Sonia Gandhi recalls Indira Gandhi’s final hours on 31 October 1984

Sonia Gandhi states that Indira Gandhi was declared dead at 2 p.m. on 31 October 1984. Her account records more than 30 bullet holes piercing her mother-in-law’s body.

What happened before the hospital?

Sonia’s account begins with Indira leaving for her office in the building adjacent to their home. Sonia returned to her room and was about to bathe when she heard a series of explosions.

She describes the blasts as resembling firecrackers but different. Ongmu, the children’s nanny, pounded frantically on the bathroom door. Hysterical and speechless, she gestured toward the garden.

Sonia ran along the path leading to Akbar Road. A white Ambassador car moved slowly toward the same path. She stopped in dread and panic, struggled to breathe, then saw Indira being carried into the car and screamed.

She said: “I’m in the car now, crouching on the floor, facing her … Blood – blood on her sari, blood on her chest.”

Indira’s eyes remained wide, her face wore a surprised expression, and she did not move. Sonia tried calling her mother-in-law twice, but no word came out and Indira did not reply.

What happened inside the hospital?

Sonia says her aides screamed from the front of the car. Heavy traffic slowed their progress, and the vehicle had no siren. It stopped at one red light and then another before reaching the hospital.

She describes chaos at the entrance. The gate initially remained closed, and someone questioned the driver through the window before allowing the car inside. The emergency department teemed with people, so attendants stopped them and made them wait.

Sonia says someone signaled the driver forward. Once hospital staff identified them, they placed Indira on a trolley and led Sonia toward an operation theatre or nearby room. Sonia insisted on remaining with her mother-in-law, but the medical staff did not reply because they were absorbed in emergency procedures.

She recalled feeling confused and lost among strangers. Shivering beneath her dressing gown, she struggled to think clearly, searched for Rajiv and worried about the children at school. Someone said blood covered Indira’s clothes. Staff brought Sonia clothes and helped her change in a nearby closet.

Hours passed and more people crowded the department. Sonia signaled a question to a doctor, who shook his head. She broke into sobs, then felt numb and cold.

At 2 p.m. on 31 October 1984, staff declared Indira dead. Sonia was driven home to collect clothes for her mother-in-law’s body to be changed into. A group of men tried to stop the car, banged on its windows and shouted something she could not understand.

How did the family learn?

At home, Sonia found Rahul and Priyanka rushing into her arms in tears. Black-uniformed commandos had picked them up abruptly from school. At the house, they saw staff sobbing and understood that a catastrophe had occurred.

According to Sonia, the children asked where their mother was, why they had been brought home, where their father was and what had happened. They also asked where Dadi was and accused the adults of not telling them the truth.

Sonia’s friends Nina and Sterre had stayed with the children and tried to calm them, although they did not know what to say. Sonia wanted to sit with them, embrace them and explain the news gently. She had to return to the hospital because Rajiv was coming.

Sonia says Rajiv had been attending a political rally in West Bengal. A police patrol stopped his cavalcade and delivered a message from Delhi: a serious accident had occurred, and he had to return immediately. A car took him to a helipad, where he flew to Calcutta and then Delhi.

She says he learned from a BBC bulletin that Mrs Gandhi was wounded and in a grave condition. No one told him directly that his mother had died, but he understood. Rajiv landed at 3.30 p.m. and went directly to the hospital.

What changed that evening?\n

Rajiv entered the hospital with other people. Sonia recalled longing to be left alone with him, but they held each other. He told her that others wanted him sworn in as prime minister.

Sonia described a knife plunging into her heart, pounding in her chest and rage she could barely contain. She nearly vomited, wanted to scream and begged Rajiv, with folded hands, to refuse for the children’s sake and his own. She cried that they would kill him too and asked for help.

Rajiv replied, “They will kill me anyway.”

Sonia says Indira’s body was brought home. They emptied the dining room and laid it on the floor, with her feet pointing south according to Hindu custom. Around 6.30 p.m. that evening, Rajiv was sworn in as prime minister of India.

Sonia was too broken to register what happened around her. Looking at Indira’s pierced body, she believed Rajiv’s path would lead to the same end.