Indira Gandhi was a famous Indian politician. She is a member of the Indian National Congress and serves as its president. She is the first and only female Prime Minister of India. Her father, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. Her son Rajiv Gandhi also served as Prime Minister of India after her death. In 1999, a survey conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) named her the “Woman of the Millennium”.
wiki/biography, caste
Indira Priyadarshini Nehru was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad, Agra and Oudh, British India (now Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India ) of the Kashmiri Pandit family (age at time of death: 66). Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was an activist in the Indian independence movement. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was one of the leading figures in the political struggle for independence. Her father was often away from home, and she was raised by her mother, who was bedridden due to illness. She supported Gandhian philosophy from a young age.
Indira Gandhi sitting next to Mahatma Gandhi
She was educated at home until entering school in 1934. She attended many schools in India and Europe on and off. Modern School in Delhi, St. Cecilia and St. Mary’s Christian Convent School in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), International School of Geneva in Switzerland, New College in Bex, Switzerland, Pune and Mumbai students’ own School.
Indira Gandhi childhood photos
Along with her mother Kamla Nehru, she moved to the Ramakrishna Mission’s Belurmas headquarters, where Swami Ranganathananda served as her guardian. Later, she went to Visvabhati University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, where Rabindranath Tagore gave her the name “Priyadarshini” in an interview. At the same time, she had to leave her studies to travel to Europe to reunite with her ailing mother, and decided to continue her studies in Oxford, England. After her mother died of tuberculosis, she attended the Badminton Academy before enrolling at Somerville College in 1937 to study history. In her entrance examination to Oxford University, Indira did poorly in Latin on her first attempt, but passed successfully on her second attempt. During her time at Oxford University, she performed well in history, political science, economics, etc., but her Latin score was still poor. While studying in England, her health deteriorated and she had to move to Switzerland in 1940. At that time, the German army conquered Europe. She was preparing to go to England again, but reaching England was very difficult at that time. Somehow she managed to reach England and from there to India.
appearance
- Height (approximately): 5′4″
- Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
family
Indira Gandhi’s father was Jawaharlal Nehru and her mother was Kamla Nehru. She had a brother who died in infancy.
Indira Gandhi and her father Jawaharlal Nehru
While she was studying in England, she often visited her future husband, Feroz Gandhi. She met him in Allahabad. He belongs to the Zoroastrian (Parsi) community in Gujarat. At that time, Feroze Gandhi was studying at the London School of Economics. Gradually, they fell in love and decided to get married. They got married in Allahabad in 1942.
Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi at their wedding in 1942
Their first son, Rajiv Gandhi, was born in 1944, and their second son, Sanjay Gandhi, was born in 1946. Rajiv Gandhi later became the Prime Minister of India and was assassinated in 1991. Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash in 1980. Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi were her daughters-in-law.
Indira Gandhi with her son, daughter-in-law and grandson
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi are her grandchildren.
Indira Gandhi and her grandchildren Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi
Robert Vadra is her grandson.
Nehru Gandhi family tree
Profession
In the 1950s, Indira served informally as an assistant to the Prime Minister of India (then her father, Jawaharlal Nehru).
Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
In the late 1950s, she became the president of the Indian National Congress (INC). She played an important role in overthrowing the communist-led government of Kerala in 1959. After her father’s death in 1964, she was appointed to the Rajya Sabha and appointed Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the government of Lal Bahadur Shastri. After the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966, Congress members elected Indira Gandhi to replace Morarji Desai as party leader. K. Kamaraj played a key role in Indira Gandhi becoming the leader of the Indian National Congress.
Indira Gandhi and Kamaraj
In the 1967 general election, the Indian National Congress won and Indira Gandhi was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Rabareli constituency. Her first term as prime minister was heavily criticized because she came under the control of party bosses and was dubbed a “goongi gudiya” (Hindi for “silly doll”). Her first term faced major issues such as the depreciation of the rupee and the failure of wheat imports from the United States due to political disputes.
Indira Gandhi and US President Richard Nixon 1971
In the 1971 general election, the Indian National Congress won again, with Indira Gandhi winning in the same constituency on the theme of “Garibi Hatao” (Eradication of Poverty). The greatest achievement of Indira Gandhi’s government came in December 1971, when India defeated Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak War, clearing the way for the new independent nation of Bangladesh in South Asia. Opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee called Indira Gandhi goddess Durga.
In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi’s 1971 Lok Sabha election invalid on the grounds of electoral fraud, causing political turmoil in the country. That same year, Indira Gandhi ordered the arrest of opposition leaders involved in the riots and halted general elections, calling for presidential rule (also known as a state of emergency) across the country. In the general election held in 1977, the Indian National Congress lost for the first time. Morarji Desai of the People’s Party became Prime Minister. However, his government lasted no more than three years before he resigned. In the 1980 general election, the Indian National Congress once again won a majority and Indira Gandhi was elected Prime Minister.
Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai
die
During her tenure as Prime Minister of India, the Indian Army conducted Operation Blue Star to eliminate Sikh militants hiding in the Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) in Amritsar. On October 31, 1984, in revenge, she was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Bit Singh while delivering her last speech in Orissa. She was 66 years old when she died.
dispute
- When the Indian National Congress won the 1971 general election, the Allahabad High Court found her guilty of electoral corruption on June 12, 1975. She was banned from running in elections for the next six years. However, she ignored the court order and appealed to the Supreme Court.
- The biggest controversy during her term was the state of emergency. She faced harsh criticism at home after she was found guilty of electoral fraud, triggering turmoil in the country. Opposition leaders involved in the riots were detained by police. President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of emergency on June 25, 1975, allowing Indira Gandhi to rule by decree.
- During the Emergency, as the population exploded, Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi launched a horrific campaign to sterilize the poor.
- One of the major controversies of her tenure was her military aid campaign to suppress the Sikh separatist movement, Operation Blue Star.
Awards/Honors
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of the South Pacific, Fiji (1981)
- Bangladesh Medal of Freedom (Posthumous, 2011)
Place/project named after her
- Indira Point, the southernmost point of India (6.74678°N 93.84260°E)
- New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport
- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
- Indira Gandhi National Integration Award
- Assam Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium
- Indira Gandhi Stadium, Alwar, Alwar, Vijayawada, Solapur, Una
- Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital Maldives
- Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats
- Indira Gandhi Zoo, Andhra Pradesh
- Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Chhattisgarh
- Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Center, Tamil Nadu
- Indira Gandhi National Forest College
fact
- She is the second-longest serving Prime Minister of India after her father. She served as the Prime Minister of India for more than 14 years.
- According to sources, Indira Gandhi had a sexual relationship with Jawaharlal Nehru’s secretary Mo Mathai.
- During her first term as prime minister, she nationalized 14 banks.
- Her bodyguards fired approximately 30 rounds at her; 23 apparently passed through her body and 7 were trapped inside her body.
- One of her assassins, Beant Singh, was wounded by a bullet while shooting at Indira Gandhi. He later died from his injuries. Another assassin, Satwant Singh, was hanged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi.
- In 1974, during her tenure as Prime Minister, India joined the nuclear weapons club.
- Her yoga guru Dhirendra Brahmachari helped her make the difficult decision. He performs certain political tasks on her behalf, especially in emergencies.
- her name is indira Priyadarshini Nehru Author: Rabindranath Tagore. After her marriage, she took her husband’s surname Gandhi. However, her husband’s real name is Feroze Jahangir Gandhi But he was so inspired by Mahatma Gandhi that he changed his last name from Gandhi to Gandhi. Thus, Indira Priyadarshini Nehru became Indira Gandhi.
- Her husband, Feroz Gandhi, died of a heart attack in 1960.
- After the BJP came to power in 1977, then Home Minister Chaudhry Charan Singh ordered the arrest of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi on various charges. She is accused of planning to kill all opposition leaders in prison during the state of emergency.
- In 2012, Gandhi was ranked seventh among the greatest Indians selected by India’s Outlook magazine.
- In 2017, a woman named Priya Singh Paul claimed to be Gandhi’s granddaughter and Sanjay Gandhi’s biological daughter. According to her, she was given up for adoption and Indira Gandhi hid her and her mother for political reasons.
- Her blood type is O negative.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education