Indira Gandhi single-handedly wrote and enacted the script of populism in India, amidst a struggle for the control of the Congress party. Jawaharlal Nehru had steered the party to impressive victories in the first three elections to Parliament after Independence. This gave the government an edge over the party leadership. Nehru’s death in 1964 restored power to the ‘big men’ in the Congress. But Indira Gandhi stood up to them and took the reins of the party. See images from her tumultuous life and career along with excerpts from
From the late 1960s to her assassination in 1984, the same woman who had been regularly belittled by her male colleagues dominated the party as well as the country. Picture shows her in 1971.
Indira Gandhi breached the ramparts of the old elite — but her populism diminished institutions. Picture shows Gandhi during a photo session on April 4, 1975 with President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Vice-President B.D. Jatti and Governors of States who were visiting New Delhi for a conference.
After Mahatma Gandhi it was Indira Gandhi who was seen as the saviour of the poor, and over time as ‘Mother India’. Picture shows the Mahatma with the six-year-old Indira Priyadarshini during the 21st day of his fast in New Delhi in 1924.
Jawaharlal Nehru had steered the Congress to impressive victories in the first three elections to Parliament after Independence. This gave the government an edge over the party leadership. Nehru’s death in 1964 restored power to the ‘big men’ in the Congress. Picture shows her with her father at the Bangalore Congress session in 1961.
Indira Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in a straight contest with Morarji Desai on January 19, 1966. Picture shows her receiving greetings from MPs after the election. She took oath as India’s first woman Prime Minister on January 24.
After much political drama, which saw her deputy Moraji Desai contesting for leadership, Indira Gandhi was chosen Congress Parliamentary Party Leader on March 12, 1967, the year of her first big electoral test. Party president K. Kamaraj’s effort to find common ground resulted in Desai withdrawing his candidature. Picture shows Gandhi acknowledging the greetings of Kamaraj at the CPP meeting.
The story of Indira Gandhi’s ascent in politics begins in the 1967 elections, when she campaigned for the party across the country. She travelled thousands of kilometres in an open jeep, addressed crowds, and secured acclaim. Picture shows President S. Radhakrishnan greeting Gandhi after swearing her in as Prime Minister on March 13, 1967.
In the 1971 elections, the Congress came back to power with an overwhelming majority. And Indira Gandhi secured the sort of legitimacy her father had enjoyed. This term was marked by two decisive moments in her career. The Indian Army won a decisive victory over Pakistan in 1971, and opposition leaders began to hail her as Durga, the vanquisher of all evil. And in 1975, she imposed Emergency, during which, in her own words “managed to alienate all sections of people”. Picture shows President V.V. Giri administering the oath of office to her on March 18, 1971.
Under Indira Gandhi’s leadership, India secured food self-sufficiency, and made gigantic strides in developing nuclear and space technology. Picture shows her visiting the site of India’s first nuclear explosion at Pokhran in Rajasthan on December 22, 1974. India conducted the test in May that year.
Indira Gandhi signs her nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections at Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh on February 2, 1977. That election, which came after the Emergency, snatched power from her hands.
Indira Gandhi with her supporters at her residence in New Delhi on February 4, 1977, shortly after the results of the Lok Sabha election had been announced. Gandhi herself lost and the Congress was routed. The Janata Party under Moraji Desai came to power.
Indira Gandhi inspects the Guard of Honour at the Red Fort at the Independence Day celebrations on August 15, 1980. She was voted back to power after three years of Janata Party rule in the 1980 elections.
Picture shows Indira Gandhi with Opposition leaders L.K. Advani, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram in Parliament on January 20, 1980.
Indira Gandhi is being presented with a model of the missile at the inauguration of the Air Defence Guided Missile School Centre at Gopalpur in Orissa on October 30, 1984, the day before her assassination.
In June 1983, Indira Gandhi sent the Army into the Golden Temple, the holiest place of Sikhism. A little over a year later, on October 31, 1984, she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards. Picture shows her body lying in state at Teen Murti Bhavan as her son and successor Rajiv Gandhi looks on.
Indira Gandhi left behind a shaky legacy, on the one hand personalisation of power and on the other diminished institutional capacity. A building belonging to Sikhs burns on November 2, 1984 in New Delhi’s Daryaganj. Anti-Sikh violence broke out across the country in the wake of her assassination on October 31, 1984.