20-05-2025
Love, abandonment, and the tragic solitude of Leila Kabir Fernandes
During my 12 years of research into the life and times of George Fernandes, I met Leila Kabir Fernandes only once. The meeting was not pleasant, nor was the occasion. On the early morning of January 29, 2019, I rushed to her home in Panchsheel Park, Delhi, after receiving the news of George's death from his brother, Michael Fernandes, who called me from Bangalore. When I entered the house, the world was still unaware of his passing. Jaya Jaitly and her daughter were already there, sitting in the drawing room and solemnly discussing the arrangements for his last rites. George's mortal remains were in an inner room. Just a few years prior, in early 2010, the media had sensationalised the feud between two women over George's Alzheimer-afflicted condition. However, on that January day, Leila and Jaya were chatting amiably, as they had both loved the same man for much of their lives.
Leila was the daughter of Congressman Humayun Kabir, who later revolted against Indira Gandhi and formed his own political party called Lok Dal. Her mother, Shanti Dasgupta, was a socialite known for her connections with Indira Gandhi, who was invited to be the chief guest at Leila's wedding to George in July 1971. Leila was educated at Delhi University and Oxford. She completed a nursing course and initially worked with the Red Cross, which played a significant role in bringing her and George together and ultimately led to their marriage.
In a letter she wrote to her brother, who tragically took his own life by drowning in the shallow sea at Gopalpur in Orissa, where the Kabir family owned a seaside bungalow, Leila expressed that their childhood was not particularly happy. Leila slid into a remorseful, reproachful yet spirited self-analysis, writing to her brother how they both had the 'same basic stress-anxiety-tension ridden' childhood when 'I was never ok — dark, stupid, petite, fool, ugly etc., plus a female'. Their parents were extremely busy with their public lives, which left them feeling neglected while also burdened by their high expectations. This pressure took a psychological toll on the children, and Leila grew to be a possessive and insecure woman. During her marriage to George, she became increasingly sensitive to his public persona. Initially, she was supportive, but since he was often away leading labour strikes, she endured significant challenges.
In May 1974, when George, as President of the All India Railwaymen's Federation, organised a nationwide strike of railway workers, Leila experienced personal hardship. In January, she had given birth to their first child. When the national Emergency was declared in June 1975, George went into hiding, leaving her alone with their infant son. Two months later, she left the country to stay with her brother in the USA. While there, the Indian government impounded her passport in an attempt to force George to emerge from hiding. A year into the Emergency, when George was arrested, Leila once again took to travelling across European capitals to gain support for her imprisoned husband, even testifying before the American Congress about the lack of democracy and human rights in India under Indira Gandhi.
In the early months of 1977, the state of Emergency was lifted, elections were held, and Indira Gandhi faced defeat. Fresh from prison, George, who had achieved a significant victory in Muzaffarpur, was appointed a minister in the Morarji Desai government. Initially, Leila opposed George contesting the election while he was still incarcerated. However, after his victory and subsequent appointment as minister, she returned to India and was celebrated by the media as the indomitable force behind the international campaign for George's release.
They lived in the ministerial bungalow, but their camaraderie was short-lived, much like the tenure of the Janata government. They eventually separated and remained almost incommunicado for the next 25 years, during which others filled the void in George's life. They met only when George could no longer recognise her. Despite this, Leila found some solace in witnessing George's controversial return to her, caring for him as he neared the end of his life. This became a bittersweet comfort for a lonely woman who ultimately passed away alone.
In the final analysis, was she a wronged woman, victim of a career politician's scrambling ambition? She loved George, almost to the point of obsession, and remained fixated on him for much of her adult life. This fixation pulled her away from her loving, compassionate self and into the depressing depths of marital competition. Her letters reveal her awareness of the destructive tendencies of her mind, yet she remained a prisoner to the insecurities and demons rooted in her childhood, which ultimately governed her life.
As the daughter of a politician and the wife of another, Leila Kabir Fernandes was unprepared for the sacrifices and compromises that a life in politics demands. It is also possible that in a high-intensity relationship like the one she shared with George, there was no room for anyone else. Their lives were so deeply interwoven, largely due to Leila's needs, that when others entered the picture to fill the solitude of a public life, their marriage crumbled under the strain of diminishing faith, trust, and love.
Ramagundam is the author of The Life and Times of George Fernandes
