Essays

She is the formidable icon of women empowerment. Her extraordinary political skills and tenacity brought her foes to their knees. Her charm, intelligence and charisma made her a powerful statesperson, much loved and admired by her people.

Born on 19 November 1917, in Allahabad, she was greatly adored by her parents and her grandfather Motilal Nehru, who was a famous lawyer and public" figure in his own right. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru had joined the freedom struggle, so little Indira, or Priyadarshini as she was lovingly called, was exposed to politics from the age of 3-4 years. Her house was the centre of political activity, as all important leaders stayed there while visiting Allahabad. Mahatma Gandhi was a frequent visitor to her house and she was greatly affected by his thinking. A visit to the Sabarmati Ashram left indelible mark on her psyche.

After passing her matriculation exams from Pune University, she was sent to Rabindranath Tagore at Shantiniketan. Here, she was made to lead a strict and highly disciplined life. From here', she went on to study in Switzerland and then to Oxford University in London, After her return to India, she married Feroze Gandhi, in March 1941, When Indira'.s father was in jail, he used to write beautiful, long letters to her about India's legacy and the current political situation. This led her to understand the intricacies of the nation, better than the most. In 1942, she joined the 'Quit India' Movement and was jailed- After India gained freedom, Pandit Nehru was elected the Prime Minister. After his death in 1964, Lal Bahadur Shastri took over. Finally, in 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected the leader of the Congress. But this was not so easy- The numerous contenders for the position of Prime Minister were unable to agree among themselves about the post. They picked Indira Gandhi as a compromise candidate, and each thought that she would be easily manipulable. But she showed extraordinary political skills and elbowed the Congress bigwigs - KamaraJ, Morarji Desai, and others - out of power. She held the office of the Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 (the tenure). She was riding the crest of popularity after India's triumph in the war of 1971 against Pakistan, and the nuclear explosions in 1974, helped to enhance her reputation among middle-class Indians as a tough and shrewd political leader. However, by 1973, Delhi and North India were rocked by angry demonstrations against high inflation, the poor state of the economy, rampant corruption, and the poor .standards of living. In June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad found her guilty of using illegal practices during the last election campaign, and ordered her to vacate her seat. There were demands for her resignation.

Indira Gandhi's response was to declare a State of Emergency. Under this, her political foes were imprisoned, constitutional rights abrogated, and the press was placed under strict censorship. Meanwhile, the younger of her two sons, Sanjay Gandhi, earned the fierce hatred of many whom his policies had victimized. He ordered the removal of slum dwellings, and in an attempt to curb India's growing population, he initiated a highly resented programme of forced sterilization. In early 1977 confident that she had strengthened her position. Indira Gandhi called for fresh elections, and found herself trounced by a newly formed coalition of several political parties. Her party lost the polls- Many declared that she was a spent force; but, three years later, she returned back to power.

In the second post-emergency period of her premiership, she was pre-occupied by efforts to resolve the political problems in Punjab. In her attempt to crush the secessionist movement of Sikh militants, led by Jarnail Singh Binderwale, she ordered an assault upon the holiest Sikh shrine in Amritsar, the Golden Temple. Operation Bluestar, waged in June 1984, led to the death of Binderwale, and the Golden Temple was stripped clean of militants. The fallout of this operation was that Indira Gandhi earned the hatred of Sikhs who bitterly resented the sacrilege of their sacred place. In November of the same year, she was assassinated at her residence, by two of her own Sikh body guards who claimed to be avenging the insult heaped upon their community.

She will be remembered for her commendable efforts in the development and progress of science, space exploration, irrigation as well as policies like nationalization of banks and 20-point programme.