"You are a fascist: Stories of PM Indira becoming Iron Lady from 'Gungi Gudiya'," Firoz Gandhi informed his wife Indira.

August 1959, one morning. At the Anand Bhawan in Allahabad, Prime Minister Nehru, his daughter Indira, and his son-in-law Firoz Gandhi were seated at the dinner table. As usual, the conversation veered into politics, degenerating into a heated argument. The dismissal of Kerala's first elected communist government was the matter at hand.

The dismissal of the Kerala administration occurred as a result of pressure from Indira Gandhi, who was the Congress president at the time. During that argument at the dinner table, Firoz exclaimed, "This is fascism," pointing to Indira.

In one of his pieces, Swedish novelist and writer Bertil Falk makes reference to this occurrence by saying that "Firoz Gandhi was the first person who recognized his wife's dictatorial tendencies."

When it came time to choose a new prime minister in 1966, seven years after this incident, following Shastri's passing, even the Congress Syndicate was unable to comprehend Indira's inclination. Syndicate refers to the former members of Congress who dominated both the government and the organization.

The narrative surrounding the assassination of Indira Gandhi and her stories is told in the third episode of the television series "Main Bharat ka PM."

The death of Shastri and the search for a new prime minister

Lal Bahadur Shastri, the prime minister at the time, passed away in Tashkent late on January 11, 1966. While arrangements were underway to transfer his remains to India, the Indian Congress was once again engaged in a prime ministerial contest. Although Morarji Desai had already missed his chance to become prime minister, this time he was determined not to let it pass him by.

Morarji's path was obstructed by the Congress syndicate. K. Kamaraj, Virendra Patil, SK Patil, Hitendra K. Desai, C.M. Poonacha, Atulya Ghosh, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Chandrabhanu Gupta, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, S. Nijalingappa, and P.M. Nadegowda, Ashok Mehta, Tribhuvan Narayan Singh, Ram Subhag Singh, and BD Sharma were among the leaders.

In her book "Indira, India's Most Powerful Prime Minister," veteran journalist and writer Sagarika Ghosh notes that the syndicate reopened its operations following Shastri's passing. Congress President Kamaraj was being considered by the syndicate for the prime minister position.
Kamaraj was aware that the nation would not recognize a South Indian PM who did not speak Hindi at the time. He instructed the syndicate to leave me alone because of this. I don't speak Hindi or English well; therefore, how can I be PM?

Although they supported Kamaraj, the syndicate wished to prevent Morarji Desai from becoming prime minister. He thought Morarji would not listen to anyone if he were to become prime minister. During this period, Indira Gandhi served as the Minister of Broadcasting and Information. He used to shake with every question in Parliament when answering with his hands and legs. She was referred to as a dumb doll by others.

The syndicate made the ideal pick for this stupid doll. No one could reject her since she was Nehru's daughter. Through them, the syndicate could carry out arbitrary actions within the government. There were thirteen months until the general elections of 1967. India was a face for the country. It would have been easy to get votes on his face.

"Morarji Desai had once declared in public that he would be the PM, but Indira did not let this be known," writes Sagarika. Indira awaited the ideal moment. She simply stated that she would comply with Kamaraj's wishes.

Upon sensing that he might lose the prime ministership for a second time, Morarji informed Kamaraj that elections should be held to determine the next prime minister. There were elections between Indira and Morarji on January 19, 1966. With 355 votes, Indira received more than Morarji's 169. She was chosen as PM in this fashion.

When she took office as prime minister on January 24, 1966, she was the nation's first female prime minister. Subsequently, she was elected Prime Minister once more in 1967, 1971, and 1980 after winning those elections.

Newspapers said that she had come to America to beg when she first arrived.

1966 saw a drought as a result of low rainfall, similar to 1965. America stopped helping Pakistan and India after the war in 1965. The nation required assistance. For this reason, during her maiden foreign journey as prime minister, Indira Gandhi visited America. Then, American media reported that the new Indian leader "comes begging," which is another way of saying that he has come to beg.

In his autobiography One Life is Not Enough, former foreign minister Natwar Singh states that Mrs. Gandhi made her first international trip to America. I was working as the Deputy Secretary in New York at the time. I was abruptly moved to the PM Secretariat in Delhi. This is the PMO for today. My transfer stunned everyone.

He says Indira was raised in the West. He was well-versed in dressing nicely. During her trip to America, she used to wear heels with her saree. In order to prevent American President Lyndon B. Johnson from feeling as though he was confronting a subordinate lady, she presented herself in an extremely stylish manner.