New Delhi: Maneka Gandhi, who separated from the Gandhi family and made her own identity, celebrated her 69th birthday on Tuesday. Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has seen many ups and downs in her life, but she never gave up.
Maneka Gandhi was born on 26 August 1956 in New Delhi. At the age of 17, she modeled for Bombay Dyeing. Sanjay Gandhi was impressed by Maneka after seeing her in this advertisement. Soon the two met and fell in love with each other. Although Indira Gandhi was initially against this relationship, Maneka married Sanjay Gandhi on 23 September 1974 at the age of 18. At the time of marriage, Sanjay Gandhi was 10 years older than Maneka.
Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash in 1982. After this, the situation changed for Maneka Gandhi. Indira Gandhi expelled her from the house for participating in rallies of political rivals. Maneka was only 23 years old then and her son Varun Gandhi was only 100 days old.
After leaving her in-laws’ house, Maneka Gandhi decided to establish herself. She raised money by selling her husband Sanjay Gandhi’s truck and started writing books and magazines. After this, she formed her own party named Rashtriya Sanjay Manch. In the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, she contested from Amethi against Rajiv Gandhi, although she had to face defeat.
In 1988, she joined VP Singh’s Janata Dal and became an MP for the first time in 1989. After this, she was continuously elected MP from Pilibhit and also became a Union Minister. Maneka Gandhi made a distinct identity for herself in politics with her dedication and hard work.
