October 31 marks the death anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The only female prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi served from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her death in October 1984. Popularly known as the ‘Iron Lady of India’, Gandhi is often credited for the nationalisation of banks along with the abolition of privy purses of the royal families. According to a BBC poll, Indira Gandhi was named as ‘Woman of the Millennium' in 1999. In this article, we will discuss major events in her tenure apart from emergency and war.
Indira Gandhi, the only child of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru who was the first prime minister of independent India, was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad. Her entire family was involved in the freedom fighting for India. After completing her education International School of Geneva, the Ecole Nouvelle in Bex, the Pupil’s Own School in Poona and Bombay, as well as Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan, she entered into Indian politics. Gandhi was elected as the president of the INC in 1960. After the sudden demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent (now Uzbekistan) in January 1966, Gandhi was chosen as the leader of the Indian Congress legislative party. She formed the government with Moraji Desai as deputy prime minister and finance minister.
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Probably. ‘Emergency’ is the word synonymous to Indira Gandhi. The 21-month period from 1975 to 1977, Emergency situation was declared by the Prime Minister citing internal and external threats to the nation. The decision was taken by consulting with close party members and younger son Sanjay Gandhi. During that time, “Gandhi bestowed upon herself the power to rule by decree”, as mentioned in the newspaper report. Indira Gandhi withdrew the Emergency on March 21, 1977 and announced General Elections. The Janata Party led by Morarji Desai won the election by absolute majority and Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.
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India's First Successful Nuclear Weapon Test: With the code name of Smiling Buddha (MEA designation: Pokhran-I) India conducted its first successful nuclear weapon test on 18 May 1974 under the Gandhi administration. A nuclear fission type bomb was detonated in the Pokhran Test Range in Rajasthan. According to the United States military intelligence, this operation was named ‘Happy Krishna’.
Revolutionary Indian Foreign Policy Measures: Gandhi played a crucial role in starting diplomatic relationships with the Soviet Union by signing a friendship treaty in 1971. She also played a pivotal role in creating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. India’s relations began to improve with other south East Asian countries following Gandhi's endorsement of the ZOPFAN announcement and the disintegration of the SEATO alliance. Her diplomatic policy created a positive impact on India’s relationship with African nations. India maintained cordial relations with most of the members during Gandhi's time in the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of former British colonies. In 1983, India hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in New Delhi.
Economic Reformation in India: Gandhi inherited an extremely weak economy which faced many challenges like drought-induced food crisis, famines, and recession. The Indian economy managed to recover in 1966 with 4.1% growth during 1966–1969. The inflation rate, which was 7.7% in 1965, decreased to 5.2% at the end of Gandhi's first term (1977). When she became prime minister again in 1979, inflation was 18.2%, which she was able to reduce to 6.5% during her last year (1984). She advocated equal pay for equal work for both men and women to come as a law during her administration.
Apart from that, Indira Gandhi questioned the existence of a “privy purse for British rulers of princely states” for the first time and demanded its abolition. The rule was passed successfully after a lot of obstacles as the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.
