Indira Gandhi Biography

Who is Indira Gandhi?

Indira Gandhi, a prominent figure in the history of Indian politics, was the Iron Lady, the third Prime Minister of India. Her father was Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first Prime Minister of India and an ally of Mahatma Gandhi in the freedom struggle. Indira Gandhi was an eminent figure of the Indian National Congress and the first and only woman Prime Minister of the country. She was the second Prime Minister to hold office for a long time, the first time from 1966 to 1977 and the second time from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.

From 1947 to 1964 he was the Chief of Staff of Jawaharlal Nehru's administration. which was highly centralized. In 1959 she was elected as Congress President. He replaced Lal Bahadur Shastri as the Prime Minister of India in 1966. As a prime minister, Indira Gandhi was known to be fierce, rigid, and remarkable with the centralization of power. From 1975 to 1977, he imposed an emergency on the country to quell political opposition. India rose to prominence in South Asia with substantial economic, military and political development during his leadership. India Today magazine conducted a poll in 2001 in which Indira Gandhi was voted as the greatest Prime Minister. In 1999, the BBC named her as "Woman of the Millennium".

Indira Gandhi's Birthday & Early life

Indira Gandhi was born on 19 November 1917 in Allahabad, India to their father Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, and mother Smt. Kamala Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the key players in India's struggle for independence from the British Raj. After that, he became the first Prime Minister of independent India. Indira Gandhi was the only child of her parents and grew up in their family estate Anand Bhawan in Allahabad. His childhood days were quite lonely, his father being away or jailed due to his commitments to political activities. His mother used to fall ill frequently and had to lie in bed from time to time; She eventually died at a young age suffering from tuberculosis. Letters were his only means of contact with his father.

Indira Gandhi Education

She attended school intermittently until matriculation in 1934 and was often taught at home. He also studied at Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan. However, she dropped out of university and went to Europe to care for her ailing mother. After the death of her mother, she attended Badminton School for some time. After this, in 1937, he enrolled at Somerville College to pursue history. She was suffering from malaise and had to visit doctors constantly.

Her studies were interrupted as she had to travel frequently to Switzerland to recover. Due to his poor health and other disruptions, he had to return to India without completing his studies at Oxford. However, later Oxford University honored him with an honorary degree.

Indira Gandhi's Marriage, Wife &Children

She married Firoz Gandhi, a Parsi from Gujarat, on 26 March 1942. They knew each other from Allahabad and later met in Britain when he was studying at the London School of Economics. He chose his younger son Sanjay Gandhi as his successor in politics but after his sudden death in a flight accident in June 1980, Indira Gandhi persuaded her elder son Rajiv Gandhi to join politics. At that time Rajiv Gandhi was a pilot who reluctantly quit his job in February 1981 to join politics.

Political Career

From 1947 to 1964 she was the chief of staff of Jawaharlal Nehru's administration which was highly centralized. She was elected a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1964. He served as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the government led by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Indira Gandhi was elected as the Prime Minister of India in January 1966, following the untimely death of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. He served in this position till 1977. During this tenure, he displayed exceptional political prowess. The term also evoked internal discontent in the party, which led to a split in 1969. As a Prime Minister, he implemented radical changes in the political, economic, national, and international policies of the country. Nationalization of 14 major commercial banks was one of the important economic decisions taken during that period. The move proved to be extremely fruitful, with the geographic coverage of banks increasing from 8,200 to 62,000, resulting in increased savings from the household sector and investment in the agriculture sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. His next step was to nationalize several industries such as steel, copper, coal, cotton textiles, refining, and insurance industries, with the aim of protecting the employment and interests of organized workers. During the post-war 1971 oil crisis against Pakistan, Indira Gandhi nationalized oil companies, forming such oil companies as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL).

The Green Revolution under his leadership made remarkable progress in the agricultural production of the country. As a result, the capacity for self-sufficiency increased. During the time of the Pakistan Civil War in 1971, when Indira Gandhi supported East Pakistan, which guided the formation of Bangladesh. Under his administrative policy, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab were declared states. Indira Gandhi tried to normalize relations with Pakistan and reopen diplomatic establishments, which was praised by Pakistan's Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but with General Zia-ul-Haq coming to power in 1978, all efforts for better relations failed. He brought about social reforms in the Indian Constitution by introducing equal pay for work done for both men and women. Opposition parties accused him of using unfair means after the 1971 elections. A case was filed against him in the Allahabad High Court, in which he was found guilty of employing the state machinery for campaigning. In June 1975 the court declared the elections null and void and he was removed from the Lok Sabha and banned from contesting elections for the next six years.

    During this time the country was in turmoil, recovering from the war against Pakistan, facing attacks, political opposition, and disorder. To control the situation, he advised the then President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare a state of emergency lasting 21 months from June 1975 to March 1977. This gave them the power to rule by decree, suspend elections, and all other civil rights. The whole country came under the central government. The result of this move was reflected in the next elections when the Congress party was defeated by a substantial margin, with both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi losing their seats. The next term of his tenure as Prime Minister from 1980 was mostly spent resolving the political issues of Punjab. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his soldiers started a separatist movement in 1983 and established themselves in the Golden Temple, Amritsar, which is considered the holiest for Sikhs. Indira Gandhi started Operation Blue Star to control and stop the terrorist situation. The operation, though successfully subdued Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other terrorists, resulted in the loss of many civilian lives and damage to the shrine. This resulted in outrage among the Sikh community, who condemned him and declared Jarnail Singh Bindrawale a martyr of the 21st century.

Indira Gandhi Death

On 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was shot by two of her bodyguards in the garden of the Prime Minister's official residence at 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi, while she was passing through the wicket gate guarded by them. Bodyguard Beant Singh shot him thrice, while Satwant Singh fired about thirty rounds, after which he dropped his weapons and surrendered. Other guards took both of them to a locked room where Beant Singh was shot dead. After that, Kehar Singh was arrested for his involvement in the conspiracy. Kehar Singh and Satwant Singh were given a death sentence and hanged in Delhi's Tihar Jail. Indira Gandhi was taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences at 9:30 am, doctors tried their best but declared her dead at 2:20 pm He was cremated near Raj Ghat on 3 November, an event that was covered live by the media both nationally and internationally. The cremation ground is now called Shakti Sthal.

Programs, Institutes, and Awards named after Indira Gandhi

    The low-cost housing program launched by the central government for the rural poor was named Indira Awas Yojana.

• Delhi International Airport is named after him as Indira Gandhi International Airport.

• The largest university, the Indira Gandhi National Open University, was named after him.

• In 1985 the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, an annual award ceremony held on his death anniversary, was instituted by the Congress Party.

• The Indira Gandhi Award, given annually, was instituted by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.