Age, Biography, and Wiki
Sanjay Gandhi was born in New Delhi to Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was a member of the Lok Sabha, elected from the Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh in 1980, just months before his death. He was widely seen as the political heir to his mother until his untimely demise.
| Occupation | Prime Ministers |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 14 December 1946 |
| Age | 78 Years |
| Birth Place | Delhi, British India (present-day New Delhi, Delhi, India) |
| Horoscope | Sagittarius |
| Country | India |
| Date of death | 23 June, 1980 |
| Died Place | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Unfortunately, there is no widely available or verified information on Sanjay Gandhi's physical measurements such as height and weight.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Sanjay Gandhi married Maneka Anand in 1974, and they had a son, Varun Gandhi, in 1980. Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights activist and politician, continued her political career after Sanjay's death and is now a prominent figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During his lifetime, he was widely expected to succeed his mother as head of the Indian National Congress and Prime Minister of India, but following his death in a plane crash, his elder brother Rajiv became their mother's political heir and succeeded her as Prime Minister of India and President of the party after her assassination. His wife Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi are politicians in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In the extremely hostile political environment just before and soon after the Emergency, Gandhi rose in importance as Indira's adviser. With the defections of former loyalists, Gandhi's influence with Indira and the government increased dramatically, although he was never in an official or elected position. According to Mark Tully, "His inexperience did not stop him from using the power his mother, Indira, had taken to terrorise the administration, setting up what was in effect a police state."
It was said that during the Emergency, he virtually ran India along with his friends, especially Bansi Lal. It was also quipped that Gandhi had total control over his mother and that the government was run by the PMH (Prime Minister House) rather than the PMO (Prime Minister Office). He "recruited into the party thousands of younger people, who used threats and force to intimidate rivals and those who opposed Mrs Gandhi's authority or his own."
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| Husband | Maneka Gandhi (m. 23 September 1974) |
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Net Worth and Salary
Since Sanjay Gandhi passed away in 1980, there is no direct information on what his net worth would have been in 2025. However, his family's influence and political stature suggest that he would have been quite wealthy, likely through inheritance and political connections.
Career, Business, and Investments
Sanjay Gandhi's career was marked by his involvement in politics. He was a strong advocate for family planning and was known for his role in the Indian National Congress. Before his death, he was expected to succeed his mother as a leader of the party. His business and investment details are not well-documented, but it is known that he was involved in various initiatives, including the establishment of the Maruti car factory.
In 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's cabinet proposed producing an affordable, locally made car for India's middle class. In June 1971, a company known as Maruti Motors Limited (now Maruti Suzuki) was incorporated under the Companies Act, and Sanjay Gandhi became its managing director despite having no previous experience, design proposals, or links with any corporation. Indira Gandhi faced criticism, but the victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War shifted public focus. The company did not produce any vehicles during his lifetime. A test model put out as a showpiece to demonstrate progress was criticised. Public perception turned against Gandhi, and many began to speculate about growing corruption. Gandhi then contacted Volkswagen AG from West Germany for a possible collaboration, transfer of technology and joint production of the Indian version of the "People's Car", to emulate Volkswagen's worldwide success with the Beetle. During the emergency, Gandhi became active in politics and the Maruti project went on the back burner. There were accusations of nepotism and corruption. Finally, the Janata Government came to power in 1977 and "Maruti Limited" was liquidated. A commission was set up by the new government headed by Justice Alak Chandra Gupta which gave a very critical report of the Maruti affair. A year after his death in 1980, and at the behest of Indira, the Union government salvaged Maruti Limited and started looking for an active collaborator for a new company. Maruti Udyog Ltd. was incorporated in the same year through the efforts of Nehru Gandhi family friend and industrial doyen V. Krishnamurthy. The Japanese company Suzuki was also contacted to present the design and feasibility of their car to be manufactured in India. When Suzuki learned that the Government of India had contacted Volkswagen as well, it did everything to pip the German company in the race to produce India's first People's Car (Maruti 800). It provided the government a feasible design of their 'Model 796', which was also successful in Japan and East Asian countries.
Social Network
In his time, social media as we know it today did not exist. However, he was well-connected within political circles and was seen as a charismatic figure among his peers.
Like his elder brother Rajiv, Gandhi was educated at St. Columba's School, Delhi, Welham Boys' School, Dehra Dun and then at the Doon School, Dehra Dun. Gandhi was also educated at the Ecole D'Humanité, an international boarding school in Switzerland. Gandhi did not attend university, but took up automotive engineering as a career and underwent an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce in Crewe, England for three years. He was very interested in sports cars. In 1976, he obtained a pilot's licence and won several prizes in aerobatics.
In 1974, the opposition-led protests and strikes had caused a widespread disturbance in many parts of the country and badly affected the government and the economy. On 25 June 1975 following an adverse court decision against her, Indira Gandhi declared a national emergency, decorated elections, censored the press and suspended some constitutional freedoms for national security purposes. Non-Congress governments throughout the country were dismissed. Thousands of people, including several freedom fighters like Jaya Prakash Narayan and Jivatram Kripalani who were against the Emergency were arrested.
David Frum and Vinod Mehta state that the sterilisation programmes were initiated at the behest of the IMF and the World Bank: "Forced sterilisation was by far the most calamitous exercise undertaken during the Emergency. The IMF and World Bank had periodically shared their fears with New Delhi about the uncontrolled rise in population levels. India’s democracy was a hurdle: no government could possibly enact laws limiting the number of children a couple could have without incurring punishment at the ballot box. But with democracy suspended, the IMF and World Bank encouraged Indira to pursue the programme with renewed vigour. Indira and Sanjay, the self-styled socialists, inflicting on Indians the humiliation of forced sterilisation in order to appease western loan sharks: the irony was lost on them. Socialism, like much else, had been reduced to a slogan."
Kissa Kursi Ka is a satirical film directed by Amrit Nahata that lampooned Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. The film was submitted to the Censor Board for certification in April 1975. The film had lampooned Sanjay Gandhi's car manufacturing plans, besides Congress supporters like Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, private secretary to Indira Gandhi R.K. Dhawan, and Rukhsana Sultana. The board sent the film to a seven-member revising committee, which further sent it to the Government. Subsequently, a show-cause notice raising 51 objections was sent to the producer by the Information and Broadcasting ministry. In his reply submitted on 11 July 1975, Nahata stated that the characters were "imaginary and do not refer to any political party or persons". By the time, the Emergency had already been declared.
Education
Sanjay Gandhi's educational background is not extensively detailed, but he was part of the influential Nehru-Gandhi family, which placed a strong emphasis on education and public service.
Sanjay Gandhi's life was full of promise, but his early death at the age of 33 left many questions about what could have been. His legacy continues through his family, particularly his wife Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi, who have remained active in Indian politics.
Subsequently, all the prints and the master-print of the film at Censor Board office were picked up and brought to Maruti factory in Gurgaon where they were burned. The subsequent Shah Commission, established in 1977 by the Janata party led Government of India, to enquire into excesses committed in the Indian Emergency found Sanjay guilty of burning the negative, along with V. C. Shukla, Information and Broadcasting minister during the emergency. The legal case ran for 11 months, and the court gave its judgment on 27 February 1979. Both Sanjay Gandhi and Shukla were sentenced to a two-year plus a month prison sentence. Sanjay Gandhi was denied bail. In his judgment, District Judge, O. N. Vohra at Tis Hazari in Delhi, found the accused guilty of "criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, mischief by fire, dishonestly receiving criminal property, concealing stolen property and disappearance of evidence". The verdict was later overturned.
