Indira Gandhi (redirected from Gandhi, Indira Priyadarshini)

Gandhi, Indira 

Born Nov. 19, 1917, in Allahabad, India. Indian political and government figure; daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Gandhi received her education in Swiss, English, and Indian schools. She joined the Indian National Congress Party in 1938. In 1942 she married one of the leading members of the Congress Party, the publisher F. Gandhi. She was active in the struggle against English colonial hegemony and was subjected to repression by the colonial authorities. After India won its independence in 1947, she held an important position in the Congress Party, which had become the ruling party. In 1955 she became a member of the Working Committee and the Central Electoral Board of the Congress Party, president of its women’s organization, and a member of the Central Parliamentary Council of the party’s All-India Committee. In 1959 and 1960 she was president of the Congress Party. In 1964 she joined the government of L. B. Shastri as minister for information and broadcasting, and in July of the same year she became a member of the National Defense Council.

On Jan. 19, 1966, after Shastri’s death, she was elected to lead the parliamentary wing of the Congress Party, and in accordance with tradition, as the leader of that wing she became prime minister. In 1967, in addition to being prime minister, she held the posts of minister of atomic energy, chairman of the planning commission, and minister of foreign affairs. In her pronouncements as head of state Gandhi has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of continuing the basic principles of Nehru’s policies: India’s nonparticipation in military blocs, support of peace and international cooperation, continued development and strengthening of friendly Soviet-Indian relations, and fulfillment of the planned development of the national economy. In 1969 and 1970, despite the opposition of reactionary forces, she nationalized the 14 largest banks. She has spoken out against US aggression in Vietnam and Israeli aggression against the Arab countries. In the 1971 elections she was again made prime minister; she also holds the posts of minister of internal affairs, minister of atomic energy and electronics, and minister of Space Research (1974).