This year, the Indian statesman, Prime Minister of India from 1966-1977 and 1980-1984, Indira Gandhi, would have turned 99 years old.

For the common people, Indira Gandhi became a symbol of supreme power, “the mother of all India.” Skillfully and flexibly implementing her views, she achieved respect not only in home country, but also far beyond.

Path to Prime Minister

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.

Indira Gandhi's father Jawaharlal Nehru, who later became the first Prime Minister of India after the country's independence in 1947, was at that time taking his first steps in the political arena in the Indian Party national congress(INK). Gandhi's grandfather Motilal Nehru, one of the veterans and leaders of the "old guard" of the INC, enjoyed great fame.

National Archives of Georgia

Since childhood, the child listened to conversations about colonialism, about acts of protest, about civil disobedience, and met Mahatma Gandhi with his own eyes. And when the girl turned 8 years old, she organized a children's union in Allahabad for the development of home weaving, whose members made handkerchiefs and national hats - topi. During her rest hours, she gave fiery speeches to boys and girls, imitating her great ancestors.

And when in her grandfather’s house the family carried out a “revenge” on the colonialist past, the girl put her favorite toy - a foreign doll - into the common fire. Since then, Indira wore only national dress and was a true patriot of her country.

The girl received an excellent education, which allowed her to enter the People's University, created by the famous writer Rabindranath Tagore, where, along with Indian philosophy and culture, they also taught the basics European tradition. Students studied foreign languages, world history, national and world literature, a lot of time was devoted to soul-saving conversations with the founder-patriarch.

In 1936, Indira was forced to interrupt her studies due to her mother's illness. My father was in prison, my grandparents were no longer alive. She went with her parent to Switzerland for treatment, but tuberculosis had already affected the entire body, and the mother soon died.

Indira was supported by a young man, the namesake of the great Gandhi, who belonged to another religious community, despised by the Indian elite, which was considered the Nehru family.

Jawarharlal did not approve of his daughter's choice, but the mother had long blessed the children.

© photo: Sputnik / RIA Novosti

Indira did not want to return to her homeland, where no one was particularly expecting her, and she stayed in Europe. She entered Oxford, the university where her fiancé Feroz studied. And soon the Second began World War. Young people returned to India via the Atlantic and South Africa.

Having landed in Cape Town, the daughter of a political leader found her supporters. It was there that she made her first political speech.

Upon her return to India, she did not receive such a warm welcome - Jawaharlal continued to oppose his daughter’s marriage. And only the intervention of the great Mahatma Gandhi, who spoke out in defense of the unequal marital union, softened the father’s heart.

The wedding was held according to ancient Indian customs, and the young people began to build a family nest. In 1944, the first child was born, and two years later the second boy.

After India achieved independence on August 15, 1947, the first national government was formed and Indira Gandhi's father became the first prime minister. His daughter became his personal secretary and accompanied him on all his trips abroad.

In 1959-1960, Gandhi was the chairman of the INC. In 1960, her husband died and she left politics for several months.

At the beginning of 1961, Gandhi became a member of the working committee of the INC and began to travel to hotbeds of national conflicts.

India's first female prime minister

After her father's death in 1964, Indira Gandhi did not seek the post of Prime Minister, but took the post of Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the government of Lal Bahadur Shastri.

In 1966, after the death of Shastri, Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister. In this position she faced strong opposition. In 1969, after her government nationalized 14 of India's largest banks, conservative INC leaders tried to expel her from the party. They failed to do this, and the right-wing faction left the INC, which led to a split in the party.

In 1971, war with Pakistan began. Under these conditions, Gandhi signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation between India and the USSR.

© photo: Sputnik / M. Gankin

The consequences of the war caused a deterioration in the economic situation and increased internal tension, resulting in unrest in the country. In response, Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India in June 1975.

In 1978, having announced the creation of her party INC (I), Gandhi was again elected to parliament, and in the 1980 elections she returned to the post of prime minister.

Soon after returning to power, Gandhi suffered a severe personal loss - her youngest son and chief political adviser Sanjay died in a plane crash.

In the last years of her life, Gandhi paid great attention to activities on the world stage; in 1983, she was elected chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Indira Gandhi's second term was marked by conflict with Sikh separatists in the state of Punjab. The military operation "Blue Star" to neutralize Sikh extremists, carried out on the orders of the Indian government, led to the death of Indira Gandhi.

After the death of Indira Gandhi, the INC and the government were headed by her eldest son Rajiv. In 1991, he was killed by a female terrorist from the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in retaliation for sending Indian troops to Sri Lanka in the mid-1980s.

© photo: Sputnik / Yuri Abramochkin

Indira Gandhi in Georgia

Indira Gandhi visited Georgia twice. In 1955, she accompanied her father, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Then she and her father visited the Transcaucasian Metallurgical Plant named after Stalin in the city of Rustavi and the Digomi Viticulture State Farm in Tbilisi.

They also visited the Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theater. Zakaria Paliashvili, where we watched the ballet “Gorda” to the music of David Toradze and staged by Vakhtang Chabukiani.

National Archives of Georgia

21 years later, on June 14, 1976, Indira Gandhi again came to Georgia, but already with the rank of Prime Minister of India. Then Gandhi, together with the Indian delegation, attended a rehearsal of the amateur artistic group “Tsisartkela” in the concert hall of the Georgian Philharmonic and attended a gala dinner in her honor.

Great things

During the period when Indira Gandhi headed the government, all banks in India were nationalized, the first nuclear power plant was built, and industrial development was launched.

Under Gandhi, India overcame its dependence on imports, they began to pay great attention to the development of small and medium-sized farms, and proclaimed a program
"Family Planning" established a clear price policy and determined the maximum for real estate.

Then they improved social programs in the field of health and education, strengthened ties with the USSR and other world powers, India took a dominant position in the South Asian region.

Quotes by Indira Gandhi

The true path of life is the path of Truth, Non-Violence and Love

History is the best teacher who has the worst students

You cannot shake hands with clenched fists

I am like a bird in a cage that is too small: wherever I go, my wings beat against the bars... The world is a cruel place for the chosen ones, especially for those who know how to feel

My grandfather once told me that people are divided into those who work and those who take credit for the results of their work. He advised me to get into the first group - there is less competition there

The material was prepared based on open sources

Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917 in Indian city Allahabad. The girl, whose name translates as “Country of the Moon,” was born into a family of eminent political figures. Indira's father was the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, her grandfather was the head of the veterans of the Indian National Congress, Motilal Nehru, and her mother Kamala and grandmother Swarip Rani Nehru were famous politicians who survived brutal repressions.

Her family created an unusual contingent of people with whom little Indira interacted from childhood. At the age of two, she even managed to communicate with such a great man as, who is considered the real father of the Indian nation. On his advice, Indira, when she was eight years old, organized her own labor union. Together with her friends, the girl was engaged in weaving in her grandfather’s house. The future politician met with Gandhi later, as can be seen in numerous photos.

Indira was the only child in her family, and therefore her parents paid her a lot of attention. Since politics always played a big role for the Nehru family, the girl was not forbidden to listen to adults talk about the pressing problems of India. And when Indira’s father, by the will of fate, ended up in prison, he wrote numerous letters to his daughter, in which he shared his moral principles, experiences and views on what the future of their native country should be.

Education

As a child, Indira Gandhi was educated mainly at home. She then entered the university in Santiniketan, but was soon forced to quit her studies. The girl’s mother became seriously ill, and she had to follow her to Europe, where they tried to cure Kamala Nehru in the best clinics.

In order not to waste time, Indira decided to continue her studies at Oxford. Due to the fact that the girl did not know Latin well, she managed to enter a prestigious university only on her second attempt. But political science, history, political science and economics were given to her without much difficulty.

In 1935, Kamala died of tuberculosis. Indira herself could not boast of excellent health, which is why she often interrupted her studies and went to Switzerland for treatment. After one of these trips, the girl was no longer able to return to England, since, in fact, she was cut off from it by the Nazis. To return home, Indira had to travel a long way through South Africa.

Political career

In 1947, following the declaration of Indian independence, the formation of the first national government and the election of Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India, his daughter became her father's personal secretary. Although Indira had her own family by that time, she paid great attention to her work and invariably accompanied the Prime Minister on all foreign business trips. Including, she visited the USSR when her father went there.

After Nehru's death in 1964, Gandhi became a member of the lower house of the Indian Parliament and then the Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Indira represented the Indian National Congress, the largest party in her country. In 1966, she became the leader of the INC party, and also received the post of prime minister of her native state. She became the second representative of the fairer sex in the world who managed to ascend to the post of prime minister.

Indira Gandhi advocated the nationalization of Indian banks, as well as improved relations with the USSR. However, a number of conservative representatives of the INC, who did not like either the idea of ​​nationalizing financial institutions or the country behind it, were dissatisfied with the work of the Indira government. As a result, the party split, but Gandhi still retained popular support. In 1971, the “Indian Iron Lady” again won the parliamentary elections, and in the same year the USSR supported the country in the Indo-Pakistani War.

Characteristics of the board

During the reign of the first Indian woman prime minister, industry actively developed in the state, banks were nationalized, the first nuclear power plant was built and put into operation, and great successes were achieved in agriculture, allowing India to finally get rid of dependence on food imports.

The situation worsened significantly due to the war with Pakistan, which caused an increase in intranational conflicts and a decline in economic indicators. In 1975, the Supreme Court ordered Indira to resign, accusing her of electoral violations during the 1971 elections. However, Gandhi cleverly used Article 352 of the state constitution and declared a state of emergency in the country.

During the state of emergency, the Indian economy began to show more optimistic indicators, in addition, inter-religious conflicts were almost put to an end.

However, this came at a fairly high price: the political rights and freedoms of citizens were limited, all opposition publications ceased their work.

The most unpopular measure that Indira took during this time was sterilization. At first, people were asked to voluntarily perform this procedure, receiving a monetary bonus in return. But after some time, the government decreed that every man who already has three children must be forcibly sterilized, and a woman who becomes pregnant with her fourth child must be forced to have an abortion.

High birth rates have indeed always been one of the main causes of poverty in India, but such measures, degrading the honor and dignity of a person, were still extreme. Indira Gandhi received the nickname "Indian Iron Lady". Her quotes are still imbued with the spirit of determination. The politician often made tough decisions, favored centralized systems, and was distinguished by a fairly significant degree of ruthlessness. Therefore, in 1977, in the next parliamentary elections, Gandhi failed miserably.

Return to the political arena

Gradually, Gandhi managed to regain his former popularity. Although many of its previous decisions were too drastic, the interesting facts are that the nation again believed in its “ iron lady».

In 1978, Indira created a new party, the INC(I), and in 1980 she again became the country's prime minister. Last years The politician spent her life mainly improving sayasats, that is, strengthening the country’s position in the international arena. Thus, through her efforts, India led the Non-Aligned Movement.

Personal life

Indira met her future husband Feroz Gandhi in England. She married him in 1942. This marriage did not correspond to the caste and religious traditions of India: Feroz came from Parsis, and Indira, despite numerous rumors that she was either a Jew or a Kazakh, was from another Indian caste. After the wedding, the politician took the surname that her husband bore, although he was not a relative of Mahatma Gandhi.

The couple had sons Rajiv and Sanjay, who spent most of their time at their grandfather's house. Feroz died in 1960, and in 1980, shortly before Indira herself was killed, her youngest son Sanjay died in a plane crash. He was, among other things, a key political adviser to his mother.

Murder

In the 1980s, the Indian government entered into a confrontation with the Sikhs, most of who lived in the state of Punjab. The Sikhs wanted to become a self-governing community and not depend on centralized government authority. They occupied the Golden Temple, located in Amritsar and for a long time considered their main shrine. The response was an operation called “Blue Star”, during which the temple was taken and about five hundred people were killed.

The death of Indira Gandhi was the revenge of the Sikhs against the official government of the country. On October 31, 1984, the politician was killed by her own Sikh bodyguards. Eight bullets, leaving no hope of saving the Prime Minister, were fired at her as she walked towards the reception for an interview with the English playwright Peter Ustinov.

Indira's funeral was held at the Teen Murti House palace, and millions of Indians came to the farewell ceremony. Filmed in the UK in 2011 documentary about an outstanding Indian woman politician.

GANDHI INDIRA

(b. 1917 – d. 1984)

The only woman prime minister in Indian history, she ruled the country for 15 years. Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the most influential Indian leaders.

Fate endowed this woman with rare charm and strong character, which aroused both love and hatred towards her. The position of Prime Minister of India has never been easy: a huge subcontinent with a large population is replete with not only remarkable monuments of ancient culture, but also with pressing problems - poverty, disease, corruption, ethnic and religious conflicts...

Indira Gandhi understood that her life was in danger. The day before her death, she said: “Today I am alive, but tomorrow, maybe not... But every drop of my blood belongs to India.” On the morning of October 31, 1984, she had a meeting scheduled, which Gandhi looked forward to with particular pleasure - a television interview with the famous English writer and actor Peter Ustinov. She spent a long time choosing an outfit, settling on a saffron-colored dress, which, in her opinion, should look spectacular on the screen. After hesitating, she took off her bulletproof vest, thinking it made her look fat. Forgivable in another situation, the manifestation of a purely feminine principle this time became fatal.

Beant Singh and Satwant Singh stood at one of the posts located along the path leading from the Prime Minister's residence to her office. It was there that Indira headed, accompanied by guards. Approaching the Sikh guards, she smiled welcomingly. Drawing his pistol, Beant shot the Prime Minister three times. At the same time, Satwant pierced Gandhi's body with a machine gun burst. The security returned fire, but it was too late...

...On November 19, 1917, in the ancient Indian city of Allahabad, a girl was born into the family of Nehru, a well-known lawyer throughout the country, from the aristocratic Brahmin caste, who was given the name Indira. A few days later, at the “Abode of Joy,” as her grandfather Motilal Nehru called his house, a letter arrived from the famous poetess S. Naidu, in which she wrote that “the child is about to become a new soul India". No one took this prophecy seriously at that time. Ahead of her lay a lonely childhood, the need to make serious decisions that were not childish, and years of early worries and anxieties.

At an early age, Indira understood that India was humiliated, so all the people close to her were fighting for her liberation. Following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, they considered it necessary to boycott British goods and one day they solemnly burned all expensive foreign things in the courtyard. Only Indira’s favorite doll escaped such a fate, which after some time was also sent to the fire by its owner. The solution to this first moral problem in her life cost the girl great emotional costs and ended in the acquisition of neurosis - already as an adult, Indira could not hear the sound of matches being lit.

Being very young, she played not ordinary children's games, but the struggle of the Indians against the colonialists. The girl gathered everyone who was in the house into one room and made passionate speeches to them. Indira had difficulty forcing herself to attend classes because educational material did not find a response in her mind, and indulged in free reading of books. At the age of 8, she organized a children's union for the development of home weaving in Allahabad, whose members gathered at the “Abode of Joy” and spent hours weaving scarves and hats from coarse yarn.

In 1925, Indira's mother was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and her father decided to take her to Switzerland for treatment. So the girl ended up in Europe, where she began to do housework and at the same time study at the Geneva International School, and then at a school near a sanatorium in Montany. Returning home, her parents sent her to a boarding school, after which Indira entered the famous Tagore People's University.

In the spring of 1935, Indira Nehru had to interrupt her studies and accompany her mother to Germany, to a clinic for pulmonary patients. At that time, my father was in prison, where he was sent for revolutionary activities. After leaving prison, he came to his wife, but she soon died.

Over the next six years, Indira lived and studied away from her homeland. At this time, together with her father, she made unforgettable trips to many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. The girl was often present at Jawaharlal Nehru’s meetings with prominent government and public figures different countries. Her horizons quickly expanded, she began to think more and more internationally and imagined India as component complex international mechanism in close connection with the common problems facing all humanity.

After completing her studies at Oxford University's prestigious Somerville College, Indira decided to return home, despite the dangers of wartime travel. Her future husband, Feroz Gandhi, whose ancestors belonged to the Parsi community of fire worshipers, also traveled with her. A formal union between young people who belonged to different religious denominations was impossible. But in March 1942, the wedding still took place, thanks to the intercession of Mahatma Gandhi - an indisputable authority for religious orthodoxies and, by the way, a namesake, and not a relative of Indira's chosen one.

Before the newlyweds could enjoy their honeymoon, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the Indian National Congress party were again arrested. The young couple continued their work underground - they distributed prohibited literature, did propaganda work, speaking at rallies and constantly risking their lives.

In August 1944, Indira had a son, Rajiv Ratna Gandhi, who in the future would continue the work of his family, become the Prime Minister of India and, like his mother, would fall at the hands of a fanatic killer. Two years later, the second son, Sanjay, was born. Despite her desire to engage in politics, Indira was firmly convinced that the main purpose of a mother was to care for children, and sought to combine her civic duty with household responsibilities.

After the declaration of Indian independence in 1947, she created and headed a youth organization to work with refugees, helped her father work in the government, and participated in the election campaign for the country's parliament. Jawaharlal Nehru did not hinder his daughter in her desire to political career, but did not encourage her actions, fearing accusations of nepotism. Nevertheless, in February 1959, Indira Gandhi was elected chairman of the Indian National Congress. Thus, for the first time in the history of the country, a woman found herself in the post of head of the ruling party.

But household chores still took up a lot of time. I had to be torn between my father, who was exhausted under the burden of government concerns, and her husband, who increasingly complained of pain in his heart. In September 1960, Feroz was taken to the hospital in serious condition and soon died. The death of her husband shocked Indira. Complete physical and nervous exhaustion forced her to leave the post of Chairman of the Congress early and brought her to the hospital ward.

In May 1964, she suffered another bereavement when Jawaharlal Nehru suddenly died. Left completely alone (her sons were in Oxford at that time), Indira decided to continue the work started by her father. Having taken the post of prime minister in the late 60s, she began to create a stable national economy by strengthening the role of the state in production and banking areas, actually setting a course for the abolition of private property.

However, the solution to economic problems was prevented by a 14-day military conflict with Pakistan, which broke out at the end of 1971 in support of the independence of the Republic of Bangladesh, which was previously part of colonial India. Military actions, economic assistance to the newly created state, as well as a drought that lasted for three years put the country at risk of famine. All responsibility for the current situation was placed on the prime minister and her supporters.

In the summer of 1975, a state of emergency was introduced in the country: repressions against speculators began, censorship, price regulation and other unpopular economic measures were introduced. At this time, Indira was accused of corruption, abuse of power, disrespect for religion and the traditional foundations of the Indian family. As a result, she lost the 1977 elections.

After her defeat, Mrs. Gandhi was arrested twice and kept in a cell with criminals. However, all the accusations of her opponents failed. The popularity of Nehru's daughter began to increase, and her arrests caused a storm of protests. After her release, walkers from all over India again flocked to her.

As a result of the next general elections held in 1980, Indira again became the country's prime minister and began to implement her economic program, which she had failed to implement in the previous decade. Under her leadership, India entered the international arena, taking the initiative to appeal to nuclear powers to ban the development, testing and deployment of weapons of mass destruction.

In 1984, internal problems in the country were complicated by separatist sentiments among the Sikhs living in the state of Punjab. The head of government was repeatedly reported that Sikh extremists, demanding secession from the country of this state, were accumulating weapons and ammunition in the “Golden Temple” in the city of Amritsar. The militants had to be disarmed and expelled from the temple for both political and religious reasons.

Militarily, this operation was successful: the extremists were driven out of the temple, but in the eyes of the public it was a failure. One of Gandhi’s biographers describes the reaction of the local population to the storming of the Golden Temple: “For the majority of Sikhs, the military action, as a result of which the temple was badly damaged, was aggravated by the large number of casualties. Sikh terrorists vowed revenge. Not a day passed that they did not threaten the Prime Minister, her son and grandchildren with death.” The head of government was repeatedly asked to remove all Sikhs from his personal guard, but this precaution apparently seemed unnecessary to her...

Gandhi entered the history of her country not only as the first woman to head the government for several years. An intelligent and energetic politician, she did a lot to strengthen the international authority of the state, which became one of the leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement to Military Blocs. And today the name of Indira Gandhi is pronounced with respect in her homeland and throughout the world.