Indira Gandhi

Lore & Background

Indira Gandhi was born into a Kashmiri Pandit family in Allahabad, the only surviving child of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru. She had a lonely childhood, with her father often away or incarcerated and her mother frequently ill. She was educated at home and at various schools, including the International School of Geneva and Somerville College, Oxford, though she left Oxford without completing her degree due to ill health and the outbreak of war in Europe. She married Feroze Gandhi in 1942.

Reader's Guide

Indira Gandhi's significance lies in her long and transformative tenure as prime minister, during which she led India through major military conflicts with China and Pakistan, oversaw the creation of Bangladesh, and initiated India's first nuclear weapon test. Her rule was marked by centralization of power, a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 that suspended civil liberties, and a controversial military action at the Golden Temple in 1984. She was assassinated later that year by two Sikh bodyguards. Her legacy is contested: supporters credit her with geopolitical victories, the Green Revolution, and anti-poverty efforts; critics point to her authoritarianism during the Emergency. She was named 'Woman of the Millennium' in a 1999 BBC online poll and included in Time magazine's 2020 list of 100 women who defined the past century.

Did You Know?

• She was the world's second female prime minister after Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
• She served as chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1983 to 1984, the first Indian to hold that position.
• During the 1975–1977 state of emergency, more than 100,000 political opponents, journalists, and dissenters were imprisoned.
• She was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by two of her bodyguards, both Sikh nationalists seeking retribution for Operation Blue Star.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"The great need in the world today is for for nations to so define their national interest that it makes for greater harmony, greater equality and justice and greater stability in the world." — Indira Gandhi "A nation's strength ultimately consists in what it can do on its own, and not in what it can borrow from others." — Indira Gandhi "Preface, 4th Five Year Plan", Government of India Planning Commission (July 18, 1970)." — Indira Gandhi "India wants to avoid a war at all costs but it is not a one-sided affair, you cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." — Indira Gandhi