It is only just and fair that Indira Gandhi’s contributions to the nation are always weighed against her undemocratic imposition of the Emergency and brazen introduction of the culture of dynastic succession in Indian politics. This legacy continues to do incalculable harm to the nation and our democracy (“Such a long legacy”, November 18). She could easily be called the first autocrat of free India. She made the Indian National Congress, which won freedom for the country, her family’s fiefdom. Her policies did irreparable damage to our institutions. The chieftains and dynasts of all the dynastic parties in India owe a great debt of gratitude to her for ushering in the culture of dynastic succession in politics. Her most greivous fault is that she never felt sorry or expressed remorse or regret for her misdeeds.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam, Kerala
