Indira Gandhi: India's First and Only Female Prime Minister

Priya Khaitan
Aug 2
2 min read

Updated: Aug 3

Overview

Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) was India's first and, to date, only female Prime Minister, serving four terms across nearly two decades before being assassinated by her own bodyguards in 1984.

Timeline

1917 — Born 19 November in Allahabad, only child of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru
1942 — Marries Feroze Gandhi (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi)
1959 — Elected President of the Indian National Congress
1966 — Becomes Prime Minister of India after Lal Bahadur Shastri's death
1971 — Leads India through the war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh
1975–1977 — Declares a state of emergency, suspending civil liberties and press freedom
1980 — Returns to power as Prime Minister after being voted out in 1977
June 1984 — Orders Operation Blue Star, a military operation at the Golden Temple in Amritsar
31 October 1984 — Assassinated at her residence in New Delhi by two of her own Sikh bodyguards

Early Life

As the only child of India's first Prime Minister, Indira grew up immersed in the independence movement, educated at Visva-Bharati University, Somerville College Oxford, and schools across India, Switzerland, and England. She served as her father's personal assistant and hostess throughout his time in office.

Achievements

India's first and only female Prime Minister, serving 1966–1977 and 1980–1984
Led India through the 1971 war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh
Nationalized banks and drove the Green Revolution's expansion in agriculture
Served in the Constituent Assembly-era political leadership before rising to the premiership

Challenges

Facing internal political challenges and allegations of electoral malpractice, Gandhi declared a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977, suspending civil liberties and press freedom — the most controversial period of her leadership, during which widespread abuses were documented. She was voted out in 1977, briefly jailed in 1978, and returned to power in 1980. Operation Blue Star in June 1984, a military assault on Sikhism's holiest site to remove militants, severely damaged relations with the Sikh community and directly preceded her assassination four months later.

Legacy

Gandhi remains one of the most consequential and polarizing figures in modern Indian political history — credited with major economic and military milestones, while her emergency-era record remains a subject of ongoing historical scrutiny. She was the second-longest-serving Indian Prime Minister after her own father.

She was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by two of her own bodyguards, in direct retaliation for Operation Blue Star four months earlier — a killing that triggered widespread anti-Sikh violence across India.

Sources

Britannica: Indira Gandhi; Biography.com; EBSCO Research Starters.

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