Indira Gandhi: biography of this historic Indian politician.

A summary of the life of Indira Gandhi, one of the most important historical figures of India.

The surname Gandhi is instinctively associated with India, but not only because of Mahatma, but also because of the politician Indira Gandhi.

We will dedicate these lines to learn more about the life of this important personality through a biography of Indira Gandhi. We will know which were her most important achievements and the contributions that during her mandate were made in the country where she governed for more than a decade, in addition to occupying other positions.

Brief biography of Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was born in Allahabad, in the year 1917, with the name of Indira Priyadarshini Nehru.. She came from a family of Kashmiri Pandit tradition. The father, named Jawaharlal Nehru, was an activist in the circles that promoted the independence of India from the British crown and thanks to this work he came to the forefront of politics, becoming the Prime Minister of the country.

In fact, even to this day, he holds the record as India's longest-serving Prime Minister, having served for nearly 17 years, first while the country was under British rule, and then as Prime Minister of India.He was Prime Minister for almost 17 years, first while the country was under British rule and then when it became an independent republic. All this activity caused Indira Gandhi to spend little time with her father, so that almost all her childhood was lived only in the company of her mother, Kamala Nehru.

But the situation of the mother was not easy, because she suffered from a very delicate health and in fact she died of tuberculosis, being Indira Gandhi still very young, in 1936. With practically no contact with his father, and with his mother practically bedridden due to the afflictions she was suffering from, his education was carried out through tutors, her upbringing was carried out through tutors.. He attended school in different institutions until he completed his primary and secondary education.

He then enrolled in the Santiniketan Institution, which would later give rise to the Visva-Bharati University. But his mother's constant illnesses made him abandon his studies soon after. After the death of his mother, he resumed his education, this time at Oxford University, in the discipline of history. This period in Europe was marked by health problems. He traveled frequently to Switzerland for treatment.

Return to India and beginning of political career

In 1941, in the middle of the Second World War, Indira Gandhi was forced to return to India, even without being able to complete her studies.without having been able to complete her career. Although it is true that Oxford issued her a degree at honorary level, some time later. The years in England, in addition to her own education, allowed her to meet Feroze Gandhi, who was to become her husband. Despite the notable surname, he was not related to Mahatma. From this marriage two children, Rajiv and Sanjay, were born in the coming years.

Once in India, Indira Gandhi resumed contact with her father, who by then already held the position of Prime Minister, and began to work as a collaborator in his cabinet. This brought her into the world of top-level politics, which was to be the field in which she would develop her professional activity from then on. A few years later, she became president of Congress.

Indira's father passed away in 1964, and by then, she was elected as one of the members of the Council of States, the Rajya Sabha.under Lal Bahadur, Shastri, the Prime Minister. Under that government, she also held the post of Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Upon the death of the party leader, Indira Gandhi was the successor to lead the party.

Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister

It was in the year 1966 when Indira Gandhi reached the highest level of power in India, as Prime Minister of India.. Although some party leaders expected her to behave as a weak figure due to the prejudices that existed at that time because she was a woman, Indira soon demonstrated that she had the necessary skills to carry out her position without being swayed by those who wanted to exert influence over her.

During her first term in office, she had to make some very tough decisions. Some involved the fragmentation of her own party, but others went much further, as she had to lead the liberation of Bangladesh, which meant initiating an armed conflict with Pakistan. These events changed any previous opinion about her, and she was now considered an absolutely consolidated leader.

For her next term in office, in 1971, Indira Gandhi set out to eliminate poverty in Bangladesh. set out to eliminate poverty in India, a problem that plagued the country.a problem that plagued the nation. This policy brought her the support of large groups of people living in disadvantaged situations. The war against Pakistan mentioned above also took place during his tenure. Victory over it brought him great popularity.

But these were difficult economic times for India. Inflation was on the rise and in 1973 the oil crisis came, which further aggravated the situation. This gave wings to the opposition, which was getting stronger and stronger.

Scandal and state of emergency

In 1975, a judgment concluded that Indira Gandhi had engaged in malpractice in some of her government's actions to benefit herself in election campaigns. to benefit herself in election campaigns. This led to her dismissal from the seat she held, but she did not relinquish the office of Prime Minister, as she was part of the Rajya Sabha and could continue to hold that position, according to the Indian Constitution.

This decision was controversial and generated protests in the streets where many citizens expressed their discomfort, generating a wave of riots. Indira Gandhi's decision to deal with the situation was to declare a state of emergency. A campaign of mass arrests of violent protesters began..

The situation worsened and curfews, restriction of freedoms and even a censorship procedure on certain publications that did not correspond to the government's interests began. In turn, Indira Gandhi reshuffled the government to ensure that her cabinet consisted only of people loyal to her. The law was also changed so that she did not need Parliament to legislate.

Adding to this accumulation of powers was the presence of her son, Sanjay Gandhi, as a leading figure in the government, without having a specific position within it. The fact that her own son, without elected office, exercised so much power was another reason for Indira Gandhi's growing unpopularity.

Elections and exit from government

In 1977, Indira Gandhi decided to call elections. The scandal in which she had been involved, coupled with the declaration of the state of emergency, extended for almost two years, had left her image very weakened. However, she believed that she still had enough support to revalidate her position.

Within her own party, there were divisions over the way Indira Gandhi was ruling India. When the elections came, her party suffered a resounding defeat, causing even Indira herself to lose her seat. It had to be through another constituency, and in 1978, when she returned to the chamber.

She became embroiled in a new scandal in which she was accused of having conspired to assassinate opposition leaders during the state of emergency. She was expelled from Congress. But the ruling party, the Janata Union, began to crack under a series of internal disputes among coalition members. A new government was formed thanks to Gandhi's support, in exchange for the dropping of charges against her and her son..

Return to power and assassination

In the 1980 elections, Indira Gandhi managed to return to power, achieving again the position of Prime Minister of India. Her son Sanjay died shortly after in a plane crash. This fact caused Indira to convince her other son, Rajiv, to enter her cabinet, because she only wanted people of her absolute confidence, and no one better than her own children.

During this legislature, Indira Gandhi's politics was marked by the problems arising from the demands of the Sikh people, who sought the independence of the Sikh nation.The Sikhs, who sought independence for the Punjab region in order to achieve a confessional state. Indira's response was one of repression, culminating in the so-called Operation Blue Star, which was a military raid on a Sikh temple.

All resistance was unceremoniously crushed, involving the death of many civilians in the process. The operation was highly controversial, and many accused Indira Gandhi of using it in order to promote herself politically for the next term in office.

On October 30, 1984, Gandhi delivered a speech in which she literally said that she would be proud to die serving her country. Just one day later, two of her bodyguards, of Sikh confession, assassinated Indira Gandhi, in retaliation for Operation Blue Star.. She was shot 31 times.

Bibliographical references:

• Jayakar, P. (1992). Indira Gandhi: A Biography. Penguin Books.
• Malhotra, I. (2014). Indira Gandhi: A personal and political biography. Rajkamal Electric Press.
• Malik, Y.K. (1987). Indira Gandhi: Personality, political power and party politics. Journal of Asian and African Studies.