When Indira Met Mugabe During Zimbabwe’s Independence Celebrations

Indira Gandhi and Robert Mugabe knew each other for a long time!

Zimbabwe gained independence from British rule on 18 April 1980, to celebrate a concert which was organised in the country, where several noted foreign dignitaries were invited.

But did you know that India’s former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi attended the concert along with Prince Charles? On the same day, Robert Mugabe, the then leader of the Zimbabwe African Nationalist Union (or ZANU), was going to be made the first Prime Minister of the newly independent Zimbabwe.

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India’s Iron Lady, Gandhi, first met Mugabe during this Zimbabwean independence celebrations, along with former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh.

Singh talked about meeting Mugabe in his book Walking with Lions, also throwing some light on the relationship between Gandhi and Mugabe. Singh recounted the time when he first contacted Mugabe to inform him of Gandhi’s plans to join the independence celebrations.

“Before leaving I asked [Robert Mugabe], ‘Sir, could I tell Mrs Gandhi how much you are looking forward to greeting her in an independent Zimbabwe?’ ‘Of course, of course, do tell her. I admire her and her great father,’ he replied.”

Three decades after this meeting, Gandhi, her family, and the Congress were highly praised by many top African leaders at the 2015 India-Africa Summit in New Delhi, including Robert Mugabe.

Ninety-three-year-old Mugabe termed the Indian National Congress a "great party" as he recalled African ties with Gandhi and the Congress.

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