The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word NEHRU
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
N
E
H
R
U
More clues leading to the result NEHRU
- You are served with chicken up in popular Indian
- Pandit upending gas-filled vessel
- Indian statesman turned heads in unison, recalling his entourage noisily
- Indian leader once close to Australian? Sorry sport!
- Asian statesman's game bird rising first
- Republican female reflected: ‘Trump essentially a one-time leader‘
- Past prime minister with her unfashionable jacket
- Former PM famously collared?
- Asian politician, female backing rugger
- Are you texting to support rising female Indian leader?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "a one-time leader" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case a one-time leader = nehru.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.