Many people of this country and many great politicians have taken very concrete steps for its development and progress, which are seen to be appreciated. At the same time, there were few politicians whose single step was enough to shake the entire nation. One such was our former Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi. A leader whose emergency decision changed the lives of the people. Today is the birth anniversary of Indira Gandhi and in such a situation let us know many special things about the leader who has changed the history of politics.
•Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi who is commonly called Indira Gandhi. She was born on 19th November’17 in Prayagraj, to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first PM of free India. She became the first and only woman Prime Minister of India to serve as the second-longest PM of the country after Jawaharlal Nehru, her father. Indira Gandhi was known as Iron Lady of India and is seen as one of the most tough and influencial leaders in the political history of India.
•Indira Gandhi held the post of PM for at least 15 years and was also known as the center figure of the Indian National Congress. Many remember her for the Emergency decision of 1975, which changed many aspects of politics.
•Indira Gandhi received the greatest deception from her loyal Sikh bodyguards. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by the hands of her bodyguards. This happened when Indira launched 'Operation Bluestar' and ordered the Indian Army to confront Sikh separatists seeking refuge in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
•Indira Gandhi served as the Prime Minister of India for two terms. Her first term lasted for 11 years from January 1966 to March 1977, while the second term lasted four years from January 1980 until her was assassinated in October 1984.
•During Nehru's term as Prime Minister from the years 1947 to 1964, Indira was considered an important assistant and made many overseas trips with him.
•Indira Gandhi abolished the privy purse completely and took big steps like nationalizing banks. She imposed an emergency in 1975 after being convicted of an electoral offense and out of politics for 6 years.
•After the partition of India and Pakistan, Pakistan appeared in two parts - one was East Pakistan and the other was West Pakistan (which is now Bangladesh), after which East Pakistan started plotting against West Pakistan. At first Indira Gandhi warned against it and then on 25 April 1971, waged a war against East Pakistan.
•In an online poll conducted by the BBC in 1999, Indira Gandhi was named "Woman of the Millennium". At the same time, she was recently included by Time magazine among the 100 powerful women in the world, who defined the last century. After this, in 1959, Indira Gandhi was voted as the President of the Indian National Congress.
•After her father's death in 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha or the upper house and became a member of cabinet of Lal Bahadur Shastri wherein she was appointed as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
•Indira Gandhi was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour for winning India against Pakistan in the 1971 Bangladesh War.
by- Amodita Joshi