'I was scared of darkness': Rahul Gandhi recalls lesson from grandmother Indira, hails women as ‘central force’

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Calling women “a central and driving force” for the country, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said on the Lok Sabha on Friday that he had been taught by his grandmother, the late ex-PM Indira Gandhi, a powerful lesson when he was a child. “When I was a little boy, I used to be very scared of darkness. We used to have this huge dog, who used to attack my sister (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) and me all the time. We were scared of going out in the darkness,” he said in his speech on the women's quota amendment bill. “One day my grandmother found out. And I am saying this because it was one of the most powerful lessons taught to me in my life by a woman, by a grandmother,” he said, recounting, “My parents had gone out for dinner. She caught my hand, took me out to the dark garden. She left me, and said, ‘stay here, do not move’. And she left. I watched her go, she was wearing a yellow sari I remember. I thought I was done for. (Meri hawa nikal gayi, main toh gaya!)” He said he did not have the courage to tell her he did not want to stay put “She went away for 1-2 minutes. For me it was 2-3 hours. I was imagining the dog coming to bite me; I was imagining ghosts, snakes... She came back and asked, me 'What are you scared of?' I said, 'Dadi, I am scared of that dog, I am scared of somebody being in garden; bats; snakes. I am scared of things I cannot see,” he added. “She said, ‘No, Rahul, you are not scared of the darkness or the dogs or bats. You are only scared of your mind, your imagination, and what you are thinking’,” he recalled. He further added, “And then she said, ‘You should not be scared of the darkness; the truth most often is in the darkness. If you do not have the courage to face fears, to go into darkness, you will not be able to understand truth’.” He said it was a political lesson, he though years later; but “it was fundamentally a religious lesson: Satyam Shivam Sundaram”. ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ is a Sanskrit phrase literally translating to ‘truth, goodness, and beauty’. In Hindu philosophy, it represents the concept that ultimate truth is divine, and inherently beautiful, often used to describe the nature of Lord Shiva. Rahul and his party have opposed the linkage of the women's quota, passed originally with their support in 2023, with delimitation, that is, increasing and redrawing Lok Sabha seats. The BJP-led NDA government led by PM Narendra Modi does not have the two-third majority for the constitutional amendment to pass. Aarish Chhabra is an Associate Editor with the Hindustan Times online team, writing news reports and explanatory articles, besides overseeing coverage for the website. His career spans nearly two decades across India's most respected newsrooms in print, digital, and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats — from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary — building a body of work that reflects both editorial rigour and a deep curiosity about the society he writes for. Aarish studied English literature, sociology and history, besides journalism, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and started his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of ‘The Big Small Town: How Life Looks from Chandigarh’, a collection of critical essays originally serialised as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, examining the culture and politics of a city that is far more than its famous architecture — and, in doing so, holding up a mirror to modern India. In stints at the BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV, and Jagran New Media, he worked across formats and languages; mainly English, also Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project replicated across the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and content quality. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, he developed a website that simplified academic research in management. At Bennett University's Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing, to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from a small town to a bigger town to a mega city for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture — a perspective that informs both his writing and his view of the world. When not working, he is constantly reading long-form journalism or watching brainrot content, sometimes both at the same time.Read More