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The document, which had been meticulously preserved for decades by a local family, was handed over during the second day of Rahul Gandhi’s tour of his parliamentary constituency
The gesture took place amid a busy schedule for the Congress leader, who had arrived in Raebareli to lead protests against the scrapping of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). File pic/PTI
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was presented with a rare piece of his family’s history on Tuesday. During a visit to his parliamentary constituency of Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress leader received the long-lost driving licence of his grandfather, Feroze Gandhi. The document, which had been meticulously preserved for decades by a local family, was handed over during the second day of his tour, adding an emotional layer to an otherwise politically charged visit.
The licence was presented by Vikas Singh, a member of the organising committee for the Raebareli Premier League cricket tournament. According to Singh, the historic document was discovered by his late father-in-law many years ago during a public programme in the district. Recognising its significance, the family chose to keep it safely as an “amanat”—a valuable trust—rather than treating it as a mere relic. After the passing of Singh’s father-in-law, his mother-in-law continued to preserve the document, waiting for an appropriate opportunity to return it to the Gandhi family.
Feroze Gandhi (1912-1960) was a formidable parliamentarian, journalist, and a key figure in India’s independence struggle. Born into a Parsi family in Bombay as Feroze Jehangir Ghandy, he later changed the spelling of his surname to Gandhi to align with the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he deeply admired. Though not biologically related to the Mahatma, this change became the foundational surname for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty after his marriage to Indira Nehru in 1942. Representing Raebareli in the Lok Sabha, he earned a reputation as a fierce anti-corruption crusader, famously exposing financial scandals within his own father-in-law’s government.
Upon receiving the licence on stage, Rahul Gandhi appeared visibly moved and examined the document with great care. Recognising the emotional value it would hold for his mother, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he immediately took a photograph of the licence and shared it with her via WhatsApp. Feroze Gandhi, who died in 1960, holds a seminal place in Raebareli’s political history, having represented the seat in India’s first two general elections. The return of the licence served as a reminder of the deep-rooted ties between the family and the constituency, which Sonia Gandhi has previously described as an “inheritance of fortune”.
The gesture took place amid a busy schedule for the Congress leader, who had arrived in Raebareli to lead protests against the scrapping of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Earlier in the day, he held a “MGNREGA Chaupal” in Rohaniya, where he criticised the Union Government’s newly enacted employment mission. However, the unexpected return of his grandfather’s driving licence shifted the narrative from contemporary policy battles to a quiet celebration of legacy.
January 20, 2026, 23:01 IST
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