Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was one of the most charismatic, controversial political leader to lead the country. She served as Prime minister from 1966-1977 and then again 1980 until her untimely demise in 1984. Daughter of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, she was often described as a lonely child, whose upbringing was embroiled with tragedy. She lost her mother at a young age and Nehru was often imprisoned during the freedom movement. She spent most of her childhood in the company of servants and punted across various boarding schools. She married Feroze Gandhi in 1942 and served as her Father's companion after his ascension as Prime Minister. She ingratiated herself into the party's political fray, following Nehru's demise she was inducted into Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

She was sworn in as Prime Minister in 1966 with the party support, who were under the misguided assumption that she will be a malleable leader, the notion that she soon dissuaded them of, when she nationalized the banks in India despite vehement protests from members from her party. The acrimony brewing inside the party compelled the members to oust her, however, she thwarted them at every turn and managed to hold on to power. Her term as a Prime Minister was marred with allegations of corruption and resorting to autocratic rule which culminated in an Emergency declaration and subsequently losing the election to a coalition party. She managed to beat the odds and clambered back to power in 1980 and was re-elected as Prime Minister. However, hasty moves and judgmental error proved perilous to her personal safety. Her complicity in Operation Blue star which led to execution hundreds of Sikhs and contriving to bolster the vote bank by providing thousands of immigrant with a right to vote, culmination in Nellie Massacre, proved in-conducive for her tenure, enraged masses and led to her assassination in 1984.