'Ongmu came running': Sonia Gandhi recalls Indira Gandhi's assassination in memoir Belonging

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi has recalled the horrifying moments following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, describing how she heard a series of explosions, rushed towards the garden and found her mother-in-law covered in blood.

In an excerpt from her memoir Belonging, published in an article in The Guardian, Sonia recounts how she was preparing to take a bath when she heard sounds resembling firecrackers. Before she could understand what was happening, Ongmu, the children's nanny, came pounding on the bathroom door, crying hysterically and gesturing towards the garden.

The Guardian published the edited extract on November 7, ahead of the memoir's November 10 release.

Sonia rushed along the path leading to Akbar Road, where she saw a white Ambassador car approaching. She then saw Indira being carried into the vehicle.

"I understand; I scream," Sonia writes in the memoir, recalling the moment she realised what had happened.

She describes crouching on the floor of the car, facing Indira, whose sari and chest were covered in blood. Her eyes were wide open, and her face had a surprised expression. Sonia tried repeatedly to call out "Mummy", but could not find her voice. Indira did not respond.

The journey to the hospital was marked by further distress. The car moved slowly through heavy traffic, without a siren, stopping at red lights along the way. Even after reaching the hospital, they faced delays before being allowed inside.

Sonia recalls being taken to a room near what she believed was an operation theatre, while doctors attended to Indira. She insisted on staying beside her and wanted to know what was happening, but the medical staff remained occupied with emergency procedures.

She was also overwhelmed by anxiety about her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, and their children, Rahul and Priyanka, who were at school when the assassination took place.

"Where is Rajiv? I try to remember. I can't, I can't. The children, yes, they're in school; they must be brought home," she writes, describing her state of confusion and fear.

The children were abruptly taken out of school by black-uniformed commandos. When they reached home, they found members of the household staff crying and began asking questions about their grandmother, parents and the reason for their sudden return.

Sonia writes that she wanted to sit with them, hold them and break the news gently, but could not do so as she had to return to the hospital, where Rajiv was expected to arrive.

Indira Gandhi was declared dead at 2 pm on October 31, 1984. Sonia was later driven home to collect clothes for the body to be changed into. During the journey, a group of men surrounded their car, banged on its windows and shouted angrily.

Rajiv, who was in West Bengal attending a political rally, had been informed that a serious accident had taken place in Delhi. He was taken to the helipad and flew to Calcutta before travelling to Delhi. He had also heard a BBC bulletin reporting that his mother was wounded and in a critical condition.

Although nobody directly informed him of her death, Rajiv understood what had happened, Sonia recalls in Belonging.