In Memoir, Sonia Gandhi Describes Fallout With "Choti Bahu" Maneka

New Delhi: Maneka Anand was 18 when she became the "Choti Bahu" and a part of the Gandhi family. For Sonia Gandhi, the "Bahurani", it was "refreshing" to have a younger sister-in-law in the house until their relationship turned bitter and the Choti Bahu, the widow of Sanjay Gandhi, walked out of the house. In her memoir 'Belonging: A Journey Of Love', which was released today, Sonia Gandhi has detailed the story of Maneka's entry into the Gandhi family and their gradual fallout.Towards the end of 1973, Sanjay Gandhi was introduced to Maneka, "a pretty and vivacious girl, ten years younger than him and still a minor".Within a year, they were married and Maneka, now 18, became part of the Gandhi family, recalls Sonia Gandhi in her memoir.READ | Sonia Gandhi's Interview With NDTV In 2004, Now Seen From Her Memoir's Lens"Maneka was a high-spirited and talkative girl, full of zest. It was refreshing at first to have a younger sister-in-law in the house. I could hear her laughter at times coming from Amie Aunty's room, and would walk in to enquire about the subject of such merriment, then end up sitting down to listen to her lively chatter about her friends or a book she was reading," she writes, adding that her daughter, Priyanka, was often found in Maneka, her chachi's (aunt's), room, spellbound by a story she was being told."But slowly, the atmosphere began to change, with irritations cropping up in the home," Gandhi writes.It began with how the two daughters-in-law of the house were addressed. Sonia, the elder daughter-in-law, was addressed by the staff as "Bahurani". Maneka, being the younger brother's wife, was called Choti Bahu.While Gandhi saw both of them as "equal daughters of the house", Maneka, she claims, "probably saw it as a putdown". "When she spoke rudely, by and large I'd remain silent to keep the peace, but when I felt it had gone too far, I wouldn't hold back and would respond curtly," Gandhi recalls in her book.The differences between Sanjay and Maneka started spilling out of the four walls of their bedroom as "the exchange of words between them became noisier and more heated".When annoyed, Maneka, Gandhi said, "would use expletives, even in the presence of my mother-in-law, that were taboo in the home; they embarrassed him and shocked us. Living in our joint family couldn't have been easy for a young girl with a sociable and gregarious temperament."READ | 'Pranab Mukherjee Shocked Me With Change At Top Suggestion': Sonia GandhiThe Gandhi home must have felt "dull and regimented" to Maneka as everyone was occupied with one thing or the other. She seemed to "settle down" only after she started accompanying Sanjay Gandhi to political functions and programmes.However, Maneka's influence on Sanjay started interfering with his relationship with his brother, Rajiv. Once inseparable, the relationship between two brothers turned bitter, Gandhi claims.When Congress Lost ElectionsIn March 1977, the Congress lost massively, soon after the Emergency ended. Both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay were defeated in their own constituencies, Rae Bareli and Amethi.As Sanjay's name became synonymous with the Emergency, he started voicing opinions in interviews about the "slow workings of the bureaucracy" and shared views that could have been "construed as being critical of the prime minister".Sanjay's political ambitions found support in some factions of the party, some of which did not sit well with Indira Gandhi. His mother felt that Maneka was "egging him on in his activities, rather than being a sobering influence on Sanjay", Gandhi writes."She had said to Cabinet Secretary P N Dhar about her young daughter-in-law: 'Uske abhi se par nikalne lage hain.' (She has started growing wings already)."READ | 'She Was Preparing For Her Death': Sonia Gandhi On Indira After Op Blue StarManeka's "animosity" towards the family only increased after Rajiv felt Sanjay had contributed to the "calamitous outcome" of the 1978 elections."He felt that Sanjay had contributed in great measure to the calamitous outcome: his stubbornness, his impetuosity, his rush to implement programmes that weren't well thought out, his unwillingness to heed well-meant admonitions, his acting in many instances without his mother's knowledge," the book reads.In one family discussion, Gandhi recalls, Rajiv said vehemently, "I cannot forgive you, Sanjay, you have brought Ma to this pass.""My mother-in-law, upset and agitated, assented: 'What Rajiv said is true, Sanjay! How many times you gave orders without my knowledge'."Maneka intervened, and my mother-in-law, raising her voice, challenged her to deny it. She quickly retreated, but her animosity towards us only increased."Maneka's sarcastic comments became a "constant irritant", according to Gandhi."As far as she was concerned, we were enemies. She spread stories about us through journalists with whom she was in touch. The one that galled us most was the outright lie that Rajiv and I had intended to flee the country when the elections were lost," Gandhi writes.A Fallout After Sanjay Gandhi's DeathThings took a more serious turn after the death of Sanjay Gandhi on June 23, 1980, in an aircraft crash.According to Gandhi, Maneka's mother was believed to be encouraging Sanjay loyalists in the party to demand a political position for his widow.READ | Why Sonia Gandhi Begged Husband Not To Enter Politics But Didn't Stop Son"But Mrs Gandhi felt that at twenty-three Maneka was still too young and immature to be given a leadership role. Besides, she had a three-month-old baby and would need to be with the little one; she should be patient; there would be enough time later to fulfil her political ambitions. But it became clear that she had her sights set elsewhere."Things turned even more sour in March 1981 when Maneka hosted her son Feroze Varun Gandhi's first birthday at the house of Vasundhara Raje, a staunch supporter of the RSS and a political opponent of Indira Gandhi.Later, Maneka started moving her belongings out of the house while her mother-in-law was in London. On her return, Indira Gandhi expressed her displeasure and asked Maneka to make a choice: "either to refrain, or to live elsewhere"."Maneka returned a missive full of accusations, obviously meant to damage her mother-in-law. It became clear that she was intent on creating a furore by which she would leave the house, placing the blame publicly on Mrs Gandhi. She had confided her plan weeks in advance to a journalist friend."Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi were not at home when the altercation took place at the time of Maneka's departure. However, the blame did fall on the two of them."The manner in which the whole incident was manipulated, the propaganda circus that followed, turned that sordid event into what would be termed today a 'reality show'," she writes.In the years that followed, the Gandhi family legally contested Maneka for visiting rights of Feroze Varun which his mother eventually denied.