Indira Gandhi | |
In office 14 January 1980 – 31 October 1984 | |
President | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Giani Zail Singh |
---|---|
Preceded by | Choudhary Charan Singh |
Succeeded by | Rajiv Gandhi |
In office 24 January 1966 – 24 March 1977 | |
President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Zakir Hussain Varahagiri Venkata Giri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
Preceded by | Gulzarilal Nanda |
Succeeded by | Morarji Desai |
In office 9 March 1984 – 31 October 1984 | |
Preceded by | Narasimha Rao |
Succeeded by | Rajiv Gandhi |
In office 22 August 1967 – 14 March 1969 | |
Preceded by | Mahommedali Currim Chagla |
Succeeded by | Dinesh Singh |
In office 26 June 1970 – 29 April 1971 | |
Preceded by | Morarji Desai |
Succeeded by | Yashwantrao Chavan |
Born | 19 November 1917 Allahabad, United Provinces, British India |
Died | 31 October 1984 (aged 66) New Delhi, Delhi, India |
Political party | Indian National Congress |
Spouse(s) | Feroze Gandhi |
Children | Rajiv Gandhi Sanjay Gandhi |
Alma mater | Somerville College, Oxford |
Religion | Hinduism Adi Dharm |
Signature |
A young Indira Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi (no relation), during one of his fasts |
Indira Gandhi was born in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on November 19, 1917. She was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, a dominant figure in the nationalist movement and India's first prime minister. This association placed her at the center of India's struggle for freedom. After independence in 1947, she served as her father's hostess and confidante until his death. Throughout the period of her political association with her father, one of Gandhi's primary interests was social welfare work, particularly children's welfare.
Indira Gandhi attended Santiniketan University and Somerville College, Oxford University, in England. She married Feroze Gandhi (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi) in March 1942. Shortly thereafter they were both imprisoned for a period of 13 months for their part in the nationalist political agitation against British rule. Feroze Gandhi was a lawyer and newspaper executive and became an independent member of Parliament. He died in 1960. They had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay.
Gandhi became president of the Indian National Congress in 1959.
The Congress had led the country to freedom and had then become its major political party. She had joined the Congress in 1938 and subsequently served as a member of its Youth Advisory Board and chairman of its Woman's Department. Prior to assuming the presidency of the organization, Gandhi was named to its 21-member executive Working Committee and was elected with more votes than any other candidate to the powerful 11-member Central Election Board, which named candidates and planned electoral strategy.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, administering the oath of office to Indira Gandhi on 24 January 1966. |
Gandhi immediately set about reorganizing the party to make it a more effective instrument of administration and national development. Her goal was to achieve a wider measure of social and economic justice for all Indians. As her left-of-center policies became clear, the Congress party split, with the younger, more liberal elements coalescing around Gandhi and the older, more conservative party leaders opposing her. This division came to a head in July 1969 when she nationalized the country's 14 leading banks in a highly popular move meant to make credit more available to agriculture and to small industry.
The split was formalized when Gandhi's candidate for the presidency of India, V.V. Giri, won over the party's official nominee. Although Gandhi took 228 members of Parliament with her into the New Congress, this was not a majority in the 521-member house, and she held power only with support from parties of the left. In December 1970 when Gandhi failed to get the necessary support to abolish the privy purses and privileges of the former princes, she called on the President to dissolve Parliament. Midterm elections were set for March 1971, one full year ahead of schedule.
Gandhi faced major problems in the areas of food production, population control, land reform, regulation of prices, unemployment, and industrial production. The problems were exacerbated by the influx of almost 10 million refugees as a result of the civil turmoil in East Pakistan. In November 1971 Indian troops crossed into East Pakistan to fight Pakistani forces. On December 6 Gandhi announced diplomatic recognition of the Bangladesh government set up by East Pakistani rebel leaders. Ten days later Pakistan's commander in East Pakistan surrendered to India.
In the state elections held in India in March 1972, Gandhi's New Congress party scored the most overwhelming victory in the history of independent India; however, her opponent accused her of violating election laws, and a high court upheld the charge in 1975. Because of this development, as well as domestic unrest, Gandhi declared a state of emergency and postponed elections. In the 1977 elections Gandhi and her party suffered major defeats; Gandhi lost her seat and the premiership.
Indira Gandhi's blood-stained saree and her belongings at the time of her assassination, preserved at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in New Delhi. |
The following year she headed the Congress party faction as she returned to Parliament. In 1979 she again became prime minister. In efforts to prove India's nonalliance in the global community, she visited both the United States and the USSR. Internally, riots broke out among Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh religious sects. Sikh separatists secured weapons within their sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar, assuming religious protection. Gandhi ordered government troops to storm the temple, leading to many Sikh deaths. This led to her assassination on the grounds of her own residence and office October 31, 1984, by her own Sikh security guards.
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by Uchharangrai Navalshankar Dhebar | President of the Indian National Congress 1959 | Succeeded by Neelam Sanjiva Reddy |
Preceded by Dev Kant Baruah | President of the Indian National Congress 1978–1984 | Succeeded by Rajiv Gandhi |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Gulzarilal Nanda | Prime Minister of India 1966–1977 | Succeeded by Morarji Desai |
Preceded by Mahommedali Currim Chagla | Minister of External Affairs 1967–1969 | Succeeded by Dinesh Singh |
Preceded by Morarji Desai | Minister of Finance 1970–1971 | Succeeded by Yashwantrao Chavan |
Preceded by Choudhary Charan Singh | Prime Minister of India 1980–1984 | Succeeded by Rajiv Gandhi |
Preceded by Narasimha Rao | Minister of External Affairs 1984 |
External links
- Indira Gandhi Biography
- Feature on Indira Gandhi by the International Museum of Women.
- Obituary, NY Times, 1 November 1984 Assassination in India: A Leader of Will and Force; Indira Gandhi, Born to Politics, Left Her Own Imprint on India
- 1975: Gandhi found guilty of corruption
- Indira Gandhi Biography
- Feature on Indira Gandhi by the International Museum of Women.
- Obituary, NY Times, 1 November 1984 Assassination in India: A Leader of Will and Force; Indira Gandhi, Born to Politics, Left Her Own Imprint on India
- 1975: Gandhi found guilty of corruption
- Indira Gandhi Biography