Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi (राजीव गान्धी) (August 20, 1944 – May 21, 1991), the first son of Indira and Feroze Gandhi, was the Prime Minister of India from his mother's death on October 31, 1984 until his resignation on December 2, 1989 following a general election defeat.

Assassination

Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur whilst campaigning for a UCPI candidate in Tamil Nadu, by the suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam A.K.A Dhanu. Dhanu is widely believed to be have been a LTTE member. In 1998 an Indian court convicted 26 people in the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi. The conspirators, who consisted of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka and their Indian allies, had sought to stop Gandhi from getting elected in the then upcoming elections. They wanted to stop him from sending Indian troops into Sri Lanka as he had done in 1987 (when he survived an assassination attempt in Sri Lanka while inspecting a guard of honour) to help enforce a peace accord. Those troops ended up fighting the Tamil separatist guerrillas. His death brought the ailing Congress Party back into power in the 1991 general election on a similar wave of feeling as had followed his mother's assassination. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991. A magnificent memorial, christened Veer Bhumi was constructed at his cremation spot.

Related Topics:
Assassinated - Sriperumbudur - UCPI - Tamil Nadu - Thenmozhi Rajaratnam - LTTE - 1998 - Tamil - Sri Lanka - 1987 - Congress Party - 1991 - Bharat Ratna - Veer Bhumi

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