WOMEN PRIME MINISTER INDIA

Indira Gandhi

(1971-1984)

Indira Gandhi was the first woman Prime Minister of India. She was the only daughter of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.

        Indira Priyadarshini was born on 19^th November 1917 in Allahabad. Her mother was Kamal Nehru, a staunch patriot. She had her education at different places Pune, Shantiniketan, Switzerland and England. Even as a young child Indira involved in the freedom struggle of India with her father. When she was just 13 years old she had organized a “Vanarsene or Monkey army and gathered number of school going children to fight for the liberation of India from the British. She married Feroze Gandhi, a veteran journalist and a freedom fighter in 1942. Thereafter her name was changed to Indira Gandhi. She gave birth to two sons Rajiv and Sanjay. She engaged herself in political activites along with her father. She served as President of the Indian National Congress Party in 1959-1960. She lost her husband in1960. After the death of LalBahadurShastri, the second Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister on January 24, 1966 and remained on this post till 1977. In 1975 she was found guilty of using illegal practices in the election of 1971. She was asked to resign but she refused and invoked emergency powers and arrested many of her opponents. However she got defeated in 1977 when Janata Government rule under the leadership of Morarji Desai came into existence in India. She faced charges of corruption before making a political comeback. In 1980, again her party, the congress (I) was victorious and she was again Prime Minister.

        Indira Gandhi was an eminent lady and a state’s woman. She made India a strong country. She fought with Pakistan in 1971 and this helped Bangladesh to become independent. She was awarded Bharat Ratna at this juncture. In her regime, she was credited with major achievements and most noteworthy of these are Nationalization of banks, 20 point programme for the upliftment of poor and the chairman ship of the non aligned movement. She was sometimes called the Iron Lady of Asia, she added new Dynamism to international politics by strongly advocating the doctrine “GaribiHatao”. She encouraged scientific inventions and technological development in the country. In 1974, she was responsible for the explosion of nuclear bomb at Pokharn as a test to identify India as a nuclear force by the world. But she was against waging wars. She was a crusader of world peace. She toured abroad many times and built the image of India wherever she went. Her name was known throughout the world. Indira Gandhi didn’t support terrorism in the country. She found arms stored in the temple at Amritsar by terrorists. She allowed military men to enter the holy Sikh temple and this made a section of people arouse against her. She had to meet a tragic end. She was brutally assassinated by her own security guards in Wednesday 31 October 1984. The attack was well planned. She was killed by two of her Sikh body guards at her residence in New Delhi.

        Indira Gandhi had worked as minister of information and broad casting in LalbahadurShastri Government. She was the chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board during 1953 and 1957. She was the most influential political leader of her time.