Today we’re going to talk about a controversial figure. Loved and hated in the same way, this iron lady ruled her country in times of great conflict, Indira Gandhi is a stranger to younger generations, so we want to see your life as a top political figure as you were.
Indira Gandhi was the first woman to hold the post of Prime Minister in India; her mother was an advocate for the rights of the poor; his father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the leader of the independence of the British Empire and the prime minister of India. .
- Indira Gandhi’s transition through politics pitted her against the great powers of the world.
- And it was she who made India the fifth nuclear power.
- Her work as the leading political figure in India is defined by many “ups and downs” and has never been a bed of roses.
Born in Allahabad on November 19, 1917, it is said that as a child she admired Joan of Arc, her mother died when Indira was still very young and her father lived far from her for her total dedication to her country’s politics. He inherited his father’s political vocation and an early desire to serve his country.
She was home-schooled by tutors for a time, then attended a Christian school in Delhi and Geneva. He also attempted to complete his studies at Oxford after his mother’s death. However, the outbreak of World War II thwarted Indira Gandhi’s academic aspirations.
During her time at Oxford, Indira resumed her friendship with whom she would become her husband: Feroze Gandhi. They married in March 1942 and had two children. After a brief romance, their marriage failed due to their infidelities.
Indira Gandhi with her two sons (Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi)
Back in India, Indira Gandhi became interested in politics and began collaborating with her father, India’s prime minister at the time, becoming her “right arm. “
He joined the Congress Party and actively supported his father in the struggle for Indian independence. This movement was led by Mahatma Gandhi, with whom he was unrelated despite sharing the surname. India gained independence from British rule on 15 August 1947.
During the early years of India’s independence, Indira’s career was parallel to that of her father until her death in 1964. At that time, Indira Gandhi began to assume various ministerial positions in her country’s political hierarchy.
In 1966, Indira was invited to take over as Secretary General of the Congress Party and, immediately the after all, the new Prime Minister of India was elected, thus becoming the first woman in India to hold that political office.
Some of his biographers point out that Indira Gandhi’s position as Prime Minister was suggested in an attempt by the party to elect someone manipulable, someone whose main function would be to be the party’s image, but who would not participate in important decision-making. Ms. Gandhi did not assume this role, so from the outset she has gained countless enemies among her own allies.
She was elected Prime Minister twice: from 1966 to 1977 and then in 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Indira Gandhi’s first term as Prime Minister in India was characterized by her progressive policies and mediation efforts to strengthen ties between non-aligned countries.
This position, clearly progressive, has been threatened many times by his own party, despite this, he has carried out agricultural modernization programs, including proposals known as the Green Revolution and the White Revolution, based on the protection of seeds, crops and dairy production to end malnutrition in India.
He also developed a nuclear and space program, as well as securing several victories in the war against Pakistan and the subsequent creation of Bangladesh. Her foreign policy strategies seriously confronted American interests in the region, particularly with President Nixon, who called her “the old one. “witch. “
In 1971, after the last election, Indira Gandhi was unable to deliver on many of his election promises. Gandhi’s government was beginning to take extremely unpopular action and was accused of corruption and voter fraud.
These events provoked many tensions in India and Indira Gandhi was ordered to resign as Prime Minister, as well as being deemed inadmissible for office for six years.
She felt she was the victim of a conspiracy. She then refused to be forced to resign and declared a state of emergency in India in 1975. With the support of his son, he also censored the press and imprisoned his opponents.
In addition to his ambitious son Sanjay, who has launched a terrifying mass sterilization program in India, he said the country was too populated to actually be ruled. With all these unpopular measures, the new elections leave Indira Gandhi and her son out of India. Presidency.
Despite her fall, Indira was re-elected in 1980, coinciding with the death of her son Sanjay in a plane crash. During this new term, Indira Gandhi’s government has faced separatist demands from some Indian states, such as Punjab. it was a predominantly Sikh territory, whose spiritual leader was beginning to violently harass India’s central government.
Some theories state that separatist factions were fed by the secret services of countries that Indira Gandhi did not promote in his politics; in any case, attempts at independence eventually caused Indira Gandhi to lose patience and order, with a heavy hand, to take the crucial center of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple.
The attack left hundreds of Sikh separatist dead, in this way Indira provoked in this community a visceral hatred towards the Prime Minister and representatives of his government.
In 1984, two of Indira Gandhi’s closest bodyguards shot him at point-blank range in his own home, where she was killed, and it appears that both were infiltrating Sikh militants.
After the assassination of Indira Gandhi in northern India, violence and persecution of the Sikhs erupted, so there were a series of riots that took many lives.
Indira Gandhi’s presence in her country’s government has two very different aspects, on the one hand, has contributed positively to India’s constitution as an independent country, and has transformed it into an autonomous country and a world power.
On the other hand, in order to achieve its objectives, it does not appear to have hesitated to resort to corruption and take measures that, in some cases, were totally wrong and regrettable.
Throughout his political and life trajectory, the historical figure of Indira Gandhi assumes different types of personality and types of leadership, characteristics that have tried to be explained by social psychology, a character taken by ambiguity but undoubtedly deserves to be known and studied.
“There are hopes that cannot be satisfied even in life (?). Now the flames go out, the ashes are cold and will soon be collected in a bronze urn. It will be Rajiv’s turn to take them on a plane to spread them. “through the snow-capped mountains of Kashmir. According to your wish, will you spread the remains of Mother Indira, India’s most beloved and hated woman?. ?Paola Capriolo?