It is now established that congress president Sonia Gandhi had undergone a successful surgery in a US hospital for an undisclosed medial ailment. The bit of news of her flying to the US and having the surgery, however, was something like a bolt from the blue to the Indians.

She looked quite fit at congress core committee meetings and other public appearances, though they were occasional. It is now clear that, except her close family members, no one in India including some top guns in the administration such as Pranab Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram was aware of her ailment, what ever it was.

Reports published in The Telegraph of the UK and news dispatches by Reuters showed that she was being treated for an unspecified cancer for the last eight months and she was flown to the US in the most serious condition. Some unconfirmed news reports said that she was suffering from cervical cancer.

It is no doubt that cancer is a serious disease and Sonia too, like any other cancer patient, was pulling on with proper treatment. Al these eight months, her condition remained serious even though she chaired several of her party core committee meetings and impromptu discussions.

The Telegraph, quoting close sources of Sonia’s family, has reported that even though her condition was critical, friends and relatives had remained optimistic because she otherwise looked fit.