IMHO the emergency levied by prime minister Indira Gandhi on 25-June 1975 must be one of the darkest ever phase in Indian politics post India’s independence. Vengeance, filthy dirty political revenge, death of democracy, banning and ostracising dignitaries who did not lend support or opposed, press censorship and so many other unimaginably dictatorship fuelled exigencies have unarguably been an evil spot on Indian political history till date.
But this write up isn’t about the emergency, we’ve had hoards of books and projects dedicated exclusively to it. It’s connected to people who rose to prominence during the emergency period (1975-77) and quickly resigned to anonymity thereafter. Now it’s common public knowledge that though the emergency was announced and dictated by Mrs. Gandhi it was actually her younger son the ambitious and aggressive Sanjay who was bravely calling the shots. Under his strong wings he mentored several young aspirants and one such loyal supporter was the glamorous and sexy Rukhsana sultan.
Rukhsana at her posh apartment (1977)
Born Meenu Bimbet in 1945, she was converted to Rukhsana sultan by her mother Zareena. Rukhsana at birth was related to film stars like the 50s sex symbol Begum Para who was Zareena’s sister which made her Rukhsana’s aunt. At 18 Rukhsana married a Sikh, Shivender Singh (whose uncle is the famous writer Khushwant Singh) and at 19 she became a young mother to a chubby baby (future Bollywood actor Amrita Singh). The loveless marriage was dissolved soon after. As a single mother Rukhsana started a boutique and jewellery store in Delhi where she would rent out jewellery among the high and elite section of cremé Delhi socialites.
In 1975 Rukhsana accidentally (though many claim it’ was a planned deliberate move) met the charming and handsome Sanjay at her boutique. They hit it off instantly, both young and enterprising. She a sexy ambitious divorce and he the young heir of India’s political family(though much married to Menaka).
Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi.
Sanjay recruited Rukhsana among his most trusted subordinates and delegated the responsibility of sterilisation and demolishing of slums during the emergency to her. A major responsibility assigned to a glamorous young woman, his party workers were aghast but Rukhsana with her dedication and charm managed to impress Sanjay. She’s till date the face of the Turkmen gate uproar a major turnaround event during the emergency. Rukhsana led the oppressive movement of forced sterilisation and went on a unstoppable slum demolition spree.
Dismissed by rival Ambika Soni (another Sanjay favourite) as a fluke and very publicly royally ignored by Indira and Maneka, Rukhsana was unperturbed as the man Sanjay had complete trust and shared an harmonious camaraderie with her. She even referred to Sanjay as her ‘ice cream buddy’.
Rukhsana a staunch Sanjay Gandhi loyalist during the emergency period (1976)
Even after the end of emergency and the brief down slide of the congress party (1977-80) she was still in the news owing to her sex appeal and closeness to rising star Sanjay Gandhi. It was Sanjay’s tragic death in an aircrash in 1980 that put an abrupt end to Rukhsana’s fame and popularity. After Sanjay’s death she was out of the political scene and almost non existent in the Gandhi empire. She did re-emerge from a brief hiatus when her teenage daughter Amrita Singh debuted with the romantic hit Betaab(1983) but soon withdrew into a reclusive shell. That was a complete contrast to the once socially active and highly ambitious woman who gained unprecedented fame and power in the emergency phase.
Rukhsana with her star daughter Amrita (1984)
Once a name that sent shivers down ‘strong’ but poverty stricken men who were pulled out of their homes and forcibly sterilised, she was the glamour girl of emergency, no story on Sanjay Gandhi is complete without a reference to the beautiful and stylish Rukhsana Sultan, an epitome of class and sensuality, her image clad in chiffon sarees, larger than life go go goggles perched on her nose and that lopsided seductive smile, no wonder Sanjay Gandhi was impressed. Rukhsana Sultan (1945-1997) the feisty glamour girl is today, almost forgotten unless one pops up the topic of Sanjay or the emergency.
Rukhsana with Amrita at the birth of Sara Ali Khan(1995)
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