He was not considered a suitable mate for Indira(Currimbhoy 62).

             Feroze Gandhi had the same surname as Mohandas Gandhi, however, he came from a very different social and religious background. Unlike Mohandas, who was Hindu, Feroze was a Parsi, a member of one of the smallest and most cohesive religious sects in India. Orthodox Hindus were so outraged that Indira had chosen to marry a Parsi that Jawaharal, and even Gandhi, were forced to come to Indira"s defense publicly. .

             A few months after the wedding, Indira, herself, was jailed, and event she referred to later as the most dramatic incident in her life. Courting arrest was a Congress policy, a way of protesting to the British Raj. and Indira"s nine months in jail marked for her political coming of age. Some leaders used their time in prison for writing and for reflecting on the course of political events. .

             Feroze, who had been in jail also, was released a while later, and the couple settled down to married life. They took a small house in the city of Lucknow, where Feroze became the managing director of The National Herald, a newspaper that had been founded by his father-in-law. Two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, were born in quick succession, and it seemed that Indira was ready to settle down in her role as wife and mother(Malhotra 76). .

             Following the end of World War II, the British Government was convinced, at last, that it could no longer rule India. In September 1946, Jawaharal Nehru became the head of an "interim" government and on August 15, 1947, the first prime minister of Independent India. The Indian people had long awaited this moment, and when it came, Indira remembers being too numb to feel anything(Jayakar 94).

             Gradually Indira became sort of a "first lady". She accompanied her father almost everywhere. At mass meetings she sat quietly behind him, and sometimes, when Nehru couldn"t attend, she spoke for him(Currimbhoy 79).