M.O. Mathai (Mundapallil Oommen Mathai) (1909–28 August 1981[1]) was the Private Secretary to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He is primarily famed for his memoirs in Reminiscences of the Nehru Age (1978) and My Days with Nehru (1979).
Early life
Mathai (Mundappallil Oommen Mathai) was born to a traditional Marthoma Syrian Christian family in central Travancore.
Career
Mathai used to work for the United States Army in India, before becoming the Private Secretary to Nehru in 1946.[1][2] He resigned from his post in 1959, after the Communists accused him of misusing his power to commit financial fraud.[1][3]
One of Mathai's letters (UO No D/S13170 of 2 December 1954) dug out by the Delhi-based non-profit trust Mission Netaji had become controversial in 2006.[4] The letter indicated that the ashes of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were received in India in the 1950s. This information is contradictory to the Indian government's opinion that Bose's ashes are kept in Renkoji temple in Japan.
Books
Reminiscences of the Nehru Age
Mathai wrote the book about his experiences as the private secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru, in the brief span when the Janata alliance ousted Indira Gandhi from the Union Government.[5][6] The book has a total 49 chapters, some on Nehru's work and personal life and some on the various people that Mathai met.[7][8][9][10][11]
The book ended up being banned, shortly after publication; the ban was mostly due to his details of the various sexual encounters and affairs the Gandhi family had outside marriage.[5]
Chapter 29
The chapter 29 named 'She' was blanked and a note was appended in place.[7] The contents of the chapter has since birthed intense speculations.[12] T V Rajeswar, former chief of Intelligence Bureau has since claimed of receiving a copy of the chapter from M. G. Ramachandran and duly submitting to then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; he claims to have not read the contents.[12][7]
Controversy
The banned chapter contained expose about the multiple affairs Indira Gandhi had with other people and the Gandhi family in general.[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 M.O. Mathai, a Top Official In India During Nehru's Rule. The New York Times(1981-08-31). Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ↑ Ottawa Social Notes. Montreal Gazette(24 October 1949). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ↑ Nehru's secretary answers attack by Communists. The Guardian(17 January 1959). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ↑ Netaji's ashes still in Japan temple: MEA. www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Time to lift the ban on what Nehru’s aide wrote about him and his contemporaries?, KK, Satyavrat. Scroll.in. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ↑ Book review: Reminiscences of the Nehru Age by M.O. Mathai, Joshi, Chand. India Today(28 February 1978). Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 'A chapter' with Indira. The Telegraph (Kolkata)(22 September 2015). Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ↑ Nehru and The Lady. The Observer(18 December 1988). Retrieved 2020-01-08.
- ↑ Nehru and the in-built system of poverty. The Age(12 July 1980). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ↑ Himself. Edmonton Journal(8 February 1978). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ↑ Mountbatten Biography Alleges Lady-Nehru Affair. The Victoria Advocate(28 August 1980). Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 A missing but not closed chapter in the life of Indira. Hindustan Times(27 September 2015). Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ↑ The ‘escapades’ of Indira Gandhi, the ‘romance’ of Roger Federer, Assisi, Charles. Livemint(2017-07-16). Retrieved 2020-01-07.