M. O. Mathai

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 controversial 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 details of the ban are hazy.[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

Sleazy narratives about sexual relations of Mathai and Indira are frequently uploaded over the internet, claiming to be the concealed chapter.[13]

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Ottawa Social Notes". Montreal Gazette. 24 October 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. Special Correspondent (17 January 1959). "Nehru's secretary answers attack by Communists". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  4. "Netaji's ashes still in Japan temple: MEA". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. KK, Satyavrat. "Time to lift the ban on what Nehru's aide wrote about him and his contemporaries?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. Joshi, Chand (28 February 1978). "Book review: Reminiscences of the Nehru Age by M.O. Mathai". India Today. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  7. "'A chapter' with Indira". The Telegraph (Kolkata). 22 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  8. Akbar, M.J. (18 December 1988). "Nehru and The Lady". The Observer. p. 32. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. Grant, Bruce (12 July 1980). "Nehru and the in-built system of poverty". The Age. p. 25. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  10. Newsweek International (8 February 1978). "Himself". Edmonton Journal. p. 5. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  11. Associated Press (28 August 1980). "Mountbatten Biography Alleges Lady-Nehru Affair". The Victoria Advocate. p. 25. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  12. "A missing but not closed chapter in the life of Indira". Hindustan Times. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  13. Assisi, Charles (16 July 2017). "The 'escapades' of Indira Gandhi, the 'romance' of Roger Federer". Livemint. Retrieved 7 January 2020.


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