Nehru–Gandhi family

Nehru Gandhi Family
Current region	New Delhi, India
Place of origin	India
Members	Gangadhar Nehru Motilal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Indira Gandhi Feroze Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi Sonia Gandhi Maneka Gandhi Rahul Gandhi Priyanka Vadra Varun Gandhi
Traditions	Hindu

Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi

The Nehru-Gandhi family is a prominent Indian political dynasty. Their political involvement has traditionally revolved around the Indian National Congress. Members of the family have traditionally led the Congress party and the Republic of India since independence.

The Guardian wrote in 2007 "The Nehru Gandhi brand has no peer in the world — a member of the family has been in charge of India for 40 of the 60 years since independence. The allure of India's first family blends the right to rule of British monarchy with the tragic glamour of America's Kennedy clan."

Contrary to popular belief, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi(Mahatma Gandhi) was not related to this family. The Gandhi surname came from Feroze Gandhy, whom Indira Priyadarshini Nehru (the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru) married, and later chose to change her name to Indira Gandhi after marriage.

Anand Bhavan, ancestral home of the Nehru-Gandhi Family in Allahabad

Family tree

First generation

• Gangadhar Nehru (1827–1861) was an Indian police officer, who remained the last kotwal of Delhi (Chief police officer), prior to the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was the father of freedom fighter Motilal Nehru and grandfather of Jawaharlal Nehru who was the first Prime Minister of India, thus part of the Nehru–Gandhi family
• Jeorani, wife of Gangadhar Nehru.

Second generation

• Bansi Dhar Nehru, Gangadhar's eldest son worked in the judicial department of the British Government and, being appointed successively to various places, was partly cut off from the rest of the family.
• Nandlal Nehru (1845–1887), older brother of Motilal Nehru. He was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the princely state of Khetri in Rajputana.
• Motilal Nehru (1861–1931), patriarch of Nehru-Gandhi family. He was a lawyer and a prominent leader of the Indian independence movement. He served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929.
• Swarup Rani Nehru (1868–1938), wife of Motilal Nehru. She became active in the Indian independence movement when her husband and son were jailed by the British.

Third generation

• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964), son of Motilal Nehru. He was the first Prime Minister of India and was one of the most prominent leaders of the Indian independence movement. He had succeeded his father as President of the Congress in 1929.
• Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990), eldest daughter of Motilal Nehru. She was an Indian diplomat and politician who later became the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
• Kamala Nehru (1899–1936), wife of Jawaharlal Nehru. She was a prominent social reformer and was an active member of the All India Congress Committee.
• Krishna Hutheesing (1907–1967), youngest daughter of Motilal Nehru. She became a writer and biographer.
• Brijlal Nehru (1884-1964), son of Nandlal Nehru and a nephew of Motilal Nehru. He was the Finance Minister of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.
• Rameshwari Nehru (1886–1966), wife of Brij Lal Nehru. She was a journalist and social worker who co-founded All India Women's Conference

Fourth generation

• Indira Priyadarshini Nehru (later Indira Gandhi) (1917–1984), only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. She became the first woman Prime Minister of India.
• Feroze Gandhi (1912–1960), husband of Indira and the namesake of the dynasty. He was a politician and journalist. Contrary to common beliefs, Feroze Gandhi was a Zoroastrian Parsee and he is not related to Mahatma Gandhi.
• Braj Kumar Nehru (1909–2001), son of Brijlal Nehru. He served as the Indian diplomat and ambassador to the United States and as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He later served as Governor of several Indian states and was an adviser to his cousin Indira Gandhi.
• Magdolna Nehru (1908), wife of Braj Kumar Nehru.

Fifth generation

• Arun Nehru, (1944-2013), great grand son of Nandlal Nehru. He was a politician and union minister during the 1980s.
• Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991), eldest son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi. He became the 7th Prime Minister of India after Indira's death.
• Sanjay Gandhi (1946–1980), second son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi. He was one of the most trusted lieutenants of his mother during the 1970s and was widely expected to succeed his mother as Prime Minister of India. But met with an untimely death in a plane crash.
• Sonia Gandhi (1946), wife of Rajiv Gandhi. She was an Italian and later took Indian citizenship 11 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi. She is the incumbent President of the Indian National Congress and has served as the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance since 2004.
• Maneka Gandhi (1956), wife of Sanjay Gandhi. She is a noted environmentalist and animal welfare activist. She is a prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party to the Indian National Congress. She has served as a cabinet minister in four governments.

Sixth generation

• Rahul Gandhi (1970), son of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He is the current vice president of the Congress party. He is the Chairman of the Congress coordination panel for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
• Priyanka Vadra(née Gandhi, 1972), daughter of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
• Robert Vadra, Indian businessman and husband of Priyanka Vadra.
• Varun Gandhi (1980), son of Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive and the youngest National Secretary in the history of the party.
• Yamini Gandhi, wife of Varun Gandhi.

Seventh generation

• Anusuya Gandhi (2014)- daughter of Varun Gandhi and Yamini Gandhi

Photos

• 
  Motilal Nehru
• 
  Jawaharlal Nehru
• 
  Kamala Nehru
• 
  VL Pandit
• 
  Indira Gandhi
• Feroze Gandhi
  Feroze Gandhi
• 
  Rajiv Gandhi
• Sanjay Gandhi
  Sanjay Gandhi
• 
  Sonia Gandhi
• 
  Maneka Gandhi
• Rahul Gandhi
  Rahul Gandhi
• Varun Gandhi
  Varun Gandhi

See also

• Political families of the world

External links

• Nehru and Indira Gandhi
• The making of the Gandhi dynasty at The Guardian
• Nehrus and Gandhis