Historical Figure
Indira Gandhi
1917–1984
Prime Minister of India (1966–1977; 1980–1984)
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Biography
Indira Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as the prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and only female prime minister, and a central figure in Indian politics as the leader of the Indian National Congress (INC). She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She was the mother of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded her as prime minister. Her cumulative tenure of 15 years and 350 days makes her the second-longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father.
In Their Own Words (5)
I am not interested in a long life. I am not afraid of these things. I don't mind if my life goes in the service of this nation. If I die today, every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation.
Speech, Bhubaneswar, India (October 30, 1984), quoted in "Death in the Garden," by William E. Smith, Time (November 12, 1984) . , 1984
India wants to avoid a war at all costs but it is not a one-sided affair, you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.
Press conference, New Delhi (October 19, 1971), quoted in "Indian and Pakistani Armies Confront Each Other Along Borders" by Sydney H. Schanberg, The New York Times (October 20, 1971), page 6C. , 1971
To be liberated, woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity and her personality.
"True Liberation Of Women", speech, inauguration of the All-India Women's Conference Building Complex in New Delhi, India (March 26, 1980). Published in Selected Speeches and Writings of Indira Gandhi, September 1972-March 1977 (New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 1984, pp. 417-418). , 1980
There are moments in history when brooding tragedy and its dark shadows can be lightened by recalling great moments of the past.
Letter to Richard Nixon (December 15, 1971) . , 1971
My father was a statesman, I'm a political woman. My father was a saint. I'm not.
Quoted in "Indira's Coup," profile by Oriana Fallaci, The New York Review of Books (September 18, 1975). , 1975
Timeline
The story of Indira Gandhi, told in moments.
Becomes Prime Minister of India after the sudden death of Lal Bahadur Shastri. Party bosses pick her because they think she'll be easy to control. They call her 'the dumb doll.' They're mistaken.
Leads India into war against Pakistan over East Bengal. Thirteen days. India wins decisively. Bangladesh is born. She's on the cover of Time. Nixon and Kissinger despise her. She doesn't care.
Declares a state of emergency after a court convicts her of electoral fraud. She suspends civil liberties, jails thousands of opponents, censors the press. It lasts 21 months. When she finally calls elections, she loses in a landslide.
Orders the Indian Army to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar to flush out Sikh militants. Operation Blue Star kills hundreds. The holiest shrine in Sikhism is badly damaged. The Sikh community doesn't forget.
Shot by two of her own Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, while walking to an interview with Peter Ustinov in her garden. Thirty-one bullets. She was warned to remove Sikh guards. She refused. Anti-Sikh riots kill over 3,000 in the days that follow.
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