Indira Gandhi was one of the main leaders of INC. She was India’s third prime minister and the country’s first and only female prime minister to date. Read on to know more about her. Here in this article, we will read about the most interesting and unknown facts about Indira Gandhi.
Unknown Facts About Indira Gandhi
1. Educational Background
Indira Gandhi has an excellent academic background. She attended some of the most prestigious domestic and international universities. Her academic years were spent at Bex’s Ecole Nouvelle, Geneva’s Ecole Internationale, Pune and Mumbai’s Pupils’ School, Bristol’s Badminton School, Shantiniketan’s Vishwa Bharati, and Oxford University’s Somerville College.
2. First And Only Women Prime Minister
One of the major facts about Indira Gandhi will be that she was appointed as the Prime Minister of India twice, from 1966 to 1977 and once more from 1980 to 1984, providing her with the second-longest tenure after Nehru. After her father died in 1964, she was elected to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Gandhi’s beliefs and decentralization of power made her popular among the well-known leaders.
3. State Emergency
Gandhi declared a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977, suspending basic civil liberties and censoring the press. During the emergency, countless crimes were committed.
4. Her Family
She was the only single daughter of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1942, she married Feroze Gandhi. Rajiv and Sanjay were their two sons. Sanjay, Gandhi’s younger son, had been her preferred heir, but after his death in a plane crash in June 1980, Gandhi urged her hesitant elder son Rajiv to leave his job as a pilot and join politics.
5. Independence Of Bangladesh
She fought against Pakistan in support of the East Pakistan independence movement which resulted in an Indian triumph and the formation of the country named Bangladesh, as well as expanding India’s dominance making it the only regional force in South Asia.
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6. Bharat Ratna Awardee
Her legacy continued for years. After winning against Pakistan she was awarded the Bharat Ratna and was also named “Women of the Millennium“. Words like “Fearless and Daring” are commonly used to describe her.
7. Assassination
This piece cannot be complete without talking about her brutal death. Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, two of Gandhi’s Sikh bodyguards, shot her with their service guns on the grounds of the prime minister’s residence on October 31, 1984, purportedly in retaliation for Operation Blue Star. Satwant fired 30 shots and Beant shot her three times and murdered her. The men surrendered by dropping their firearms. Gandhi was brought to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, where she was operated on by doctors but she was pronounced dead.
8. International Impact
Gandhi’s death was widely mourned around the world. The assassination was criticized by world leaders, who warned her death would leave a “huge void” in international affairs.
9. Her Cremation Is A Tourist Spot
Shakti Sthal is the location where she was cremated after her tragic death. Gandhi’s body was laid in state at Teen Murti House as a mark of respect. Thousands of fans waited in vain to catch a look at her and remember her.
Few Final Words
Some major facts about Indira Gandhi will include that after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi became prime minister of India for the first time on October 19, 1966, and she was extensively criticized by the media and the opposition at that time. She did so much for the country that it became a never-ending list of facts about Indira Gandhi.
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