Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first woman Prime Minister of India and served for three consecutive terms, from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980, until her assassination in 1984. She was elected Prime Minister of India in 1966, after the death of Lal Bahadur Shashtri who had then been serving as the Prime Minister of India. Also,in 1966, the Congress became divided into two factions- the socialists, headed by Indira Gandhi and the conservatives, headed by Morarji Desai. The internal conflicts showed in 1967, when despite winning the general elections, the Congress lost nearly 60 seats in the Lok Sabha. Finally, in 1969 after many disagreements with Desai, the Indian National Congress split.
Indira Gandhi remained Prime Minister of India and was supported by Socialist and Communist Parties for the next two years (1969-71). During this time, the party took a radical left turn as Indira nationalized banks and insurance companies. She provided support for the Green Revolution that was introduced to provide new varieties of seeds and abundant grain and fertiliser to farmers. The Green Revolution reversed India’s food shortages and resulted in surplus production of wheat, rice, cotton and milk. Indira Gandhi wanted India to become an exporter of agricultural products and wanted India to stop having to rely on U.S aid. Indira Gandhi also started a national nuclear program in 1967, in response to nuclear threat from the People’s Republic of China and in 1974; India tested its first nuclear weapon in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
Indira’s government faced major problems in 1971, due to the internal conflicts within the Congress Party. It was therefore entirely dependent on her leadership for its election fortunes. Her slogan of eradicating poverty projected her as a national leader and undermined opposition to her within the party as it gave her an independent national support based on the rural and urban poor. Consequently, she won the 1971 general elections. However only about 4% of all funds allocated for economic development went to the three main anti-poverty programs that were put forth by Gandhi.
Indira Gandhi was also responsible for successfully executing the war between India and Pakistan in 1971, after the Pakistan army conducted widespread atrocities against the civilian populations of East Pakistan. The United States supported Pakistan and even tried to pass a U.N resolution warning India against going to war. However, India signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union, thereby establishing ties with it. Consequently, the Soviet Union was able to veto the resolution as it was a permanent member of the Security Council. Over the next few years, relations between India and the Soviet Union grew closer, while India’s relations with the United States grew distant. India was successful in the war and Bangladesh was created in 1971. In 1972, she signed the Simla agreement with Pakistan bound the two countries to resolve the Kashmir dispute by negotiations and peaceful means.
In 1975, she was found guilty of using illegal election practices during her campaign in 1971. Instead of resigning, she imposed a state of Emergency and proceeded to arrest all the opposition leaders. The Emergency was revoked in 1977 and Indira Gandhi lost to the Janata Party in the general elections. However in 1980, she was elected Prime Minster once again. During this time she visited both the United States and the USSR, in efforts to portray India’s non alliance to either bloc. She also dismissed the Akali Dal (Sikh party) led state government in Punjab, which led to widespread military resistance.Resentment continued to fester and even led to Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984.
