27 years later: A tribute to Indira

Considered a hero by her supporters and cursed by her enemies, who later assassinated her, Indira Gandhi paved the way for democracy in India during the twentieth century.

It has been 27 years since Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984. Events of those days are still fresh in memory.

Considered a hero by her supporters and cursed by her enemies, who later assassinated her, Indira Gandhi paved the way for democracy in India during the twentieth century. Through glorious chapters of history, we bring you pictures that bear testimony to Indira Gandhi, an icon and a woman of substance.

Born in the politically influential Nehru family, Indira grew up in an extremely charged political atmosphere. Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was a prominent Indian nationalist leader. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a pivotal figure in the Indian independence movement and the first Prime Minister of Independent India. (AFP Photo)
Young Indira studied at the Oxford and returned to India 1941. She soon became involved in the Indian Independence movement. In the 1950s, she served her father as a personal assistant during his tenure as the first Prime Minister of India. Throughout this period, Indira focused on social welfare. (AFP Photo)
After her father's death in 1964, Indira was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha by the President of India and became a member of the Cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. In January 1966, when Lal Bahadur Shastri died, Gandhi was elected leader of the Congress Party in Parliament and became the third prime minister of independent India. (AFP Photo)

Gandhi assumed office at a very critical time in the history of India. She inherited a nation still demoralised after its defeat in the 1962 war with China, a party with an ongoing struggle for power and a country caught in the midst of drought and a deepening economic crisis. With courage, Indira Gandhi took on the challenge of helping the nation tide over the crisis. (AFP Photo)
In the fourth general elections of 1967, the Congress retained majority control and re-elected Gandhi as its leader. She was the Prime Minister during the decisive victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan. (AFP Photo)
But a period of instability led her to impose a state of emergency in 1975. Due to the excesses, the Congress Party lost the next general election for the first time in 1977. (AFP Photo)

In 1980, she again returned to the Parliament and resumed the office of the Prime Minister. (AFP Photo)
Gandhi's later years were bedeviled with problems in Punjab where a massive religious cleansing movement was underway. In June 1984, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's Sikh separatist group were openly amassing weapons inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar. (NDTV Photo)
Under Gandhi's order, the Indian army forcefully entered the Golden Temple in Amritsar to arrest insurgents, resulting in many Sikh deaths. (AFP Photo)

On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, assassinated Indira Gandhi with their service weapons in the garden of the Prime Minister's Residence at No. 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi. (AFP Photo)
She was cremated on November 3 near Raj Ghat. (AFP Photo)