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Quick Facts
- NAME: Indira Gandhi
- OCCUPATION: Prime Minister
- BIRTH DATE: November 19, 1917
- DEATH DATE: October 31, 1984
- EDUCATION: Visva-Bharati University, University of Oxford
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Allahabad, India
- PLACE OF DEATH: New Delhi, India
- Full Name: Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi
- AKA: Indira Gandhi
Best Known For
Indira Gandhi was India's third prime minister, serving from 1966 until 1984, when her life ended in assassination. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.
Videos see all videos
Indira Gandhi - Sikh Confrontation
As confrontations between the Indian state and Sikh extremists rose, Indira Gandhi was forced to take action.
Indira Gandhi - Death of Her Son
After the death of her son Sanjay, Indira Gandhi lost her favored successor to her legacy.
Indira Gandhi - Her Father's Legacy
After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter, Indira Gandhi eventually became the successor to his legacy.
Indira Gandhi - Decline of a Free India
As controversy with Indira Gandhi's politics arose, she was convicted of electoral malpractice and asked to step down, but she flatly refused.
Quiz
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Play NowIndira Gandhi. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:27, Jun 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913.
Indira Gandhi. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913 [Accessed 20 Jun 2013].
"Indira Gandhi." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 20 2013, 07:27 http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913.
"Indira Gandhi," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913 [accessed Jun 20, 2013].
"Indira Gandhi," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913 (accessed Jun 20, 2013).
Indira Gandhi [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913.
Indira Gandhi, http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913 (last visited Jun 20, 2013).
Indira Gandhi. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913. Accessed Jun 20, 2013.
Synopsis
Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917, in Allahabad, India. Gandhi was born into the politically prominent Nehru family; her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, served as India’s first prime minister. Gandhi served three consecutive terms as prime minister, between 1966 and 1977, and another term beginning in 1980. In 1984, Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.
Contents
Quotes
"People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights."
"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave."
Early Life
The only child of Jawaharlal Nehru and the first prime minister of independent India, Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917. A stubborn and highly intelligent young woman, she enjoyed an excellent education in Swiss schools and at Somerville College, Oxford.
After her mother died, in 1936, Gandhi became something of her father's hostess, learning to navigate complex relationships of diplomacy with some of the great leaders of the world.
Political Career
Gandhi was elected president of the Indian National Congress in 1960. After her father’s death, Gandhi was appointed minister of information and broadcasting. When her father’s successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, died abruptly in 1966, India’s congress appointed her to the post of prime minister.
She surprised her father’s old colleagues when she led with a strong hand, sacking some of highest-ranking officials. Gandhi subsequently brought about great change in agricultural programs that improved the lot of her country’s poor. For a time, she was hailed as a hero.
Diplomatic Success
In 1971, the Pakistan army conducted violent acts against the people of East Pakistan. Nearly 10 million people fled to India. Gandhi invited the Pakistani president to Shimla for a weeklong summit.
The two leaders eventually signed the Shimla Agreement, agreeing to resolve the dispute of Kashmir by peaceful means. Her work eventually led to the creation of the new and independent nation of Bangladesh.
Gandhi also led a movement that became known as the Green Revolution. In an effort to address the chronic food shortages that mainly affected the extremely poor Sikh farmers of the Punjab region, Gandhi decided to increase crop diversification and food exports as a way out of the problem, creating new jobs as well as food for her countrymen.
Authoritarian Leanings and Imprisonment
Despite these advancements, Gandhi ruled with an authoritarian hand, and corruption boiled within her congress and her national and state governments. In 1977, the high courts found her guilty of a minor infraction during the year’s elections and called for her resignation. Gandhi responded by requesting that the president call for a state of emergency.
Gandhi lost the next election and was later imprisoned. In 1980, the country responded differently and she won by a landslide majority. That same year, her son Sanjay Gandhi (b. 1946), who had been serving as her chief political adviser, died in a plane crash in New Delhi. After Sanjay's death, Indira prepared her other son, Rajiv (b. 1944), for leadership.
Assassination
During the 1980s, a Sikh separatist movement developed in India, which Gandhi attempted to repress.
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Notable Female Leaders
View groupAside from their gender, female leaders don't have much else in common. Some have brought peace to troubled lands, while others have strewn discontent. Some have been competent or brilliant, others inept or corrupt. They come from political positions ranging from arch-conservative to ultra-leftist and represent all the world's religions.
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Famous Prime Ministers
View groupLearn more about some of the world's most famous prime ministers, including "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to hold the position; Winston Churchill, who stood against Adolph Hitler's threat to control Europe during World War II; Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister; and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, who served three consecutive terms as prime minister before she was assassinated by her bodyguards in 1984.
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