Indira Gandhi Biography - Birth date, Achievements, Career, Family, Awards

Indira Gandhi was born on 19 November 1917 in the city of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. His full name was Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi. She is also known as 'Iron Woman'. Her father's name was Jawaharlal Nehru and her mother was Kamala Nehru. Her father Jawaharlal Nehru was a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement and was the first Prime Minister of independent India.

Indira Gandhi died on 31 October 1984 (aged 66) in Delhi, India. He was shot dead by his two Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh with their weapons of service in the garden of his Prime Minister's residence.

Indira was mostly taught by tutors at home and attended school until matriculation in 1934 to intermediate. She was a student at the Modern School in Delhi, St. Cecilia and St. Mary's Christian Convent School in Allahabad, International School of Geneva, Nouvelle and Poona's School in Poona and Bombay, which she also studied at the University of Mumbai. She moved to Shantiniketan to study at Visva-Bharati, which in 1951 became Visva-Bharati University. It was during his interview that Rabindranath Tagore named him Priyadarshini, however, a year later, he had to leave university in Europe for the presence of his ailing mother. There it was decided that Indira would continue her education at Oxford University. After his mother's demise, he attended Badminton School for a while before enrolling at Somerville College in 1937 to study history. Indira had to take the entrance exam twice, failing her first attempt with her poor performance in Latin. At Oxford, he did well in history, political science and economics.

During her studies at Somerville College, Oxford University, England, in the late 1930s she became a member of the Indian League, a staunch supporter of freedom based in London. After completing her studies from Oxford, she returned to India in 1941 and joined the Indian independence movement. She served her father as a non-official private assistant during her father's tenure as India's first Prime Minister in the 1950s. He was appointed as a Rajya Sabha member in 1964 after the death of his father. She then became the Information and Broadcasting Friend in Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet. Right before the beginning of the Quit India movement, an extreme and vigorous national uprising started by Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress Party. In September 1942, he was released on 13 May 1943 after spending more than 243 days in jail, arrested by the British authorities. During the Partition chaos of India in 1947, he helped organize refugee camps and provide medical care for millions of refugees from Pakistan. This was his first major public service. When India's first general election came to a close in 1951, Indira was busy campaigning for both her father and her husband who were contesting from Rae Bareli constituency. Indira contested elections during 1959 and 1960 and was elected President of the Indian National Congress. His tenure was eventless. She was playing the role of her father's chief of staff.

When Mrs. Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966, the Congress was divided into two factions, Socialist under Mrs. Gandhi and conservative under Morarji Desai. Morarji Desai called them "" dumb dolls "". Internal problems emerged in the 1967 election where the Congress lost about 60 seats and gained 297 seats in the Lok Sabha with 545 seats. He had to take Desai as India's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of India. The Indian National Congress split in 1969 after a disagreement with Desai over several issues. They ran the rule for the next two years with support from socialists and communist parties. In July 1969, he nationalized banks. Gandhi's government had to face major difficulties after his tremendous mandate of 1971. On June 12, 1975, the Lok Sabha election of Indira Gandhi was declared void by the Allahabad High Court on the basis of alleged corruption charges in an election petition filed by Raj Narayan.

Indira Gandhi was awarded the Lenin Shanti Award (1983 - 1984). He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford. In 2011, the Bangladesh government conferred its highest state award posthumously on Gandhi for his "outstanding contribution" to the country's independence. After India's victory against Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, President VV Giri honored Gandhi with India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. The Indian National Congress established the annual Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1985, bestowed on her death anniversary in her memory. Indira Awaas Yojana, a central government low-cost housing program for the rural poor, was named after him. The airport at Delhi is named Indira Gandhi International Airport in her honor. The largest university in the world, the Indira Gandhi National Open University, is also named after him. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust also constituted the annual Indira Gandhi Award.