Sonia Gandhi recounts loss of first son in new memoir
In her memoir, Sonia Gandhi describes the premature birth and death of her first child in 1969, detailing the family's reaction and the burial decision.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's recently published memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love reveals the brief life of her first son, born prematurely on 18 January 1969. The newborn, described as a tiny boy with thick black hair, survived only a few hours despite doctors' warnings about his fragile condition.
Sonia writes that both she and her husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, were devastated by the loss. She recounts Rajiv breaking down and crying, contrary to his usual "stiff upper lip" demeanor.
"One big baby having another baby!" — former prime minister Indira Gandhi, reacting to the news, according to the memoir.
The family faced a difficult decision over the infant's burial. Traditional customs suggesting a river burial were rejected, and the child was interred at Feroze Gandhi's farm in Mehrauli, with Rajiv and his brother Sanjay conducting the ceremony beneath a pink bougainvillea bush.
Sonia also notes that a later attack by a right-wing publication questioning the child's legitimacy left a lasting emotional wound. The tragedy preceded the birth of her second son, Rahul Gandhi, in June 1970.