RAJIV GANDHI
Today, all Indians were paid tributes to their favorite former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 18th death anniversary. President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rajiv’s wife and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Gandhi children Congress MP Rahul and Priyanka, and her husband Robert Vadra were also paid floral tributes to that great leader at ‘Veer Bhumi’, the memorial of Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India. He was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by an LTTE suicide bomber during a public meeting at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
BIOGRAPHY
Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944 in Bombay in India’s most famous political family as the elder son of Indira Nehru and Feroze Gandhi. Her mother Indira Gandhi and grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru were Prime Ministers of India. His father Feroze Gandhi was also involved in politics. Rajiv gained his school education from “Welham Boys’ School” and from “The Doon School”. He studied engineering at Trinity College, Cambridge , but did not gain an engineering degree. In Cambridge, he met Italian student Sonia Maino and they were married in 1968. They had two children Rahul and Priyanka. Initially, he did not show any interest in politics and he worked as a pilot for the Indian Airlines. He entered in politics only after the death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980. Rajiv’s mother, Indira Gandhi, was active in India’s national politics and also served as the Prime Minister of India. Rajiv Gandhi’s brother was helped mother in politics. So when Sanjay Gandhi died, Indira Gandhi advised Rajiv Gandhi to enter politics. He won his first parliamentary elections to the Lok Sabha in 1981 and he worked as an unofficial political adviser of his mother. However in 1984, Indira Gandhi was killed by her bodyguards and then Rajiv Gandhi took over as the head of the Congress party and was sworn as the Prime Minister of India. As a Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made a valuable contribution in modernizing Indian administration. His government encouraged foreign investment. He sought to increase Indian investments in modern technology. He removed many restrictions on imports and encouraged foreign investment. He modernized the telecommunications industry, the education system, expanded science and technology initiatives and improved relations with the United States. He also played a key role in the introduction of computers in India. He sends Indian troops in Sri Lanka in 1987 for peace efforts. But these efforts ended in open conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group. He was accused of receiving “kick-backs” from a Swedish company manufacturing Bofors machine-guns. This Bofors scandal broke his honest, corruption-free image and resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 elections. He remained as Congress President until the elections in 1991. But in 1991 election campaign in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, he was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers) groups. He was a great leader and Indian Government honored him by giving highest National Award of India, “Bharat Ratna”.
