Biography of Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was the first lady Prime Minister of India. As the Prime Minister, she put India on the path of progress. She was born on 19th November 1917 in Allahabad to Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Nehru. Born in the politically influential Nehru dynasty, she grew up in an intensely political atmosphere. Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was a prominent Indian nationalist leader.

Indira was taught at Somerville College, Oxford. After the British left India, her father Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of India, and Indira gained a lot of political experience while touring with her father. During the prime ministership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi became the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. She succeeded Lal Bahadur Shastri after his unexpected demise.

Indira Gandhi married a Parsi named Feroze Gandhi in 1942. The marriage was opposed by orthodox Hindus because it was an intercommunal love marriage not arranged by her parents. Jawaharlal Nehru too opposed the marriage on grounds that the couple were somewhat incompatible because both possessed fiery tempers. Publicly, however, both Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi strenuously defended the marriage. Shortly after their marriage both Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi were arrested and jailed for nationalist activities. Indira Gandhi was released after eight months and Feroze Gandhi after an year. After the release Feroze Gandhi became editor of The National Herald, a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mrs. Indira Gandhi became the principal confidant and assistant of her father during the period of Nehru’s prime ministership (1947-1965). The couple separated for a number of years during the 1950s as Feroze Gandhi launched his own political career in Parliament and was often at odds with Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies and style. In 1959 Indira Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress and in 1964 she was elected to the parliament. Meanwhile, the death of Feroze Gandhi (from a heart attack) in 1960, and the subsequent death of her father in 1964, caused Indira Gandhi to withdraw into a shell and limit herself to her immediate family.

As the Prime Minister, Indira showed her political skills and abilities. She led India to triumph against Pakistan in 1971. In the 1977 general elections, her party was defeated. She came back to power in 1979. In 1984, she became unpopular among the Sikhs after the ‘Operation Blue Star’. She was shot dead by her own body guards the same year.