Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindi: इंदिरा प्रियदर्शिनी गांधी Indirā Priyadarśinī Gāndhī (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84). Gandhi was the second female head of government in the world after Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka, and she remains as the world's second longest serving female Prime Minister as of 2012. She was the first woman to become prime minister in India.
Legislative career
When Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966, the Congress was split in two factions, the socialists led by Gandhi, and the conservatives led by Morarji Desai. Rammanohar Lohia called her Gungi Gudiya which means 'Dumb Doll'.[7] The internal problems showed in the 1967 election where the Congress lost nearly 60 seats winning 297 seats in the 545 seat Lok Sabha. She had to accommodate Desai as Deputy Prime Minister of India and Minister of Finance. In 1969 after many disagreements with Desai, the Indian National Congress split. She ruled with support from Socialist and Communist Parties for the next two years. In the same year, in July 1969 she nationalized banks.
War with Pakistan in 1971
The Pakistan army conducted widespread atrocities against the civilian populations of East Pakistan.[8][9] An estimated 10 million refugees fled to India, causing financial hardship and instability in the country. The United States under Richard Nixon supported Pakistan, and mooted a UN resolution warning India against going to war. Nixon apparently disliked Indira personally, referring to her as a "witch" and "clever fox" in his private communication with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (now released by the State Department).[10] Indira signed the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, resulting in political support and a Soviet veto at the UN.
Nuclear weapons program
Gandhi contributed and further carried out the vision of Jawarharalal Nehru, former Premier of India, to develop the program. Gandhi gave authorization of developing nuclear weapons in 1967, in response to the Test No. 6 by People's Republic of China. Gandhi saw this test as Chinese nuclear intimidation, therefore, Gandhi promoted the views of Nehru to establish India's stability and security interests as independent from those of the nuclear superpowers.
The program became fully mature in 1974, when dr. Raja Ramanna reported to Gandhi that India has ability to test the first nuclear weapon. Gandhi gave verbal authorization of this test, and preparations were made in a long-constructed army base, the Indian Army Pokhran Test Range. In 1974, India successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, unofficially code named as "Smiling Buddha", near the desert village of Pokhran in Rajasthan. As the world was quiet by this test, a vehement protest came forward from Pakistan. Great ire was raised in Pakistan, Pakistan's Prime minister Zulfi Ali Bhutto described this test as "Indian hegemony" to intimidate Pakistan. Gandhi directed a letter to Bhutto and, later to the world, describing the test as for peaceful purposes and India's commitment as to develop its programme for industrial and scientific use.
1971 election victory and second term
Indira's government faced major problems after her tremendous mandate of 1971. The internal structure of the Congress Party had withered following its numerous splits, leaving it entirely dependent on her leadership for its election fortunes. Garibi Hatao (Eradicate Poverty) was the theme for Gandhi's 1971 bid. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were designed to give Gandhi an independent national support, based on rural and urban poor. This would allow her to bypass the dominant rural castes both in and of state and local government; likewise the urban commercial class. And, for their part, the previously voiceless poor would at last gain both political worth and political weight.
The programs created through Garibi Hatao, though carried out locally, were funded, developed, supervised, and staffed by New Delhi and the Indian National Congress party. "These programs also provided the central political leadership with new and vast patronage resources to be disbursed... throughout the country."[14] Scholars and historians now agree as to the extent of the failure of Garibi Hatao in alleviating poverty – only about 4% of all funds allocated for economic development went to the three main anti-poverty programs, and precious few of these ever reached the 'poorest of the poor' – and the empty sloganeering of the program was mainly used instead to engender populist support for Gandhi's re-election.
Currency crisis
During the early 1980s, Indira failed to arrest the 40 percent fall in the value of the Indian Rupee from 7 to 12 against the US Dollar. However, it is argued that the Reserve Bank of India had decided to devalue to rupee to make Indian exports more competitive.[citation needed]
Operation Blue Star
In July 1982, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the head of the Sikh religious institution the Damdami Taksal based in the northern Indian state of Punjab, led a campaign for the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution for greater rights to the Sikhs. In response to this, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian army to attack the Bhindrawale. The State of Punjab was closed to international media, its phone and communication lines shut. To this day the events remain controversial with a disputed number of victims; Sikhs seeing the attack as unjustified and Bhindrawale being declared the greatest sikh martyr of the 21st century by Akal Takht (Sikh Political Authority) in 2003.