Indira Gandhi

1917–1984 · Prime Minister of India

Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) was India’s third prime minister and the only woman to hold the office, serving 1966–1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. A commanding and polarizing leader, she took India through the 1971 war that created Bangladesh and later imposed the controversial 1975–77 Emergency. She was the daughter of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru — and, despite the surname, no relation to Mahatma Gandhi.

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“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist”

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