Indira Gandhi's death anniversary: 'Remembering Dadi with deep sense of happiness,' tweets Rahul Gandhi
As India remembers its only female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary, several leaders including his grandson and Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to express their tributes.
‘Remembering Dadi today with a deep sense of happiness. She taught me so much and gave me unending love. She gave so much of herself to her people. I am very proud of her,’ Gandhi said on micro-blogging site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid his rich tributes to India’s third Prime Minister, who was assassinated in Delhi in 1984. ‘Tributes to our former Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary,’ the Prime Minister said.
In Morning, Rahul Gandhi along with mother Sonia Gandhi visited Shakti Sthal to pay their tributes to Indira Gandhi.
"Even if I died in the service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood... will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and dynamic."
These words were spoken by Mrs Gandhi in her last public speech in Odisha two days prior to her assassination. These words still resonate even after 34 years of her death.
Arguably one of India's most controversial figures of all times, Indira Gandhi, was India's first and longest serving female Prime Minister.
Born as Indira Priyadarshini Nehru to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Nehru on November 19, 1917, she lived a life that was less than ordinary. Her life was different from other kids as she had a tough childhood with her father away and her mother suffering from poor health.
Exposed to the affairs of nation at a tender age, Indira, at 12, led the children’s group which served to help end the British Raj in India. Closely associated with her father's work, she finally joined the Indian National Congress Party in 1938.
In 1942, Indira tied the knot with journalist Feroz Gandhi who was studying at the London School of Economics during Indira's stay at Oxford. Post marriage she unofficially worked for her father during his stint as the first prime minister of India.
Indira was always noted for her charismatic personality and her hold over politics and was the popular choice of the party for prime ministership after her father's death. However, it was senior leader Lal Bahadur Shastri who took over the post. In 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha and also served as the Information & Broadcasting minister in Shastri's cabinet.
However, Gandhi's achievements are often eclipsed by the shadow of the 1975 Emergency during which she even gagged the press, a move that was heavily criticised and brought about her downfall in the next elections. She is also the only Indian Prime Minister to have been imprisoned after holding this office.
Strong-willed Indira fought the next elections from jail and came back to power after winning by a high margin. Her ability to take bold and brave decision earned her the moniker Iron Lady.
Her last term as a prime minister was spent dealing with the rise of a secessionist movement which was started by Jarnail Singh Bindranwale, who along with his troops had captured the Golden Temple in Amritsar. She launched Operation Blue Star to flush out Bindranwale and his men from the temple and subdue them. While the operation was successful, many civilians lost their lives and the temple was heavily damaged. This earned her a bad name among the Sikhs.
As a repercussion of Operation Blue Star, on October 31, 1984, Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards— Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, who fired 33 bullets into her chest and abdomen, killing her in the lawn of her residence. While Beant was killed in gun fire, Satwant was arrested and later sentenced to death along with co-conspirator Kehar Singh.
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 "Rahul Gandhi at Shakti Sthal")
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