Gandhi, Indira, << GAHN dee or GAN dee, ihn DEER uh >> (1917-1984), was the first woman prime minister of India. She held the office from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her death on Oct. 31, 1984. Two of Gandhi’s security guards, who were members of the Sikh religious group, assassinated her. Many Sikhs were angry after Gandhi’s government attacked Sikh militants occupying a sacred Sikh temple. The militants wanted a separate Sikh state.
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, who served as India’s first prime minister from 1947 to 1964. She was an adviser to her father during his term. Gandhi was first elected to Parliament in 1964. She was minister of information and broadcasting from 1964 until she became prime minister.
In June 1975, a court found Gandhi guilty of using illegal practices during India’s 1971 parliamentary election campaign. Gandhi’s opponents demanded that she resign from office because of the conviction, but she refused. Criticism of Gandhi grew, and she declared a state of emergency two weeks after the court ruling. She had her major opponents arrested and imposed press censorship. In November 1975, the Supreme Court of India overturned Gandhi’s conviction. In 1977, Gandhi’s ruling Congress Party was defeated in India’s parliamentary elections. Gandhi lost both her post as prime minister and her seat in Parliament. Following her defeat, she organized the Congress-I Party. The I in the party’s name stands for Indira. In 1980, her party gained control of Parliament, and she again became prime minister.
Gandhi was born on Nov. 19, 1917, in Allahabad. Her maiden name was Indira Priyadarshini Nehru. She attended Santiniketan University in India and Oxford University in England. In 1942, she married Feroze Gandhi (no relation to Mohandas K. Gandhi). Gandhi and her husband were imprisoned for 13 months for their part in India’s campaign for independence from the United Kingdom. They had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay. Feroze Gandhi died in 1960. In the 1970’s, Sanjay became his mother’s chief political adviser and gained much power in Indian politics. He died in an airplane crash in 1980. Rajiv then became a key aide to his mother. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the Congress-I Party chose Rajiv as its head. As party head, Rajiv succeeded his mother as prime minister. He held that office until 1989. Rajiv was assassinated while campaigning in parliamentary elections in 1991.
See also India, History of (India under Indira Gandhi) ; Nehru (Jawaharlal Nehru) ; Pandit, Vijaya Lakshmi ; Pakistan (Struggle for democracy) ; Sikhism ; Singh, Charan .
