Out of my mind: Tyrants and heroes

Indira Gandhi was also a hero who became a villain when, for the one and only time in the history of independent India, she established a constitutional dictatorship.

Written by Meghnad Desai | Published: November 26, 2017 2:03 am

Indira Gandhi

Last Sunday, as India remembered Indira Gandhi on her birth centenary, there was high drama being played on TV screens from Harare, where Robert Mugabe was fighting a battle not to resign after 37 years of elected dictatorship. The people of Zimbabwe are well educated and well aware of how much they owe to Mugabe. He had started as a hero, who fought for his country’s independence and won. But then over time he went from bad to worse. The economy collapsed due to too much government interference and corruption. Even so, while wishing him to go, people of Zimbabwe did not want to force him to leave.