India. 1984
It was at the meeting of the chief of States of the “non-aligned countries”.
I used to work for Time Magazine in the area and particularly in India, Afghanistan, Middle East, and South Africa. I was following with very much interest the news of the world, as usual. Indira Ghandi had just passed an order against the Sikhs and their movements. There were tensions between the government and the Sikhs. All the leaders had been arriving from everywhere (Castro, Asad, Moubarak) and each time, Indira Ghandi would come to the airport to welcome them. It was as many opportunities to take pictures for us. We were photojournalists and cameramen from the different countries perched on a special podium, when the guard of honour came closer. I’ve seen this premonitory scene, of all the Sikhs as bodyguards, Indira, alone, her hands on her chest. Suddenly, I remembered the order she had just signed against the Sikhs. I was very disturbed, very moved too by her courage or her foolhardiness. I was seeing her in front of a firing squad; I wanted to warn her of what I guessed. I turned to a cameraman –TF1- who was next to me. I showed him the scene: “look, she is crazy to have taken Sikhs as bodyguards; they are going to kill her”. The cameraman looked at me strangely, making a sign of silence! He was filming the ceremony!! A couple of weeks after, I had obtained authorization to spend a couple of days with her to make her portrait. And the news came suddenly: Indira Ghandi had been murdered by two Sikhs bodyguards.