Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917, in Allahabad, British India, to Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru. She studied at several institutions in India and abroad, including Visva-Bharati at Santiniketan and Somerville College, Oxford. From an early age, she was involved in India's independence movement; she was imprisoned in 1942 and later worked in violence-affected areas of Delhi in 1947 under Mahatma Gandhi's guidance.

She married Feroze Gandhi on March 26, 1942, and they had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Indira Gandhi became increasingly active in the Indian National Congress and served as its president from 1959 to 1960. She later held several organizational positions within the party and was appointed Minister of Information and Broadcasting in 1964.

In January 1966, Gandhi became Prime Minister of India. During her first period in office, she also held responsibility for portfolios including atomic energy, and at different times she took additional charge of external affairs, home affairs, and space. She remained prime minister until March 1977.

Her government was associated with major developments and controversies in Indian political and economic history. These included the nationalization of major banks, the 1971 war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, and the declaration of the Emergency from 1975 to 1977. The Emergency involved the suspension of civil liberties and political restrictions and remains a significant and contested period in India's democratic history.

After the Congress party's defeat in the 1977 general election, Gandhi returned to national political prominence. She returned as prime minister in January 1980 and served until October 31, 1984. During this second period, her government faced political and security challenges, including escalating conflict in Punjab.

On June 1984, the Indian Army conducted Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar against armed Sikh militants who had occupied the complex. The operation resulted in significant deaths and damage to the complex and intensified tensions between the government and sections of the Sikh community. On October 31, 1984, Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi.

Indira Gandhi received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1972. Her political career remains an important subject in the history of modern India, particularly in discussions of India's foreign policy, economic decisions, federal politics, the Emergency, and the events surrounding her assassination.