Indira Gandhi assassination

Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, was assassinated on October 31, 1984 by two of her body guards with machine guns in the garden of the Prime Minister's Residence at No. 1, Safdarjung Road in New Delhi. As she was walking to be interviewed by the British actor Peter Ustinov filming a documentary for Irish television, she passed a wicket gate, guarded by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. They then opened fire with Sten submachine guns, after they were arrested by her other bodyguards.

Mrs. Gandhi was rushed to Delhi's General Hospital immediately after the shooting. She died one hour later, undergoing surgery to remove 7 of the 19 bullets that wounded her. She was cremated on November 3, near Raj Ghat (a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi) and the place was called "Shakti Sthal".

Over the next four days Sikhs were killed in retaliatory pogroms led by Congress activists and sympathizers. The then Congress government was widely criticized for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator, especially since voting lists were used to identify Sikh families. [Swadesh Bahadur Singh (editor of the Sher-i-Panjâb weekly): “Cabinet berth for a Sikh”, Indian Express, 31-5-1996.] Then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi made a statement at Boat Club in New Delhi on November 19-th 1984, on the birthday of Indira Gandhi "“Some riots took place in the country following the murder of Indiraji. We know the people were very angry and for a few days it seemed that India had been shaken. But, when a mighty tree falls, it is only natural that the earth around it does shake a little.”". [ [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071031/nation.htm#8 The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Nation ] ] [ [http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/08/23/stories/2004082302930400.htm When the big tree fell] ] [ [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031102/spectrum/main1.htm Remembering 1984] ] His widow, Sonia Gandhi and current President of the Congress Party, officially apologized in 1998 for the events of November 1984. The most affected regions were neighborhoods in Delhi.

The Justice Thakkar Commission of Inquiry set up to probe Indira Gandhi’s assassination recommended a separate probe for the conspiracy angle behind the assassination. The Thakkar Report stated that the “needle of suspicion” pointed at R.K. Dhawan for complicity in the conspiracy.

Beant Singh was killed by gunfire at the scene of the assassination. Satwant Singh was arrested and later sentenced to death along with conspirator Kehar Singh. The sentence was carried out on January 6, 1989. Satwant Singh was the last man to be hanged in Tihar Jail in Delhi.

The book "The Assassination of Indira Gandhi" by Ritu Sarin describes the event in detail. [ [http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=PUdAAAAAMAAJ&q=The+Assassination+of+Indira+Gandhi+By+Ritu+Sari&dq=The+Assassination+of+Indira+Gandhi+By+Ritu+Sari&pgis=1 The Assassination of Indira Gandhi ... - Google Book Search ] at books.google.co.nz]

See also

* 1984 Anti-Sikh riots
* Operation Blue star
* Indian National Congress

References