Strong political leaders are nothing new to India. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Throughout its history, many different empires have risen and fallen, from the size and splendor of the Guptas and the Mauryas, and everything in between. In today’s world, though changes in leadership may not come about through conquest nearly as often, the men and women themselves are no less compelling. Indira Gandhi is one such example. Through her actions, Indira Gandhi had a major influence on the state and culture of India, both during her time in office and ever since.

Indira Gandhi was born into politics. Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first prime minister of India. He served for over fifteen years, and was known for his neutralist policy in India foreign affairs.[1] Gandhi’s rise to power was somewhat different from her father. In fact, the main reason why she was elected was because of her perceived weakness. Following Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death in 1966, there were many different groups competing for power. Each of these groups wanted their own candidate put in power, and vehemently refused every other group. In the end, they chose Gandhi as a compromise, simply because she didn’t particularly favor any one group over another. They each hoped to be able to exert their influence through her, which would allow them to make critical decisions without having to suffer any of the consequences.[2]

Gandhi proved to be a more than competent leader from her administration’s very beginning. Successfully developing nuclear technology won her support from the middle class, who began to see her as more and more capable.[3] Lacking experience in political affairs, whether compared to other countries, other political parties, or political opposition within India, Gandhi realized that her saving grace was her fast response to many issues that others spent ages deliberating over. Eventually, instead of reacting to others, she began to create policy on her own terms. With this development, she always had the element of surprise on her side.[4]

During later years, however, her success began to falter. India’s economy was starting to feel the pressure of their inadequate food production, industrial production, control of unemployment, and several other factors. These problems were only further exacerbated with the arrival of 10 million refugees, who were victims of turmoil in East Pakistan. To make matters worse, Gandhi’s landslide victory in the March 1972 elections was invalidated by an accusation of violating state voting laws.[5] The penalty for this charge was a loss of her seat in Parliament and a removal from India politics for six years; however, she maneuvered around these regulations by declaring a state of emergency. This allowed her to incarcerate all of her political opponents and pass many statutes greatly limiting personal freedoms, including extensive sterilization as a means to control the population. These were very unpopular, and contributed to her defeat in the 1977 elections, at which point she left office.[6]

In 1979, Gandhi became Prime Minister once again, this time with the backing of the Congress Party. Once again, dealing with internal threats occupied the majority of her efforts. Several riots occurred between Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh sects. After discovering a Sikh temple that was being used as a stockpile for illegal firearms, Gandhi carried out an assault using government soldiers, which resulted in many Sikhs’ deaths. This greatly angered her Sikh personal guards, who took it upon themselves to murder her in her home on October 31, 1984.[7]

Indira Gandhi’s contributions to Indian culture are still felt today, both positive and negative. She surpassed all initial expectations of her capabilities as a leader, and achieved a great deal of prominence in both Indian and international politics. However, many of her actions prompted a distrust of the government in general. She abused the power of declaring a state of emergency in order to delay the penalty of a crime she was already convicted of, used government soldiers to assault a place of worship, and encouraged partisanship by having her son take her place in the Congress Party upon her death.[8] India has had countless different rulers and many different styles of government throughout its history, but the common factor in those that failed is the poor treatment of their citizens. Fostering a distrust in the government never has positive results. The key facet of government is that its people allow themselves to be ruled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Encyclopædia Britannica. “Indira Gandhi (Prime Minister of India).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online.          Accessed November 17, 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/

225198/Indira-Gandhi.

“Gandhi, Indira.” Encyclopedia.com. January 1, 2003. Accessed November 17, 2014.                 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Indira_Gandhi.aspx.

Lal, Vinay. “Indira Gandhi.” Manas: History and Politics. Accessed November 17, 2014.                 https://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Independent/Indira.html.

Kaviraj, Sudipta. “Indira Gandhi and Indian Politics.” Economic & Political Weekly, September 20, 1986,   1697-703.

Moraes, Frank. “Jawaharlal Nehru.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed November 17, 2014.                 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/408232/Jawaharlal-Nehru.