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Article: Sonia Gandhi's country.(View from the South)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- July 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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RECENTLY Sonia Gandhi, Italian by birth, Indian by marriage and citizenship, made history. First, she led the Indian Congress Party to a surprise victory in the recent elections, defeating the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and proving every pollster to be wrong. Then, widely expected to become the Prime Minister of India, she turned down the post, saying that she had never coveted it and that in refusing it, she was listening to her 'inner voice'. In both respects, she took the wind out of the sails of both her supporters and opponents. And she put to rest, at least for the time being, a furious debate on issues of nationality and citizenship. Here's how it went: