Remembering Sanjay Gandhi on 39th death anniversary

New Delhi, June 23: It was always expected that Sanjay Gandhi was going to succeed his mother Indira Gandhi as his political heir. His unexpected death in a plane crash on June 23, 1980 came as a heavy blow to his mother and the Indian National Congress.

On the 39th death anniversary of Sanjay Gandhi, his wife Maneka Gandhi and son Varun Gandhi paid their tributes at Shanti Vana in Delhi earlier today.

Sanjay Gandhi had died in an aircraft accident on June 23, 1980, at the age of 23. He was the younger son to Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi and elder brother to former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

As the world remembers the late leader on his 39th death anniversary, let's take a look at a few lesser-known facts.

• He was born on 14th December, 1946 and is said to be his mother's favorite son. Rajiv Gandhi was Sanjay Gandhi's elder brother.
• Sanjay Gandhi never attended college. Instead, he took up an apprenticeship with Rolls-Royce in Crewe, England
• Sanjay Gandhi was interested in sports cars, and also obtained a pilot's licence in 1976. He had also won several prizes in aircraft acrobatics
• Sanjay Gandhi escaped an assassination attempt in March 1977 when unknown assailants fired at his car during an election campaign near New Delhi.
• Sanjay had also obtained a pilot's license when he was building a career as an airline pilot
• When famed actor and singer Kishore Kumar refused to sing for a Congress rally in Mumbai during the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi banned all his songs on All India Radio and Doordarshan
• Wikileaks claimed that there were three assassination attempts on Sanjay Gandhi
• n May 1980, Sanjay was appointed as the Secretary General of Congress Party
• A month later, on June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi was killed in a plane crash.