Indira gandhi biography timeline

Indira Gandhi: Early Life and Family

Born on November 19, , in Allahabad, India, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was the sole child of Kamala and Jawaharlal Nehru. As a member of the Indian National Congress, Nehru had been influenced by party leader Mahatma Gandhi, and dedicated himself to India’s fight for independence. The struggle resulted in years of imprisonment for Jawaharlal and a lonely childhood for Indira, who attended a Swiss boarding school for a few years, and later studied history at Somerville College, Oxford. Her mother passed away in of tuberculosis.

In March , despite the disapproval of her family, Indira married Feroze Gandhi, a Parsi lawyer (unrelated to Mahatma Gandhi), and the couple soon had two sons: Rajiv and Sanjay.

Indira Gandhi: Political Career and Accomplishments

In , Nehru became the newly independent nation’s first prime minister, and Gandhi agreed to go to New Delhi to serve as his hostess, welcoming diplomats and world leaders at home and traveling with her father throughout India and abroad. She was elected to the prominent member working committee of the Congress Party in and, four years later, was named its president. Upon Nehru’s death in , Lal Bahadur Shastri became the new prime minister, and Indira took on the role of Minister of Information and Broadcasting. But Shastri’s leadership was short-lived; just two years later he abruptly died and Indira was appointed by Congress Party leaders to be prime minister.

Within a few years Gandhi gained enormous popularity for introducing successful programs that transformed India into a country self-sufficient in food grains—an achievement known as the Green Revolution.

In , she threw her support behind the Bengali movement to separate East from West Pakistan, providing refuge for the ten million Pakistani civilians wh

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, a notable woman in the history of The Indian politics, the Iron Lady, was the first woman prime minister of India. She was an icon of the Indian National Congress. Indira Gandhi father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the very first Prime Minister of India to support Mahatma Gandhi in the fight for independence. Indira Gandhi was the second prime minister to serve for a longer period of time, first from to and second from to her death in From to , she continued as Chief of Staff in the Jawaharlal Nehru administration, which was highly integrated. In , she was elected president of the Congress.

Indira Gandhi, as Prime Minister, was seen as ferocious, weak and extraordinary with the centralization of power. From to , she placed an emergency in the country to suppress the political opposition. India gained popularity in South Asia with major economic, military and political changes under her leadership. Indira Gandhi was elected by the India Today Magazine in as the world's greatest Prime Minister. In , BBC called her the "Woman of the Millennium."

Birth and Education

Born on November 19, , Indira Gandhi family was an illustrious family. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. Indira Gandhi Education was at prime institutions like Ecole Nouvelle, Bex, Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Pupils’ Own School, Poona and Bombay, Badminton School, Bristol, Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan and Somerville College, Oxford. A number of universities worldwide awarded her honorary doctoral degree. She also received a Citation of Distinction from Columbia University with an outstanding academic record. Smt. Indira Gandhi was deeply involved in the fight for independence. In her childhood, she established the 'Bal Charkha Sangh' and also in the 'Vanar Sena' of kids to assist the Congress Party in the Non-Cooperation Movement. She was arrested in September and served in the riot-affected areas of Delhi with Gandhi's supervision in

Marriage and Political Journey

On March , Indira married Feroze Gandhi, one of her fellow marriage lasted for 18 years, until Feroze died of a heart attack in In , Indira and Feroze had their first son, Rajiv. In December , they had their second son, ’s younger son had initially been her chosen heir, but after his death in a flying accident , Gandhi persuaded her reluctant elder son Rajiv to quit his job as a pilot and enter politics. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated.

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Who Was Indira Gandhi?

The lone child of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, Indira Gandhi ascended to the position after his death in the mids. Gandhi survived party in-fighting, emerging as a popular leader thanks in part to efforts to revitalize the farming industry. Ousted from power in , Gandhi was reelected prime minister in , and served in the role until her assassination in

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Indira Feroze Gandhi
BORN: November 19,
BIRTHPLACE: Prayagraj, India
DEATH: October 31,
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Scorpio

Early Life

The only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, A stubborn and highly intelligent young woman, she attended schools in India, Switzerland and England, including Somerville College, Oxford.

With her father among the leaders of the Indian independence movement, Gandhi weathered his absences when he was imprisoned. Additionally, she endured the loss of her mother to tuberculosis in She found comfort with a family friend, Feroze Gandhi, but their relationship was a controversial one due to his Parsi heritage. Eventually the couple earned Nehru's approval, and they married in

After Nehru was named India's first prime minister in , Gandhi became something of her father's hostess, learning to navigate complex relationships of diplomacy with some of the great leaders of the world.

Political Rise

Gandhi joined the Congress Party's working committee in , and four years later she was elected the party's president. Following the death of her father in , she was appointed to Rajya Sabha, the upper level of Indian parliament, and was named minister of information and broadcasting. When her father’s successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, died abruptly in , she ascended to the post of prime minister.

Seemingly on shaky ground following the Congress Party's narrow win in the election, Gandhi surprised her father’s old colleagues with her resi