Who is Indira Gandhi, What are they Interests and Works? Education, Family Background
Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917 in Allahabad to Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamla Nehru, a famous lawyer and a Congress leader was his grand-father. The Nehru family then lived in famous Anand Bhawan, in Allahabad. It remained the headquarters of the Indian National Congress till 1946 when its headquarters was moved in Delhi. Motilal Nehru had came to Allahabad from Agra in the wake of shifting of the provincial High Court.
Originally, Nehru’s were Kashmiri Brahmin Pandits and were known as Kauls. One of Nehru’s Raj Kaul was a noted member of Delhi Court during Farruksiar’s reign. He had to be known as Kaul-Nehru. Nehru is a corrupted from of “Nahar”. Gradually the term “Kaul” was dropped and they were simply known as Nehru’s.
During Jalianwala Bagh, Russian Revolution and Mahatma Gandhi
The year of Indira’s birth was also the year of the Russian Revolution. Mahatma Gandhi had already arrived in 1915 from Africa and national struggle for independence was moving from the strength to strength. On April 13, 1919 the Jalianwala Bagh tragedy took place in which 1,579 innocent Indians civilians were killed or wounded.
It triggered of a mass movement of Indian freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. These tragic events were destined to leave an indelible impression on the receptive mind of child Indira through at that time she was a small girl playing with dolls.
Later when Indira was 12 years old, we find her organizing her Monkey Brigade, a kind of junior army of volunteers. Indira as a commander taught the children how to march and drill and performed errands secretly without being detected by the police. In its own way the Monkey Brigade (Banar Sena) made its own contribution towards the ultimate success of the national movement.
Education of Indira Gandhi and Met Feroz Khan
Indira formal school education remained an unfinished and disrupted affair because of the frequent imprisonment of her parents, ultimately demise of her mother and frequent changes of places of residence. During 1924 and 1927 she had been a student of three schools at different palaces.
The death of her grandfather Motilal Nehru in 1931 further aggravated the problem. At 14 she was to Poona to join Vakil’s school as a boarder. Subsequently she moved to famous Shantiniketan of Thakur Rabindaranth Tagore and then to Badminton and Somerville college, Oxford in Britain.
In 1937, she came into contact with Feroz Gandhi at Oxford in Britain, whom she married in 1942. However, she had returned to India without graduation. Kamla Nehru had already expired of tuberculosis in Switzerland on 28th February, 1936. But lack of her formal education was amply compensated by the various other sources of real education and training in the so stormy school of life.
Met Many Famous Leaders in Their School & Love Life of Indira Gandhi
She frequently came into contact with many world leaders, diplomats and statesman of that time while on tours with her parents. Among others, she met Bernard Shaw, Ernest Troller, Romain Rolland, Einstein, Edward Thompson and Charlie Chaplin. These visits, tours and meetings broadened her horizon or vision and human understanding in the real sense of the term. Her ideological world view gradually grew and unfolded itself by the passage of time.
Indira’s decision to marry Feroz Gandhi, a Parsi Youngman, surprised many including Nehru and shocked many others. They opposed her, but she remained firm. Her decision was irrevocable and final. But Mahatma Gandhi wholeheartedly favored the marriage and bleeds them profusely.
They were happily married on 26th March1942. During the Quit India agitation, she was arrested and sent to Naini Jail but then released after 13 months of imprisonment. Finally India got freedom on 15th August, 1947 and Indira’s father Pt. Nehru became the first prime minster of India. She lived with her father at Teen Murti Bhawan in New Delhi.
Unsuccessful Love Life of Indira, Journey of South India
She had to choose between her husband and her father. She decided in favour of the latter because of her great love for the country. In 1960 Feroz Gandhi died of a heart attack while Indira Gandhi was in South India on a visit. Indira choose politics as her career quite late and not so much by choice but more by necessity.
In 1952 the first general elections were held in India and Nehru was awfully busy. Indira helped Nehru in the section of party candidates and preparation of propaganda material. She was asked to seek election for a seat in Parliament but she politely declined the offer. For a long stretch of about two decades, she was trained by her father in a way most perfect and exhaustive.
As a President of Congress in 1959, War Against with China, and Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri
She accompanied him to England in 1953 and then to Moscow. Thus, she was groomed by her father who was destined to be an illustrious politician and Prime Minster. She was also with Nehru when visited China in 1954. She was elected President of the Congress in 1959. She accompanied Nehru subsequent years. During these global visits she had the opportunity to meet and her great personalities as Churchill, Truman, Tito, Khrushchev, Nasser, Sukrano and Chau-Enlai.
These marked the milestones on the road that ultimately led her to Prime Minister ship of India. The Chinese attack on India in 1962 proved a great shock for Nehru from which he never recovered and finally succumbed to it in 1964 on 27th May. Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Nehru, as the Prime Minster. Shastri invited her to join cabinet and she did so in June 1964. She was given the portfolio of information and Broadcasting.
War Against with Pakistan and General Election in 1967 Indira Wins Again
Pakistan attacked India in Sep 1965. This was lasted for 21 days in which Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat. Shastri and Ayub khan were invited to Taskent for peaceful settlement of the matter. The agreement was signed there but soon after that Shastri died on January 11, 1966 of a massive heart attack. Then Indira Gandhi was sworn in as the third but he first woman prime minister of India on January 24, 1966.
In 1967 another general election was held and the Congress party under her leadership suffered some setbacks and it lost majority in as many as eight States. In Parliament also its strength was reduced to 279 from 525. But in that election of 1971 she returned to of 525.it was a great personal victory for her. Her finest hour came during the Bangladesh war in 1971.
Pakistan Election, Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh, Pakistan Declared war against India
Election was held in Pakistan in 1970 and the Awami League of Mujibur Rahman of East Pakistan had won a majority, but the dictator Yahya Khan did not allow him to form the government.
He sent troops to Daca to prevent Mujibur Rahman from forming a civilian government. And so there ensued a civil war. Bengalis in thousands were being killed in an organized manner by the Pakistan forces and so India’s involvement in Bangladesh’s struggle for freedom became inevitable.
Indira Gandhi had to extend her military help to Mukti Bahini of Mujibur Rahman. Consequently, Pakistan declared war on India. The war lasted for 13 days and Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat and Pakistani commander Gen.Nizai had to surrender. A ceasefire followed and an independent Bangladesh was born. The Shimla Agreement was signed which marked Indira Gandhi crowning glories.
In 1971 election Indira had defeated her rival Raj Narain from Rae Bareli and the later charged her with corrupt election practices and filed a petition in the Allahabad High court. Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha convicted and unseated her by his judgment and the opposition wanted her immediate resignation. There was a nation-wide agitation against her led by Jai Prakash Narain. Indira Gandhi promulgated Emergency on June 25, 1971. Ultimately she had to announce the general election in January 1977 to be held in March.
Indira defeat Moraji Desai & Death of Indira Gandhi son Sanjay Gandhi
Ultimately she had to announce the general election in January 1977 to be held in March. In his election Indira and her party were routed. Moraji Desai of Janta Party then became the prime minister. Bur Desai’s government did not last long and he had to resign on 28th July, 1979.
There prevailed chaos after it as there were spilt and defections and changes it leadership of the supreme and unchallenged position of power of authority. The defeat if Janata and other parties in 1980 election sudden as was the rise Congress surprising. It provided Indira absolute powers both in parliament and States. But unfortunately, on June 23, 1981 her younger son Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash.
Sad Day For The Every Indians
It was big personal blow to her. But the greatest tragedy happened on October 31, 1984 when her own two security guards at her official residence shot her dead this tragedy and crime plunged the entire nation into a calamity of vast dimensions. With it an epoch came to a sudden and sad end.