Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi’s whole life was spent on the forefront of history. Her grandfather Motilal Nehru was a prominent politician of the Indian National Congress. Her father, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was also a prominent leader in the freedom movement, as well as India’s first Prime Minister.
Indira was born on November 19, 1917 and lived her life watching India’s history unfold before her. When she was 5, she burned her ‘made in England’ doll in solidarity with the Swadeshi Movement in 1921. When she was 12 she led the ‘Vanar Sena’ – an army made up of children who helped in the freedom struggle by carrying secret messages, putting up notices, addressing envelopes and making flags.
She became the 3rd and only woman prime minister of India on January 24, 1966. She went on to mark her tenure by strong leadership and a global presence. She launched a war against Pakistan in 1971 to liberate Bangladesh and won. She implemented strong anti-poverty measures, ushered in the green revolution and clamped down a national emergency in June, 1975.
She lost power in the 1977 elections but won a landslide majority in 1980. Her fight against terrorism in Punjab led to her untimely death on October 31, 1984, when her own bodyguards shot and killed her.
At a speech at Bhubaneswar 2 days before she died, she said, “I spent the whole of my life in the service of my people…I shall continue to serve until my last breath and when I die, I can say that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it. “She refused to be intimidated by circumstances and changed history and geography as we know it. She was India’s ‘Iron Lady’!
Picture Credit : Google
