Her aunt remembers her out on the porch, eyes burning, arms dramatically outstretched, playing Joan Of Arc leading her people to freedom. By the time she was twelve, Indira was making a strong and real effort to be involved in the struggle. She formed the Monkey Brigade, this was a group of children who acted as messengers for the elders(Sahgal 94). .

             Indira discovered soon, however, that the family"s commitment to the freedom movement meant more than just fun and games. For the Nehrus, who were permanently in the forefront of the movement, the twenty-five long years of civil disobedience and jail sentences meant a suspension of family life(Malhotra 53).

             Indira"s completion of school, just after her sixteenth birthday, was greeted by a telegram from her father informing her that he was once again going to jail, and, even more disturbing, that her mother, who as suspected of having tuberculosis, had taken a turn for the worse. After spending a very long time taking care of her mother, Indira was sent to Shantiniketan, an unconventional, informal university in Bengal.

             Her stay at the university, which she considered the best times of her life, lasted only a year. In May 1935, with her father still in jail, Indira was sent back to Switzerland to her sick mother. There was no cure for Tuberculosis back then, but Nehru sent his wife to Europe in hopes that the clean mountain air would help her to recover from the disease. On February 28, 1936, Indira"s mother died. Her mother was only thirty-six, and Indira was devastated(Sahgal 106).

             When Indira was in England, she was often seen with another young foreign student, Feroze Gandhi. Feroze had been a frequent visitor to the Nehru household. After Kamala"s death, Indira had found herself drawn towards Feroze. Indira"s family, however, did not welcome the news that Indira planned to marry Feroze. Jawaharal Nehru, in fact strongly opposed the match, in spite of the fact that Indira and Feroze had been friends for many years.