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Article: Sonia Gandhi steps down: the power of renunciation.(Of Several Minds)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- June 18, 2004
- Author:
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Should an Italian woman be the prime minister of India? That question transfixed this nation last month. It was answered finally by the people themselves, who said yes, emphatically.
The recent elections in India were fought with Sonia Gandhi's leadership as one of the most important issues at stake. (Born in Italy, Sonia is the widow of Rajiv Gandhi, himself once prime minister, who was assassinated while running for reelection in 1991. His mother, Indira Gandhi, and his grandfather, Jawarhlal Nehru, were also both prime ministers of India.) When the Congress Party won, its mandate was clear: a secular state led by Sonia Gandhi--in sharp contrast to the Hindu ...