From the India Today archives (2015) | The Rajiv Gandhi years

Key points

• (NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated December 21, 2015) Rajiv was a patriot who ruled at a very tough juncture, his degree of difficulty unfairly masked by the size of his mandate.
• He squandered it just as spectacularly as he achieved it.
• Youthful promise of change gave way to cynical politics that had defeat written all over it.
• Read Full Story Mayawati raised an interesting question when under attack for her statue and memorial building for Dalit icons.
• Forward ("Manuwadi") castes could hardly object, she said, as they had already filled our streets and parks with their leaders’ busts.