections to the Lok Sabha in 1977. In India we have not been sufficiently sensitive to the fact that it required considerable daring on her part to go ahead with the underground nuclear test in 1974 and the merger of Sikkim in 1975. She must have known that the test would infuriate the West, especially the United States and Canada which had participated in India’s nuclear power programme, and that Sikkim’s merger would annoy the Chinese. But once she recognised that these steps were necessary for the country’s well-being and security, she was not to be deterred by fear of possible consequences. And in both instances she went about the task quietly, almost casually, as if she was not doing anything unusual. It will be unfair to the Soviet leaders to suggest that they have sought to take an undue advantage of this country’s difficulties as in 1971 when it has needed their support. But it will be only proper to note that they could have been tempted if they did not have to contend with Mrs. Gandhi. She will not compromise her country’s honour. This is not to say that she is foolhardy. On the contrary, she has managed to ensure that the cost of protecting the nation’s dignity is not unacceptably high.
Much of this is common ground between her admirers and critics, Indians as well as foreigners, though inevitably they explain important development like the Congress splits, the emergency, the rise of Mr. Sanjay Gandhi, and the 1971 elections differently. But neither side draws sufficient attention to the fact that there is another Mrs. Gandhi who is in some way the very opposite of the subject of the accompanying profile. She has not been decisive enough in dealing with her followers even when their incompetence for the office they hold and their lack of integrity have been obvious. Contrary to her reputation for ruthlessness, she has been indulgent towards them, as only mothers can be towards their handicapped children. There has been no dearth of explanations. But in the final analysis, the explanation has to be sought in terms of her psychological make-up. She is not able to be demanding enough of those who protest loyally to her – a serious weakness in a ruler in charge of so vast and variegated a country as India.