Indira Gandhi

Date of Birth: November 19, 1917

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Date of Death: October 31, 1984

Biography

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917, in Allahabad, India, into the politically prominent Nehru family. She was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, and Kamala Nehru. Indira Gandhi played a crucial role in Indian politics and served as the Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Her tenure was marked by significant events such as the Green Revolution, which considerably improved India’s food security, and the controversial period of the Emergency from 1975 to 1977, where civil liberties were suspended. Indira Gandhi was educated at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, and later at the University of Oxford in England. She married Feroze Gandhi in 1942, and the couple had two sons, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. Her leadership style was often seen as authoritarian, but she is also credited with important economic and social reforms.

5 Interesting Facts about Indira Gandhi

1. Indira Gandhi was the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of India.

2. She was named ‘Woman of the Millennium’ by the BBC in 1999.

3. Indira Gandhi was instrumental in the creation of Bangladesh after India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.

4. She imposed a state of Emergency in India from 1975 to 1977, which remains one of the most controversial periods in Indian political history.

5. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards, who were Sikh extremists, in 1984, following Operation Blue Star, a military operation ordered by her to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Indira Gandhi

1. “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

2. “Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave.”

3. “My father was a statesman, I am a political woman. My father was a saint. I am not.”

4. “People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights.”

5. “The power to question is the basis of all human progress.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Indira Gandhi’s highest net worth is not well-documented, as she lived during a time when such financial details were not commonly disclosed. However, her influence and political power were substantial.

Children

Indira Gandhi had two sons with her husband Feroze Gandhi: 1. Rajiv Gandhi, who also served as Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. 2. Sanjay Gandhi, who was a prominent political figure but died in a plane crash in 1980.