Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (1917-1984) - a politician in India, was a key figure in the Indian National Congress party, the only woman who was elected Prime Minister of India. In 1999, the British broadcaster BBC conducted a poll, according to which Indira Gandhi was named "Woman of the Millennium".
Birth
Indira was born in the city of Allahabad on November 19, 1917. This ancient Indian city was considered sacred by Hindus and Muslims. In the place where she was born, all the moments significant for Hinduism were observed, although, contrary to tradition, this happened not in the mother's house, but in the grandfather's house. Firstly, it was built out of the blue, and most importantly, on a sacred one. According to legend, it was here that the ancient Indian epic hero Rama met with his half-brother Bharat. Mother gave birth to Indira in a room on the north side, which is also considered sacred by the Hindus. The great, kind and happy future of the newborn girl predetermined the name of the very house in which she was born - "Anand bhavan", which means "Abode of joy".
The baby made her first cry, many people gathered in the room, and the voice of Motilal Nehru, the grandfather of the newborn, boomed over their heads: "This girl will be better than a thousand men"... And then everything went according to Indian customs - drumming, lighting incense, lighting a fire, into which all the guests threw rice grains for the happiness of a new life.
The girl was given a name in honor of her great-grandmother - Indira ("Land of the Moon"). This woman possessed amazing resilience, life tested her more than once. She was left without a husband early and thus lost her livelihood, but managed to maintain the ancient status of the Nehru clan.
In India, it is customary to give two names to the child, the second for the girl was chosen - Priyadarshini, which meant "Darling to the eye".
A family
The family in which Indira Gandhi was born was very famous throughout India.
Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was a famous lawyer and well-known political figure, the leader of the national movement in India. He founded the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. His wife Svaruprani, the grandmother of Indira Gandhi, came from the Kashmiri brahmana caste and was also an active participant in the political struggle.
Indira's father, Jawaharlal Nehru, continued his family legal career, worked in his father's law office. From his youth he was fond of politics, leader of the national Indian liberation movement, chairman of the Indian National Congress party. After the country gained independence, he was elected as the first Prime Minister of India.
Indira Gandhi's mother, Kamale Kaul, belonged to the middle class of Kashmiri Brahmins, and was also a prominent representative of the national liberation movement. When the leaders of the Indian National Congress Party were arrested in 1930, she raised all the women of Allahabad (high society and beggars, workers and peasants) to fight the British government. All women unanimously agreed with her decisions and listened to her advice. And when Kamala was arrested and imprisoned, she proudly declared: “I am very happy because I am following my husband. I'm proud of that! "
And how proud Motilal Nehru's daughter-in-law was: “What a woman! It was this wife that my son Jawaharlal needed ”.
With such parents, Indira Gandhi could have no other path in life, except to get involved in politics and fight for independence and justice.
Childhood
The first bright memorable event in the life of little Indira was 1919.
The two-year-old girl did not yet understand that the British military opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in the Indian city of Amritsar. Demonstrators took to the square to protest against Rowlett's laws, according to which the authorities could imprison Hindus without trial or charge. So the British wanted to suppress the Indian independence movement.
The "Indian National Congress" then decided at its congress to completely boycott the British and their power. According to the program, India completely abandoned not only titles and titles received from the British, but also from English educational institutions, ships, furniture, clothes, dishes, and food.
Grandfather Motilal Nehru led all the household that day, who pulled expensive chiffon clothes, corduroy outfits, tuxedos and shoes, figurines and other foreign luxury from the closets. All this was carried and thrown into a huge bonfire in the courtyard of the house.
Indira remembered that night so well that a couple of years later, when a relative brought her a gorgeous gift from England, the girl refused a wonderful dress and burned a beautiful doll. For the rest of her life, she really could not forget those childhood feelings of her when her hands did not obey and did not want to light a match and put brushwood on, she felt so sorry for the doll. After that, the baby even fell ill, having collapsed with a high fever. All her life later, the iron lady Indira Gandhi did not like to light matches.
So a new life began in the life of little Indira and her family, without foreign excesses. Together with all of India, they protested against the tyranny of the British and dressed in homespun khadi.
The girl was only eight years old when, after listening to the advice of the public and political figure Mahatma Gandhi, she created a children's union. In their hometown, they began to develop home weaving. Children gathered at Indira's house and weaved the headdresses of the swamp for a long time.
Soon, Indira had a brother, but the boy was born prematurely and died a day later. After that, my mother's health began to deteriorate, doctors diagnosed tuberculosis and recommended leaving for Europe for treatment. Indira went with her mother, for the next few years her childhood passed between her native Allahabad and Geneva.
Studies
Indira did not want to study in European schools, and her father understood her perfectly, but he was an ardent supporter of the fact that a woman should get an education. Jawaharlal was looking for teachers for his daughter, and she studied at home. Yes, and the father himself invested no small contribution in the education of Indira, he taught her the history of India and the world. Often the girl was able to listen to what her father, grandfather and Mahatma Gandhi were talking about. Therefore, it is not surprising that already in adolescence, Indira was more than once a participant in demonstrations and even helped the fighters for independence as a courier.
At the age of twelve, the girl led the Allahabad Monkey Brigade. This group included children who dreamed of seeing India as independent. Little fighters ran around the city and passed warnings of arrests to adults. Even then, Indira could lead a crowd of children with her incendiary speeches.
Once her oratorical skills came in handy. She rode in a car carrying secret papers - a program of the disobedience movement. The car was stopped by a police officer. The girl convincingly asked him to skip faster and not inspect the car, otherwise she might be late for school. So important documents passed on in their entirety and intact.
In 1934, Indira was enrolled as a student at the People's University, created by the famous Indian public figure, poet and writer Rabindranath Tagore. But in 1936, the girl interrupted her studies, since her mother died and Indira was supposed to become the right hand of her father. She went to study in England.
In 1937, Indira became a student at Somervel College, Oxford, focusing on history, management and anthropology.
Political activity
With the outbreak of World War II, Indira returned to India. Her path was long and passed through South Africa, where by that time many Indians lived. Before them in Cape Town, her first public political speech took place.
In 1947, an independent India was proclaimed, with the formation of a new government, Indira's father took over as prime minister. The daughter received the post of his secretary and now accompanied Jawaharlal Nehru everywhere. They traveled abroad together, and in 1955 they visited the USSR for the first time. Their trip began from the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), where Indira was struck to the depths of her soul by the power of the Ural Machine-Building Plant.
In 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru died. Lala Bahadur Shastri was elected in his place, and Indira became a member of the lower house in parliament. But soon she received an offer from Shastri to head the Ministry of Information and Radio Broadcasting.
In 1966, Shastri passed away and Indira was elected prime minister. This was the second time in the world that a woman took such a position (the first was Bandaranaike Sirimavo in Sri Lanka).
Indira had to face the strongest opposition. In 1969, under her leadership, 14 Indian banks were nationalized, after which conservative leaders even tried to deprive her of party membership. Colleagues, too, at first did not take the woman as prime minister seriously. But it was impossible to control Indira, she used all her rights and defeated enemies one by one.
The main blow of Indira's policy was aimed at fighting poverty. At the beginning of her reign, 60% of the Indian population lived below the poverty line. Indira Gandhi managed to reduce this figure to 40%. The average life expectancy has also increased from 32 to 55 years.
Remained in her policy and unresolved issues: religious and communal strife, inequality of the lower castes, corruption and nepotism when appointed to positions of responsibility.
In 1971, Gandhi initiated the invasion of the Indian military into East Pakistan, as a result of the next Indo-Pakistani war, the Republic of Bangladesh was proclaimed. In these matters, she was fully supported by the Soviet Union. The relationship between the USSR and India has improved so much that the "Treaty of Friendship, Peace and Cooperation" was concluded.
Gandhi was prime minister from 1966 to 1977.
In 1977, she overestimated herself a little, which led to a defeat in the parliamentary elections. Her family was arrested twice on charges of corruption.
In 1978, Indira created a new party and again entered the parliament. Soon the first attempt on her life followed, the terrorist threw a knife at Gandhi, but hit one of the guards. The perpetrator was arrested, and Indira was re-elected as Prime Minister in 1980.
At the end of her reign, Indira paid a lot of attention to world politics, as a result of which India was elected chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement. This is an international organization that united 120 states, their main principle was non-participation in military blocs.
The Sikhs living in the state of Punjab did not agree with this. Their leader created an independent self-governing community. Sikhs attacked the Hindus, and in Amritsar they occupied the main shrine of India - the Golden Temple. The government carried out a military operation "Blue Star" and the temple was liberated. But the Sikhs took their revenge for this.
On October 31, 1984, Indira was killed by Sikh bodyguards. Eight bullets fired at the woman touched all the most important organs, it was not possible to save her.
Personal life
Indira's husband was the politician Feroz Gandhi, a Parsi (a small group of Iranian Indians). They belonged to different castes and, according to the laws and customs, could not marry. But Feroz and Indira neglected traditions and became husband and wife in 1942.
In 1944, Indira gave birth to a son, Rajiv, in 1946 - Sajay.
In 1958, Feroz suffered a heart attack and retired from politics. In 1960, Indira's husband passed away.
Rajiv Gandhi was the successor of his mother, on the day of her assassination in the evening he was elected Prime Minister of India. He worked in this position for five years. In 1991, another election campaign took place, during which Rajiv went to the state of Tamil Nadu. On May 21, a suicide bomber from a terrorist organization carried out a terrorist attack, as a result of which Rajiv Gandhi was killed.
(Indira Gandhi) was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh state in northern India) into a family that actively participated in the struggle for Indian independence. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru was the leader of the Indian National Congress (INC) party and the first prime minister (1947-1964) of an independent India. Her grandfather Gandhi Motilal Nehru was one of the pioneers of the independence movement and a close associate of Mohandas ("Mahatma") Gandhi.
Indira Gandhi was educated in India, Switzerland, Great Britain. In 1937 she entered Somerville College, Oxford University, but did not graduate.
Since 1938 - a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. Participant in the liberation struggle.
In 1942 she married a Parsa lawyer Feruz Gandhi (1912-1960; namesake of Mahatma Gandhi).
In 1942, Indira Gandhi was arrested by the colonial authorities.
After the proclamation of India's independence (1947), she became a member of the cabinet of her father-premier and accompanied Jawaharlal Nehru on all foreign trips.
Since 1958, Indira Gandhi is a member of the Working Committee and a member of the Central Election Commission of the INC, the chairman of the women's organization of this party and a member of the Central Parliamentary Council of the All India Committee of the INC.
In 1959, Gandhi was elected chairman of the INC.
In 1960, she resigned from this post, but remained an assistant to her father. In the years leading up to his death, she became an intermediary between the ailing prime minister and his cabinet and party officials.
In 1964, after the death of her father, she took the post of Minister of Information and Radio Broadcasting in the cabinet of Lala Bahadur Shastri.
In January 1966, after the death of Shastri, Indira Gandhi became prime minister. In this post, she met with strong opposition. In 1969, after her government nationalized India's 14 largest banks, conservative leaders of the INC tried to expel her from the party. They failed to do this, the right-wing faction withdrew from the INC, which led to a split in the party.
She paid great attention to strengthening India's defenses and expanding its influence in the Indian Ocean zone and in the international arena. She actively developed relations with the USSR. In 1971, after the victory of India in the war with Pakistan, she contributed to the formation of the independent state of Bangladesh on the territory of East Pakistan.
In early parliamentary elections in 1971, Indira Gandhi's party won a landslide victory with more than two-thirds of the popular vote.
Political opponents accused Indira Gandhi of violating the electoral law. In June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found her guilty of electoral violations and ordered her to resign, banning her from political activity for six years. In response, Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India.
At this time, there was an increase in authoritarian tendencies in the methods of government used by Gandhi: restricting freedom of the press, conducting a number of anti-democratic campaigns, including the demolition of urban slums, as well as forced sterilization of the population in order to solve the demographic problem.
While serving as Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi simultaneously held other posts: from September 1967 to March 1977 - Minister of Atomic Energy; from September 1967 to February 1969 - Minister of Foreign Affairs; from June 1970 to November 1973 - Minister of the Interior; from June 1972 to March 1977 - Minister for Space.
The reforms carried out caused discontent among the population; in 1977, Indira Gandhi was defeated in the parliamentary elections.
Twice, in October 1977 and December 1978, she was briefly arrested on corruption charges.
In 1978, announcing the creation of her own party INC (I), Gandhi was again elected to parliament, after the 1980 elections she returned to the post of prime minister.
Soon after her return to power, Gandhi suffered a heavy loss: her youngest son and chief political adviser Sanjay died in a plane crash. Since the early 1970s, Sanjay Gandhi, popular with urban youth, was Indira Gandhi's closest political assistant, and was considered by many to be the prime minister's successor. After Sanjay's death, Indira Gandhi persuaded Rajiv's eldest son to take up politics and become her main assistant.
In the early 1980s, Indira Gandhi faced threats to India's political integrity. She fought against separatist movements in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Punjab.
In June 1984, Gandhi conducted Operation Blue Star, associated with the storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which was occupied by supporters of the creation of an independent Sikh state of Khalistan in the Punjab.
On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was killed by her Sikh guards as they avenged the deaths of their fellow community members.
After the death of Indira Gandhi, INK and the government were headed by her eldest son Rajiv. In 1991, he was killed in a terrorist attack organized by Tamil separatists.
Indira Gandhi went down in history as a consistent fighter against terrorism and separatism, a supporter of a united and indivisible India.
Indira Gandhi's activities have been recognized with many awards, including the highest order of India "Bharat Ratna" ("Pearl of India", 1972) and the International Lenin Prize (1985, posthumously).
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
biography
Indira Gandhi remains one of the most prominent political figures in modern India to this day.
And despite the fact that last year in this country was marked by the 30th anniversary of the death of Indira Gandhi, this woman is still honored by the Indian people.
Indira Gandhi was born in 1917 in a politically active family. Her parents fought vigorously for the independence of their country. Her father was a member of the Indian National Congress Party and was just beginning to establish himself as a politician. A little later, in 1947, he took over as the first Prime Minister of India, when the country was already in the status of independence.
Better known at the beginning of the 20th century was Indira's grandfather - Gandhi Motilal Nehru - at one time the leader of the Indian National Congress. Not only the male half of the family was politically active. Nehru's women were repeatedly affected by government repression.
It is not surprising that the child followed in the footsteps of his parents.
Moreover, the propensity for vigorous activity was noticed in Indira at a very early age. When she was two years old, she was introduced to the outstanding Mahatma Gandhi, and when she was eight years old, the "father of the nation" had already suggested the idea of organizing in the town where Indira lived, a union of children, which would contribute to the development of weaving. This attitude led to participation in demonstrations and active communication with other independence fighters.
From 1934 to 1936, Indira Gandhi studied at the People's University organized by Rabindranath Tagore, the famous poet of India.
His studies were interrupted by the death of his mother and departure to Europe. In 1937 she became a student at Somerwell College, Oxford, England. However, even here she was forced to leave the country in order to go home at the beginning of World War II. It was then, during her return through South Africa, that Indira gave her first full-fledged political speech. Already in India, she married the namesake of Mahatma Gandhi - journalist Feroz Gandhi. The couple was arrested shortly thereafter, and Indira spent a year in prison.
After India's independence was declared in 1947, Indira became part of the first national government.
She took up the post of personal secretary to the Prime Minister, who at that time was her father. Nehru always took his daughter on international trips. Since the mid-50s, Indira Gandhi has become a member of the election commission of the Indian National Congress, the chairman of the women's organization from the party, and a member of the Working Committee. She also became a participant in the conference held in Bandung, which started the Non-Aligned Movement.
In the period from 1960 to 1964, great misfortunes happen in the family of Indira Gandhi: her father and husband die.
At this time, changes are observed in her political activities: Indira not only becomes a direct participant in the proceedings of national conflicts, but also enters the cabinet of the minister, holding the post of Minister of Information and Radio Broadcasting.
In 1966, Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India.
In this position, the woman faced opposition and government pressure. After the nationalization of Indian banks, she survived an attempt at expulsion from the party. As a result, the party split. During the war with Pakistan, the Prime Minister signed a peace treaty with the USSR. After the war, the economic situation in the country worsened and tensions among the people grew. This "resulted" in the management of a state of emergency and Indira's defeat in the elections. These events were followed by repeated arrests and charges.
In 1980, Indira Gandhi managed to return to the post of prime minister.
However, she occupied him for only four years. In 1984, she was killed by her Sikh bodyguards after launching Operation Blue Star, which was aimed at neutralizing Sikh separatists. In 1991, the eldest son of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv, who headed the government after his mother, also suffered at the hands of a terrorist organization.
Despite the controversial moments in his biography, Indira Gandhi occupies one of the most prominent places in the history of modern India.
Indira Gandhi, 1917-1984, biography
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Content Indira Gandhi to this day remains one of the most prominent political figures of modern India. It is not surprising that the child followed in the footsteps of his parents. From 1934 to 1936, Indira Gandhi studied at the People's University, organized by Rabindranath Tagore, the famous poet of India. After the declaration of India's independence. in 1947 Indira became part of the first national government ...
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Probably, almost everyone has heard of the outstanding woman Indira Gandhi, but few can tell about her. Very often people make one mistake, considering Indira the daughter or granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi. But this is not true, Indira Priyardashini Nehru married Feroz Gandhi, who was only the namesake of the Mahatma.
Biography of the great politician
The future great politician was born into a brahmana family on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad. Priyardashini's father was Jawaharlal, the first leader of the Indian state.
Indira from a very young age she was familiar with Mohandas Gandhi, who, being a friend of the Nehru family, often visited their house and, according to eyewitnesses, was surprised by the high intelligence of the little girl... In the mid-thirties, the girl entered the Sriniketan University of Rabindranath Tagore. However, Indira could not finish her studies at this institution. In 1937, Priyardashini went to Great Britain, where she studied for three academic years at Oxford College.
After returning to India, Indira marries the Iranian Parsi Feroz Gandhi. Feroz practiced Zoroastrianism, and the marriage of a Hindu brahmana with a Zoroastrian was negatively perceived in the conservative Indian society. Feroz died in 1960, from her husband Indira had two children, Rajiv and Sanjay.
Actively advocating for the freedom of the Indian people, Indira incurred the wrath of the colonial administration, together with her husband, Indira was arrested and spent about a year in prison. After gaining independence, Indira became the personal secretary of the prime minister, visits many countries and is actively engaged in self-education.
After the death of her father, Indira becomes Minister of Information... And two years later, he holds the post of prime minister, and becomes the head of the INC. For the conservative patriarchal Indian society, for which a woman, and even more so a widow, is assigned a secondary role in relation to a man. The receipt by an Indian woman of supreme political power can be seen as a certain social revolution.
Gandhi's political reforms
Indira, after gaining power, begins large-scale internal reforms in India. Under her, the administrative-territorial division of India was streamlined, the ancient feudal elite was finally removed from power. Indira begins reforms aimed at creating a complex of heavy industry in India, nuclear energy and state banking.
Late 60s fourteen largest banks in India were nationalized. The agricultural revolution begins India is achieving food self-sufficiency through major investments in irrigation and the introduction of new high-yielding crops. In order to reduce the birth rate, Gandhi begins a program of partial sterilization of the population. The latest program resulted in strong criticism of Gandhi in the middle of India. .
In foreign policy, Indira Gandhi continues her father's course towards the non-aligned movement. Indira opposes military-political blocs and weapons of mass destruction. Also, India has a difficult relationship with Pakistan. India supported the national struggles of eastern Pakistan, which became Bangladesh, which culminated in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War.
Indira lost power in 1977 and was even arrested, but in 1980 she again became the head of government and continued her political course.
Indira's fatal death
Since the late 70s of the twentieth century, the Sikhs of the Punjab began to demand the creation of their state. The Sikhs made the Golden Temple in Amritsar their citadel. In 1984, Gandhi ordered a military operation against the rebels, as a result of which the Great Temple was partially destroyed and many civilians were injured.
On October 31, 1984, the Sikhs committed an act of revenge, Indira's personal bodyguards shot the prime minister while leaving the house. Many days of mourning were declared throughout India.
The value of Indira Gandhi in world history
Indira Gandhi had a great influence on the formation of modern India. How could Gandhi fought against the manifestations of the varna-caste system and ancient archaisms, which contributed to the formation of modern society. India, at the end of the Gandhi era, turned from an agrarian former colony into a developed modern state.
The birth of Indira threw the family into confusion
In the family of Jawaharlarl Nehru, everyone was waiting for a boy - the heir and successor to his father's political affairs. And a girl appeared ... However, the grandfather of the newborn, Motilal Nehru, convinced the family: "This girl will be better than a thousand sons," and the famous poetess sent a letter in which she wrote that "the child is to become the soul of India." And from an early age, the girl, with her deeds, confirmed the correctness of these prophecies: while her peers were playing with dolls, Indira read the books that her father read. And when India, in response to the oppression of the British, refused to buy and use imported goods, Indira threw her beloved French doll into the fire with her own hands. Her parents taught her to be strong, and her father, with whom Indira became close during their frequent travels, became her spiritual mentor, influenced her choice of profession and instilled love for the Motherland.
Indira is the namesake of Mahatma Gandhi, who became her protector
Indira met Feroz Gandhi at Oxford University, and soon the friendship between them turned into something more. No one saw much passion in their relationship, Indira married Feroz, however, only a few years after the proposal. And although he was also a politician, he had nothing to do with the country's leader and ideologist Mahatma Gandhi. However, the latter often visited Nehru's house and was one of the first to predict a great future for Indira. Much later, he defended the marriage of Indira and Feroz, which caused massive protests and condemnations in the country - after all, the daughter of the first prime minister was from a higher caste, and her fiancé was a non-believer from a lower one. Even the father, for the first time ever, would be against his daughter's decision. Nevertheless, the marriage still took place thanks to the intercession of the spiritual leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi, an ardent fighter against caste inequality.
The fight against poverty returns Indira Gandhi to the prime minister's chair
An unsuccessful family planning and population containment program, which implied the forced sterilization of the poor, caused Indira to lose the parliamentary elections. The new poverty alleviation program builds popular sympathy for it and makes Indira the Prime Minister of India. As a result, during the reign of the first and only female leader, life expectancy in India increased from 32 to 55 years, and the proportion of the population living below the poverty line fell from 60% to 40%. Not long before the death of Indira, despite all the warnings, opened her doors to all those in need: people came to the "mother of India" to tell about their troubles and needs.
Indira was a good mother for both her sons and her country
She was called "Indirama" ("Mother of India"), but, having devoted herself to politics, Indira still tried to pay due attention to her family and children. By the time they returned from school, she tried to finish everything in a day in order to devote herself to her sons. Curiously, the youngest son Sanjay was always interested in political activities, supported his mother and wanted to continue her work. While the eldest, Rajiv, always refused to engage in political activities. However, Sanjay died in a plane crash, so when Indira died (she was shot by the Sikhs who declared themselves an independent community), Rajiv headed the government. He died just like his mother - he was shot by a terrorist in response to the introduction of Indian troops into Sri Lanka. Now the leader of the Indian National Congress is his widow Sonia Gandhi. She led the party to victory in parliamentary elections in 2004.