Indira Gandhi was the first woman PM of India, who took charge after her father’s death. She is one of the most courageous leaders who came with many revolutionary ideas. She played a great role in 1971’s Indo-Pak war. On the other hand, she also brought the Green Revolution in India. She also started many movements in India that’s why she got many awards and honors.
Indira Gandhi went through many problems and issues from her early life. She suffered loneliness, and she was a university dropout as well. But, even that she managed to made her political career successful.
Real Name: Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi.
Nick Name: N/A.
Profession: Politician.
Date of Birth: 19th November 1917.
Age: 106 years
Eye Color: Black.
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper.
Husband: Feroze Gandhi.
Parents: Jawaharlal Nehru (father) and Kamala Nehru (mother).
Wiki Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi.
Facebook profile or page: https://www.facebook.com/IndiraPriyadarshiniGandhi/.
Twitter profile: https://twitter.com/indira___gandhi?lang=en.
Official Website: https://www.indiragandhi.com/.
Early Life of Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi, the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Now, she was born on 19th November 1917 at Allahabad, United Provinces, British India. Her father was Jawaharlal Nehru like I said before, and her mother was Kamala Nehru, and she was a freedom fighter as well.
Education
Indira Gandhi was an intelligent leader. But, she was a college dropout and didn’t complete her education. She attended many schools like Modern School (Delhi), St. Cecilia’s Public School (Delhi), St Mary’s Christian Convent School (Allahabad), International School of Geneva, Pupils’ Own School in Poona and Bombay, and Ecole nouvelle de la Suisse romande (Switzerland).
She attended colleges and universities like Visva-Bharati University (dropout), Somerville College, Oxford (dropout), and Badminton School (Bristol, England).
Marriage, Affairs, and Kids
Indira Gandhi was married to Feroze Gandhi, who was a former politician and journalist. However, she had several love affairs before her marriage. Her boyfriends were M.O. Mathai, Dinesh Singh, Dhirendra Brahmachari, and Mohammad Yunus. She had two sons; Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, and both of them were former politicians.
Career
Indira Gandhi started her political career in 1950 as the assistant of the Prime Minister (her father was the PM of that time). In that same year, she became the president of the INC or Indian National Congress. In 1964, after her father’s death, she was appointed as a member of Rajya Sabha. Furthermore, she also became the Information and Broadcasting Minister in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s government. After the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, party members made Indira the leader of their party instead of Morarji Desai. Making her the leader, K. Kamaraj played the most vital role.
In 1967, the INC won the General Election, and she was chosen by Lok Sabha from Raebareli Constituency. After becoming the PM, she and her first team so much criticized, and she was called by the “goongi gudiya” (it is a Hindi word of dumb doll). She was called by that name because the bosses of her party had all the controls, and she couldn’t make her own decisions. Her first time as PM, she faced many problems like devaluation of Rupees and import of wheat from the US.
In 1971, Indian National Congress again won the General Election, and Indira Gandhi won with great honor for the movement of “Garibi Hatao.” However, Indira Gandhi’s best achievement came in 1971’s Indo Pak war, when Bangladesh became an independent country with the help of India. For Indira Gandhi’s good leadership and courage, Atal Bihari Vajpayee (leader of the opposition at that time) called her Goddess Durga.
In 1975, Indira Gandhi’s government and the General Election of 1971 were declared invalid by Allahabad High Court. They stated the causes were electoral malpractices. It caused political unrest in the country. So, she ordered to arrest all the opposition leaders who were participating in the unrest programs. At the same time, she halted the General Election with the help of calling president rule in the country.
In 1977, the General Election was held, but the Indian National Congress lost the election for the first time. Meanwhile, Janata Party won the election and Morarji Desai became the PM of India. But, his government lasted only three years because he resigned from his post. Then the 1980’s General Election where Indian National Congress won with the majority and Indira Gandhi became the PM.
Success: Awards and Honors
Indira Gandhi was an intelligent and courageous leader. She got many awards and honors for her great leadership like:
- Bharat Ratna.
- Bangladesh Freedom Honour.
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Pacific, Fiji.
There are many places in India that are named after her to honor her, such as:
- Indira Gandhi International Air Port, New Delhi.
- Indira Gandhi National Open University.
- Indira Point (The Southernmost Point in India).
- Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Assam.
- Indira Gandhi Stadium, Alwar, Vijaywada, Solapur, Una.
- Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla.
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives.
- Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Andhra Pradesh.
- Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy.
- Many more.
Unknown Facts about Indira Gandhi
There are many facts that you don’t know about Indira Gandhi, which are as follows:
Loneliness
Indira Gandhi’s childhood was full of loneliness. That is because her brother died at an early age, so she didn’t have any siblings. On the other hand, her father used to spend most of his time with political tours and works. Furthermore, her mother was very ill and died from tuberculosis.
Stuck in Switzerland
She had many troubles due to her ill-health. So, she went to Switzerland for her treatment. But, at that time, Nazi armies conquered Europe and Indira Gandhi got stuck in Switzerland for 2 months.
Sanjay’s blackmailing
Many people say that Sanjay Gandhi (Indira’s younger son) was born to Mohammad Yunus, who was a diplomat. However, Sanjay knew that, and he used to blackmail his mom for that. It worried Indira most, and it ended up with the mysterious death of her son at a plane crash in June 1980.
Death
Indira Gandhi died at the age of 66. The cause of her death was an assassination. Her two Singh bodyguard (Beant and Satwant Singh) killed her for vengeance. That’s because she started the Operation Blue Star, which was to kill all the Sikh militants hidden in the Golden Temple.