October 31 marks the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was assassinated on this day by two of her own bodyguards in 1984, just five months after a military action at the Golden Temple as part of Operation Blue Star.
She was the only female prime minister of India. She served as the prime minister of India from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984. Indira—popularly known as the “Iron Lady of India”—is credited for the nationalisation of banks and the abolition of privy purses of the royal families among others. It is said that veteran BJP leader and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee referred to her as Goddess Durga post-1971 Bangladesh war. In 1999, she was named ‘Woman of the Millennium’ by a BBC poll.
On her death anniversary, here’s a look at some facts about the Iron Lady:
Indira was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad. She was the only child of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. Her entire family was involved in the freedom struggle. Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was a well-known lawyer, activist, and politician affiliated with the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Congress President twice, from 1919 to 1920 and 1928 to 1929. Her mother, Kamala Nehru, was also a freedom fighter and member of the INC.
She attended Modern School in Delhi, St Cecilia’s, and St Mary’s Convent in Allahabad. She also went to the International School of Geneva, the Ecole Nouvelle in Bex, and the Pupil’s Own School in Poona and Bombay.
Indira also studied at Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan where she was given her name Priyadarshini by great poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore.
She married Feroze Gandhi in 1942 at Anand Bhavan. She had two sons — Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi.
She was elected as the president of the INC in 1960.
After the sudden death of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in January 1966, she was chosen as the leader of the Congress legislative party over Moraji Desai. She formed the government with Desai as deputy prime minister and finance minister.
She served as the prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977. After a brief interval of 3 years, she returned to power in January 1980 and remained the prime minister until her death in 1984.
She supported the liberation movement of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in East Pakistan. Her move resulted in war with Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh. She was awarded the Bharat Ratna, after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
In 1984, she ordered military action in Golden Temple under Operation Blue Star. Later she was assassinated by two of her own bodyguards outside her home.
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Updated: 31 Oct 2023, 06:43 AM IST