All that remained of Lai Bahadur Shastri was a small pile of ashes on the bank of New Delhi's Jumna River. Even as the nation mourned the death of its gentle leader, the search began for a successor. At week's end, as India's leading politicians huddled in one meeting after another, it seemed likely that the choice would fall on a candidate with a magical legacy in Indian politics: Indira Gandhi, 48, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru.
The choice was being debated in a small bungalow on a dusty New Delhi road. There, draped...
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