Mundapallil Oommen Mathai (1909 – 28 August 1981[1]) was the Private Secretary to India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru before he was forced to quit in 1959 following the charges of corruption.[2] He is also known for his collaboration with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),[3] and for writing politically motivated memoirs in Reminiscences of the Nehru Age (1978) and My Days with Nehru (1979).
Early life
editMathai was born to a traditional Marthoma Syrian Christian family in central Travancore.
Career
editMathai used to work for the United States Army in India, before becoming the Private Secretary to Nehru in 1946.[1][4] He resigned from his post in 1959, after the Communists accused him of misusing his power to commit financial fraud.[1][5]
Controversies
editCIA connection
editMathai is noted to have worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1959, Mathai was forced to quit as Nehru's secretariat following the charges of corruption.[2] The Cabinet Secretary Vishnu Sahay investigated the case and was convinced that Mathai had compromised every file since the days of the Interim Government of India.[3]
Books
editMathai wrote two politically motivated books, Reminiscences of the Nehru Age and My Days with Nehru, during the rule of the Janata alliance government formed after ousting of Indira Gandhi's government.[6][7] These books were released at the time when malinging the image of Indira Gandhi was profitable for the market.[8]
The book Reminiscences of the Nehru Age has a total 49 chapters, some on Nehru's work and personal life and some on the various people that Mathai met.[9][10][11][12][13] Mathai had falsely proclaimed himself to be "Nehru's Special Assistant" in the book, and added that "the book is not history or biography , but chatty stuff containing my reminiscences".[14] The chapter 29 named 'She' was blanked and a note was appended in place.[9] The contents of the chapter has since birthed intense speculations.[15] 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.[15][9] The blanked chapter claimed affairs Indira Gandhi had with other people and chapter also concerned the Gandhi family in general.[16] Demands for the ban on the book were made to during the Janata alliance rule but Morarji Desai refused these suggestions.[14] His second book "My Days with Nehru" failed to gain any traction.[14] Inder Malhotra noted that "Few books in India have got such bad reviews as Mathai's did."[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c Associated Press (31 August 1981). "M.O. Mathai, a Top Official In India During Nehru's Rule". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ a b Gopal, S. (2014). Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography Volume 3 1956-1964. Random House. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-4735-2189-6.
- ^ a b Akbar, M.J. (1988). Nehru: The Making of India. Viking. p. 513. ISBN 978-0-670-81699-6.
- ^ "Ottawa Social Notes". Montreal Gazette. 24 October 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Special Correspondent (17 January 1959). "Nehru's secretary answers attack by Communists". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ KK, Satyavrat (23 October 2016). "Time to lift the ban on what Nehru's aide wrote about him and his contemporaries?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ Joshi, Chand (28 February 1978). "Book review: Reminiscences of the Nehru Age by M.O. Mathai". India Today. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ Malhotra, I. (2014). Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography. Hay House. p. 316. ISBN 978-93-84544-16-4.
- ^ a b c "'A chapter' with Indira". The Telegraph (Kolkata). 22 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ Akbar, M.J. (18 December 1988). "Nehru and The Lady". The Observer. p. 32. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Grant, Bruce (12 July 1980). "Nehru and the in-built system of poverty". The Age. p. 25. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Newsweek International (8 February 1978). "Himself". Edmonton Journal. p. 5. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ Associated Press (28 August 1980). "Mountbatten Biography Alleges Lady-Nehru Affair". The Victoria Advocate. p. 25. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Niazi, Z. (1994). The Web of Censorship. Oxford University Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-19-577543-3.
- ^ a b "A missing but not closed chapter in the life of Indira". Hindustan Times. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
- ^ Assisi, Charles (16 July 2017). "The 'escapades' of Indira Gandhi, the 'romance' of Roger Federer". Livemint. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ Falk, B. (2016). Feroze The Forgotten Gandhi. Roli Books. p. 110. ISBN 978-93-5194-187-3.