"I have no love for politics. But in accepting the challenge, I fulfilled a national duty and a filial duty; the duty of a son to a mother." - Rajiv Gandhi

The year 1944 welcomed the birth of a little boy in the eminent Nehru family. He was the first son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was named Rajiv.

Rajiv as a little toddler grew up in a family that made massive contributions to the freedom struggle and subsequent development of India. He was always surrounded by freedom fighters, great leaders and statesmen right from his childhood.

When he was two years old his father Feroze Gandhi and mother Indira shifted to Lucknow. Here his father assumed charge of the National Herald. Before Rajiv could settle down in the new place, there was a new addition to the family in the form of Sanjay, his younger brother.

Rajiv's childhood, though exciting wasn't very fun filled. His mother Indira was always busy and very much involved in the country's politics along with his grandfather Nehru. Nehru had been thoroughly involved in the struggle for freedom influenced by the great leader Mahatma Gandhi, right from the days his daughter Indira was tiny. All this involvement of his family resulted in his mother being arrested and little Rajiv being left alone without his mother for long periods.

But Rajiv in spite of all the hustle and bustle of India's freedom struggle that encircled him, remained very indifferent and cool. Unlike his mother Indira who took a deep interest in the freedom struggle right from her childhood, Rajiv showed no interest towards politics.

Finally India received her Independence when Rajiv turned three. His illustrious grandfather, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who was then 58 years old, was selected as free India's first Prime Minister. Since his grandmother was no more, his mother always assisted his grandfather in his tours and served as his hostess.Such frequent visits left very little time for Rajiv.

So, when Rajiv was six years old, his parents moved to New Delhi from Lucknow to aid his grandfather Nehru. His father, Feroze Gandhi, became an MP and earned a reputation as a fearless and hard-working Parliamentarian. Rajiv Gandhi spent his early childhood with his grand-father in the Teen Murti House. He briefly went to school at Welham Prep in Dehra Dun.

When Rajiv turned 11 he moved to the residential Doon School in Dehradun along with his brother. Doon School is located in picturesque surroundings.

Rajiv enjoyed his Doon School days the most. Rajiv's passion was flying and aviation. He was immensely interested in technology and was keenly fascinated in machines.

One day one of his friends asked him, "Rajiv, most of your family members are involved in the country's government. Your grandfather is the prime minister. What are you going to become?"

Rajiv answered him saying, "I have no love for politics. I would rather be a pilot but never a politician."

According to his classmates, his bookshelves were lined with volumes on science and engineering, not works on philosophy, politics or history. Music also had a pride of place in his interests. He liked Western, Hindustani classical, as well as modem music.

Rajiv's other interests included photography and amateur radio. But nothing came close to his craze for aviation.

When Rajiv turned 16 his father Feroze Gandhi passed away. By then he was almost done with his schooling.

After leaving school, Rajiv went to Trinity College, Cambridge. He soon shifted and joined the Imperial College in London where he did a course in mechanical engineering.

When he was 20, his grandfather Nehru passed away and his mother Indira Gandhi was elected to the Parliament. She was Minister of Information and Broadcasting under Lal Bahadur Shastri who became the Prime Minister after Nehru's death. But unfortunately Shastri died unexpectedly of a heart attack less than two years after he became the Prime Minister of India and his mother Indira was elected the Prime Minister when Rajiv was twenty-two.

His mother's involvement in politics did not dampen his spirit from pursuing his interests. He enrolled himself for flying lessons during his holidays in England. When he returned from England to India, he joined the Indian Airlines training course at Hyderabad. He also passed the entrance examination to the Delhi Flying Club, and went on to obtain a commercial pilot's license. Meanwhile his brother, Sanjay, was already in the thick of politics and was a great help to his mother Indira who was ruling the country.

While Rajiv was at Cambridge, he met Sonia Maino, an Italian who was studying English. Sonia was two years younger than Rajiv and they fell in love with each other. They were married in New Delhi in 1968 when Rajiv was 24 years old. They stayed in Indira Gandhi's residence in New Delhi and led a happy married life. One year later, they were blessed with a baby boy who was named Rahul and a little girl named Priyanka followed Rahul after two years.

Rajiv became a pilot with Indian Airlines, the domestic national carrier. His family life was very private despite the surrounding hustle and bustle of political activity. He loved flying and was leading a happy and contented family life as a professional commercial pilot.

But in June 1980 his bliss was rudely shattered one day when the family received a big jolt on account of the sudden death of Sanjay Gandhi. He had died unexpectedly in an air crash near Safdarjang Airport, Delhi.

Sanjay's untimely death put pressure on Rajiv to enter politics and help his mother who was then besieged by many internal and external challenges. He resisted these pressures at first, as he had no interest in politics. But later he bowed to the logic of the situation and decided to enter politics much against his desire.

When asked about what he felt on coming into a field he did not like, Rajiv replied despondently ".... I have no love for politics. I treasured the privacy of my happy family life. My mother respected both these sentiments. Then my brother Sanjay was killed in the prime of his life. It broke a mother's heart. Without even a day's break of grief, she carried on her task single-minded in fulfilling her pledge to her people. There is a loneliness that only a bereaved mother can know. She called to me in her loneliness. I went to her side. At her instance I left my love for flying and joined her as a political aide. From her I learnt my first political lessons. In accepting the challenge, I fulfilled a national duty and a filial responsibility; the duty of a son to a mother."

Thus, he plunged into politics and started to make a mark for himself. He contested the Lok Sabha election from Amethi constituency and he won by a thumping majority. He was sworn in as Member of Lok Sabha and a couple of years later he was appointed General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. Four States were put under his charge, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. He was also given the charge of managing the affairs of the Congress Sewa Dal and the Youth Congress.

Rajiv also played a pivotal role in starting the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. But things did not remain smooth for long. His mother Indira Gandhi was gunned down by the bullets of her own security guards on October 31st 1984. Rajiv was devastated.

On that fateful day, Rajiv was in the interior of West Bengal addressing political meetings. Tragedy overtook him and he was extremely grieved. He dashed to Delhi and before he knew, the nation's responsibility fell on his shoulders as he was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India the very same evening.

Later it was told of him "No one could have ascended to power - becoming both Prime Minister and Congress President - in more tragic and tormenting circumstances than Rajiv did in the wake of his mother's brutal assassination on 31 October, 1984. But he bore the awesome burden of personal grief and national responsibility with remarkable poise, dignity and restraint."

Thus Rajiv was sworn in as prime minister at the age of forty. He brought into politics energy, enthusiasm, and vision-qualities badly needed to lead the divided country. Moreover, his looks, personal charm, and reputation as "Mr. Clean" were assets that won him many friends in India and abroad, especially in the United States.

Rajiv Gandhi seemed to have understood the magnitude of the most critical and urgent problems that faced the nation when he assumed office. In his capacity as the Prime Minister, he signed the Punjab, Assam and Mizoram accords. For the settlement of the Tamil ethnic crisis, he signed Indo-Sri Lanka According July 1987.

During his tenure as Prime Minister, several reforms were brought about in administration, economy and technology. The Panchayati Raj was introduced and the voting age was also reduced from 21 to 18 years. Even in the field of education a new education policy was framed and the Indira Gandhi National Open University was established.

His achievement in the international field was also significant. He was a firm believer of total disarmament and presented an Action Plan before the Special Session on Disarmament at the United Nations General Assembly. He also directed his efforts to promote a sustained and continued cooperation among the Members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries.

He was a champion of human rights and was opposed to oppression and exploitation.

He once said, "I believe that apartheid is a blot on civilization. We must remove it"

He wanted to see India as a great power by the beginning of the 21st century. Rajiv's charismatic personality, won the hearts of his countrymen. His smiling face and his pattern of behavior and his manners were so attractive and appealing that he would turn his foes into friends. He was the country's prime minister for five years from 1984-1989.

Though he lost power in December 1989 when V.P. Singh became the Prime Minister, he was on the crest of his popularity and seen as if he was destined to be the future Prime Minister of India again after the May, 1991 general elections.

But, alas tragedy struck during his election campaign in Sriperambudur near Chennai. He was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber in an attack by planned, orchestrated and executed by the LTTE of Srilanka.

Today Rajiv Gandhi lives in the hearts and minds of millions of Indians who remember his courage, patriotism and determination to steer India into the 21st century.