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{{Short description|1984 | {{Short description|1984 murder in New Delhi, India}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2015}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}} | |||
{{Infobox civilian attack | {{Infobox civilian attack | ||
| title = Assassination of [[Indira Gandhi]] | | title = Assassination of [[Indira Gandhi]] | ||
| location = [[7 RCR|Prime Minister residence]], [[Safdarjung]] | | partof = the [[Insurgency in Punjab, India]] | ||
| location = [[7 RCR|Prime Minister residence]], [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]] | |||
| date = 31 October 1984 | | date = 31 October 1984 | ||
| image = PathOfMartyrdom.JPG | | image = PathOfMartyrdom.JPG | ||
| caption = The spot where Gandhi was shot down is marked by a glass opening in the crystal pathway at the ''Indira Gandhi Memorial'' | | caption = The spot where Indira Gandhi was shot down is marked by a glass opening in the crystal pathway at the ''Indira Gandhi Memorial'' | ||
| time = 9:30 a.m. | | time = 9:30 a.m. | ||
| type = [[ | | type = [[Assassination]] by [[firearm]] | ||
| weapons = .38 (9.1 mm) revolver and [[Sterling submachine gun]] | | weapons = .38 (9.1 mm) revolver and [[Sterling submachine gun]] | ||
| assailants = [[Satwant Singh]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]] | | assailants = [[Satwant Singh]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]] | ||
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}} | }} | ||
[[File:Indira gandhi memorial.jpg|thumb|200px|Memorial at the place of assassination, [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]]]] | [[File:Indira gandhi memorial.jpg|thumb|200px|Memorial at the place of assassination, [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]]]] | ||
{{Indira Gandhi series}} | {{Indira Gandhi series}} | ||
[[Prime Minister of India|Indian | [[Indira Gandhi]], [[Prime Minister of India|Indian prime minister]], was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her [[7 RCR|residence]] in [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]] by her two [[Bodyguard|bodyguards]], [[Satwant Singh]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]], after the [[Indian Armed Forces]] carried out [[Operation Blue Star]] between 1 and 8 June 1984 on Gandhi's orders. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]] and other [[Khalistan movement|Sikh separatists]] from the [[Golden Temple]] in [[Amritsar]], the holiest site of [[Sikhism]]. The operation resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the [[Akal Takht]] and the destruction of the [[Sikh Reference Library]]. | ||
Gandhi's assassination led to the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]] which was instigated by nationalist mobs and political figures from the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC), Indira Gandhi's party, who orchestrated [[Pogrom|pogroms]] against Sikh populations throughout India. Four days of mob violence resulted in the destruction of 40 historic [[Gurdwara|gurdwaras]] and other important Sikh holy sites. Official Indian government figures put the death toll at 3,350, while other sources have claimed that between 8,000 and over 16,000 Sikhs were killed. | |||
==Operation Blue Star== | ==Operation Blue Star== | ||
[[Operation Blue Star]] was a large Indian military operation carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant Sikh followers from the buildings of the | [[Operation Blue Star]] was a large Indian military operation carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove leader [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]] and his militant Sikh followers from the buildings of the [[Golden Temple]] complex in [[Amritsar]].<ref name="TH_Mi6">{{cite news |title=RAW chief consulted MI6 in the build-up to Operation Bluestar |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/raw-chief-consulted-mi6-in-buildup-to-operation-bluestar/article5579516.ece |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date=16 January 2014 |location=Chennai, India |first=Praveen |last=Swami}}</ref> | ||
The perceived threat to Gandhi's life increased after the operation.<ref name="dnaindia_tryst">{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|title=Operation Blue Star: India's first tryst with militant extremism |date=5 November 2016|website=Dnaindia.com|access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103012225/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|archive-date=3 November 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Accordingly, Sikhs were removed from her personal bodyguard detail by the [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Intelligence Bureau]] for fear of assassination. Gandhi | 229 armed Sikh militants were killed inside the Golden Temple complex during the operation, which also lead to at least 554 civilian deaths.<ref>{{cite news|title=Portraits of people killed during Operation Blue Star to be installed|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=3 July 2018|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/portraits-of-people-killed-during-operation-blue-star-to-be-installed-101530xxxxxxx.html|quote=The directory published by Dal Khalsa contains a list of 229.|access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=4 June 2012 |title=Directory of Operation Bluestar 'martyrs' released by radical Sikh group |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/operation-bluestar-martyrs-released-radical-sikh-group-104633-2012-06-04 |access-date=4 February 2026 |newspaper=[[India Today]] |quote=The directory brought out by [[Dal Khalsa (organization)|Dal Khalsa]] includes the profiles of 220 persons. Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh, who initiated the exercise to compile the directory, said that the release of the updated directory was important as the people should know whom the memorial was being dedicated to. "It has not been an easy task to identify the fighters and the people who provided them the logistic support. The directory has the names and profiles of all these martyrs," he added. The Directory at a glance: 17 of those killed were related to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. 156 persons killed in Operation Bluestar belonged to [[Damdami Taksal]]. 22 were Kar Sewaks from [[Nanded]] in [[Maharasthtra]]. 26 persons were affiliated to [[All India Sikh Students Federation]]. 10 belonged to [[Akhand Kirtani Jatha|Akhand Kirtni Jatha]]. Three were [[Nihang]]s of [[Bidhi Chand]] Dal. One belonged to [[Babbar Khalsa]]. 13-year-old Sarabjit Singh Dadher was the "youngest of the martyrs". One [[Gorkha]] from Nepal and two Hindus, who had embraced Sikhism, were also killed. One person who died in the Army operation had come from Singapore.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Punjab: Backgrounder |website=[[South Asia Terrorism Portal]] |url=https://www.satp.org/backgrounder/india-punjab | quote = over 550 innocent civilians were killed in crossfire |access-date=3 February 2026}}</ref> 717 dead bodies were found inside Golden temple complex, 501 civilians and 216 militants killed between 3 and 9 June.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026|reason=Why does this count differ from the count in the previous sentence?}} Eleven additional people were killed on 1 June by shooting between the [[Central Reserve Police Force]] and militants according to then Amritsar [[District magistrate|District Commissioner]] [[Ramesh Inder Singh]].<ref name="inder">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Ramesh Inder |title=Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Bluestar: The Eyewitness Account |publisher=[[HarperCollins India]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-9354899065 |chapter=Deaths and Destruction}}</ref> Regarding [[Indian Army]] personnel deaths, Lt. Gen. [[Prem Nath Hoon]], who became General commanding officer of [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]] (1986-87), revealed that 336 Indian Army and security forces personnel died in the operation fighting with entrenched militants led by former Major General [[Shabeg Singh]].<ref name="Hoon">{{cite book |title=The Untold Truth |publisher=Mohindra Publishing House |year=2015 |last=Hoon|first=P. N.|author-link=Prem Nath Hoon|isbn=978-81-947969-0-9|location=Chandigarh|p=47}}</ref><ref name="Sidhu">{{cite book |last=Sidhu |first=G. B. S. |title=The Khalistan Conspiracy |publisher=[[HarperCollins India]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-9390327720}}</ref> In sum, 1119 to 1130 total people died inside the Golden Temple complex and within Amritsar City during the operation.<ref name="inder2">{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Ramesh Inder |title=Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Bluestar: The Eyewitness Account |publisher=[[HarperCollins India]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-9354899065 |chapter=Deaths and Destruction}}</ref> | ||
The Government of India’s 1984 White Paper on Operation Blue Star reported that 83 [[Indian Army]] personnel were killed and 249 were wounded during the operation.<ref>{{cite web |title=White Paper on the Punjab Agitation |publisher=Government of India |year=1984 |url=https://1984sikh-archive.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/white-paper.pdf |access-date=9 February 2026 |page=169}}</ref>.Some contemporary journalistic accounts, however, suggested higher casualties. Journalist [[Shekhar Gupta]], who was present in [[Amritsar]] during the operation, stated that 136 army personnel were killed and around 220 injured, describing it as “the highest casualties suffered by our armed forces in a domestic operation in 24 hours.”<ref>{{cite web |last=Gupta |first=Shekhar |title=Before Indira Assassination: Life and Death of a Man Called Bhindranwale |website=ThePrint |date=4 November 2017 |url=https://theprint.in/opinion/before-indira-assassination-bhindranwale/14416/ |access-date=9 February 2026}}</ref> In sum, 919 to 930 total people died inside the Golden Temple complex and within Amritsar City during the operation.<ref name="inder"/> | |||
Other sources estimate around 5,000 civilian and 700 military personnel deaths in around the complex and in Amritsar during the operation.<ref name="Chima2008">{{cite book |author=Chima |first=Jugdep S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxpBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT114 |title=The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements |date=2008 |publisher=Sage Publishing India |isbn=978-9351509530 |pages=114–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Karim |first1=Afsir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QoqwQb38SQEC |title=Counter Terrorism, the Pakistan Factor |date=1991 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=978-8170621270 |pages=33–36}}</ref>{{rp|35}}<ref name="Punjab2003">{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Ram Narayan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVTMqlezIrwC |title=Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab : Final Report |last2=Singh |first2=Amrik |last3=Agrwaal |first3=Ashok |publisher=South Asia Forum for Human RIghts |year=2003 |isbn=978-9993353577 |page=36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tarkunde |first1=V. M. |last2=Fernandes |first2=George |last3=Rao |first3=Amiya |last4=Ghose |first4=Aurbindo |last5=Bhattacharya |first5=Sunil |last6=Ahuja |first6=Tejinder |last7=Pancholi |first7=N. D. |title=Oppression in Punjab: A Citizens for Democracy Report to the Nation |date=1985 |publisher=Citizens for Human Rights and Civil Liberties |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0934839020 |page=65}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite book |last1=Jaijee |first1=Inderjit Singh |title=Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984–1998 |date=1999 |publisher=Ajanta Publications |isbn=978-8120204157 |oclc=42752917 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grewal |first1=J. S. |url=https://archive.org/details/sikhsofpunjab0000grew |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India II.3) |date=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1316025338 |edition=Revised |location=Cambridge |pages=205–241 |author1-link=J. S. Grewal |access-date=16 April 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Karim|1991|p=35}}<ref name="whathappenedbluestar">{{cite web |date=6 June 2018 |title=What happened during 1984 Operation Blue Star? |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/1984-operation-blue-star-amritsar-1251681-2018-06-06 |access-date=9 February 2021 |website=India Today |language=en |quote=Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 and the number of civilian deaths at 492, though independent estimates ran much higher.}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB" />{{rp|151}} The Operation also caused serious damage to two of the holiest Sikh shrines, the [[Golden Temple]] and [[Akal Takht]], as well as the destruction of the [[Sikh Reference Library]].<ref name="Kiss_Khalistan">{{cite book |last1=Kiss |first1=Peter A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIY6AwAAQBAJ&q=khalistani+currency+bhindranwale&pg=PA100 |title=Winning Wars amongst the People: Case Studies in Asymmetric Conflict |date=2014 |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=9781612347004 |edition=Illustrated |page=100 |quote=In operation Bluestar a force of several battalions occupied the holy precincts in a battle lasting several hours. Bhindranwale and man of his associates were killed – but there was a very large number of civilian casualties as well. |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715235735/https://books.google.com/books?id=uIY6AwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA100&dq=khalistani%20currency%20bhindranwale&pg=PA100#v=onepage&q=khalistani%20currency%20bhindranwale&f=false |archive-date=15 July 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> | |||
The perceived threat to Gandhi's life increased after the operation.<ref name="dnaindia_tryst">{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|title=Operation Blue Star: India's first tryst with militant extremism |date=5 November 2016|website=Dnaindia.com|access-date=29 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103012225/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293|archive-date=3 November 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Accordingly, Sikhs were removed from her personal bodyguard detail by the [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Intelligence Bureau]] for fear of assassination. Gandhi feared that this would reinforce her anti-Sikh image among the public, however, she ordered the [[Delhi Police]] to reinstate her Sikh bodyguards,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.readersdigest.in/culturescape/story-the-death-of-indira-gandhi-sagarika-ghose-124682|title=She Handpicked Him, He Shot Her Dead|last=Ghose |first=Sagarika |publisher=Reader's Digest |date=December 28, 2018 |website=readersdigest.in |access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref> including [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]], reportedly her personal favourite.<ref name=smith>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=William E. |title=Indira Gandhi's assassination sparks a fearful round of sectarian violence |url=http://www.sikhtimes.com/bios_111284a.html |access-date=19 January 2013 |newspaper=Time |date=12 November 1984 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103043002/http://www.sikhtimes.com/bios_111284a.html |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> | |||
==Assassination== | ==Assassination== | ||
At about 9:20 a.m. Indian Standard Time | ===Attack=== | ||
At about 9:20 a.m. [[Indian Standard Time]] on 31 October 1984, Gandhi was on her way to be interviewed by British actor [[Peter Ustinov]], who was filming a documentary for [[Raidió Teilifís Éireann|Irish television]]. She was accompanied by her personal secretary [[R. K. Dhawan]], personal security officer Rameshwar Dayal, and Constable Narayan Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/the-last-day-of-indira-gandhi-1379440-2018-10-31|title=The last day of Indira Gandhi|first1=Prabhash K. |last1=Dutta |date=31 October 2018|website=India Today}}</ref> She was walking through the garden of the Prime Minister's Residence at No. 1 Safdarjung Road in New Delhi towards the neighbouring 1 Akbar Road office.<ref name=cnn>{{cite web |title=25 years after Indira Gandhi's assassination |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-and-indira-25-years-after-a-pms-assassination/104183-37.html |date=30 October 2009 |publisher=[[CNN-IBN]] |access-date=5 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104180327/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-and-indira-25-years-after-a-pms-assassination/104183-37.html |archive-date=4 November 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Gandhi was not wearing her [[bulletproof vest]] that day, which she had been advised to wear at all times after Operation Blue Star.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The last walk: Indira Gandhi's last morning as the PM |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/mail-today/story/the-last-walk-indira-gandhis-last-morning-as-the-pm-179393-2014-02-02 |access-date=2023-10-24 |website=India Today |date=2 February 2014 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
Gandhi passed a [[wicket gate]] guarded by Satwant and Beant Singh, and the two men opened fire. Beant fired three rounds into her abdomen from his .38 ({{convert|0.38|inch|mm|disp=out}}) revolver;<ref name=smith/> then Satwant fired 30 rounds from his [[Sterling submachine gun|Sterling sub-machine gun]] after she had fallen to the ground.<ref name=smith/> Both men then threw down their weapons and Beant said, "I have done what I had to do. You do what you want to do." In the next six minutes, Border Police officers Tarsem Singh Jamwal and Ram Saran captured and killed Beant, while Satwant was arrested by Gandhi's other bodyguards | Gandhi passed a [[wicket gate]] guarded by [[Constable]] Satwant and [[Sub-inspector|Sub-Inspector]] Beant Singh, and the two men opened fire.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="bbconthisday">{{cite news |date=31 October 1984 |title=1984: Assassination and revenge |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215211511/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |archive-date=15 February 2009 |access-date=23 January 2009 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Beant fired three rounds into her abdomen from his .38 ({{convert|0.38|inch|mm|disp=out}}) revolver;<ref name=smith/> then Satwant fired 30 rounds from his [[Sterling submachine gun|Sterling sub-machine gun]] after she had said “ouch” and fallen to the ground.<ref name=smith/> Both men then threw down their weapons and Beant said, "I have done what I had to do. You do what you want to do." In the next six minutes, Border Police officers Tarsem Singh Jamwal and Ram Saran captured and killed Beant, while Satwant was arrested by Gandhi's other bodyguards along with an accomplice trying to escape; he was seriously wounded.<ref name=tdaily>{{cite news |title=Questions still surround Gandhi assassination |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w1seAAAAIBAJ&pg=1354,5824409&dq=assassination+of+indira+gandhi&hl=en |access-date=19 January 2013 |newspaper=Times Daily |date=24 November 1984 |agency=AP |location=New Delhi}}</ref> Satwant Singh was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for killing Gandhi. He was hanged in 1989, along with accomplice [[Kehar Singh]].<ref>Dr. Sangat Kr. Singh, ''The Sikhs in History'', p. 393</ref> | ||
[[Salma Sultan]] gave the first news of the assassination of Gandhi on [[Doordarshan]]'s evening news on 31 October 1984, more than ten hours after she was killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-riots-that-could-not-be-televised/536471/ |title=The riots that could not be televised |publisher=Indianexpress.com |date=3 November 2009 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205154910/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-riots-that-could-not-be-televised/536471/ |archive-date=5 December 2009 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= | [[Salma Sultan]] gave the first news of the assassination of Gandhi on [[Doordarshan]]'s evening news on 31 October 1984, more than ten hours after she was killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-riots-that-could-not-be-televised/536471/ |title=The riots that could not be televised |publisher=Indianexpress.com |date=3 November 2009 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091205154910/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-riots-that-could-not-be-televised/536471/ |archive-date=5 December 2009 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20071001-we-the-eyeballs-734164-2007-09-23 |title=We the eyeballs : Cover Story – India Today |date=24 September 2007 |publisher=Indiatoday.intoday.in |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215111034/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/We+the+eyeballs/1/1328.html |archive-date=15 December 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It is alleged by the Indian government that Gandhi's secretary R. K. Dhawan overruled intelligence and security officials who had ordered the removal of policemen as a security threat, including her assassins.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/28/world/india-releases-stinging-report-on-gandhi-s-death.html | work=The New York Times | first=Sanjoy | last=Hazarika | title=India Releases Stinging Report on Gandhi's Death | date=28 March 1989 | access-date=5 February 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107062316/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/28/world/india-releases-stinging-report-on-gandhi-s-death.html | archive-date=7 November 2017 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> | ||
Beant was one of Gandhi's | Beant was one of Gandhi's favourite guards, whom she had known for ten years.<ref name=smith/> Because he was a Sikh, he had been taken off her staff after Operation Blue Star, yet Gandhi had made sure that he was reinstated.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.readersdigest.in/culturescape/story-the-death-of-indira-gandhi-sagarika-ghose-124682|title=She Handpicked Him, He Shot Her Dead|last=Ghose |first=Sagarika |publisher=Reader's Digest |date=December 28, 2018 |website=readersdigest.in |access-date=June 17, 2020}}</ref> Satwant was 22 years old at the time of the assassination, and had been assigned to Gandhi's guard just five months earlier.<ref name=smith/> | ||
[[File:IndiraGandhi-SareeAtTimeOfDeath.JPG|200px|thumb|Gandhi's blood-stained [[ | ===Declared death=== | ||
Gandhi was taken to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi]] at 9:30 a.m. | [[File:IndiraGandhi-SareeAtTimeOfDeath.JPG|200px|thumb|Gandhi's blood-stained [[Sambalpuri sari]] and her belongings at the time of her assassination, preserved at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in [[New Delhi]].]] | ||
Gandhi was taken to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi]] (AIIMS) at 9:30 a.m. AIIMS director-designate [[Sneh Bhargava]] wrote that though Gandhi was [[clinically dead]] upon arrival, doctors had to keep up appearances and continue to operate on her until her son [[Rajiv Gandhi]] could be sworn in as prime minister.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mollan |first=Cherylann |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenl7gv2lo |title=A pioneering doctor remembers India leader Indira Gandhi's final moments |work=[[BBC News]] |date=28 June 2025 |access-date=29 June 2025}}</ref> She was declared dead at 2:20 p.m. The postmortem examination was conducted by a team of doctors headed by [[Tirath Das Dogra]], who stated that 30 bullets had struck Gandhi from a [[Sterling submachine gun|Sterling sub-machine gun]] and a revolver. The assailants had fired 33 bullets at her, of which 30 had hit; 23 had passed through her body, while seven remained inside. Dogra extracted bullets to establish the identity of the weapons and to correlate each weapon with the bullets recovered by ballistic examination. The bullets were matched to the weapons at CFSL Delhi. | |||
The Indian government ordered a [[national mourning]] from | ===National mourning=== | ||
The Indian government ordered a [[national mourning]] from 1 to 12 November with flags half-masted and cancelled entertainment and cultural events and closed offices for several days.<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 October 2021 |title=HT THIS DAY: November 1, 1984 — Prime Minister Indira Gandhi shot dead; 12-day mourning announced |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/htthisday-november-1-1984-prime-minister-indira-gandhi-shot-dead-12-day-mourning-announced-101635688584055.html |website=Hindustan Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/06/world/india-hangs-two-sikhs-convicted-in-assassination-of-indira-gandhi.html | title=India Hangs Two Sikhs Convicted in Assassination of Indira Gandhi | newspaper=The New York Times | date=6 January 1989 | last1=Crossette | first1=Barbara }}</ref> [[Tanzania]] declared seven days of mourning,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78viAAAAMAAJ&q=Tanzania+declare+national+mourning | title=Africa | date=1984 }}</ref> [[Uganda]] five,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=78viAAAAMAAJ&q=Tanzania+declare+national+mourning | title=Africa | date=1984 }}</ref> and [[Cuba]] four.<ref>[https://sbc.org.pl/Content/88480/PDF/88480.pdf]</ref> [[Pakistan]], [[Vietnam]], [[Brazil]], [[Nicaragua]] and [[Gabon]] each declared three days of mourning.<ref name="Texas Tech University">{{cite book |author= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HYU1Exwo4-kC |title=Indochina Chronology |publisher=Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California |year=1982 |location=Texas Tech University. Vietnam Centre |page=4 |issn=0897-4519 |issue=v. 1-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/10/31/Indira-Gandhi-assassinated/9097413288121/ | title=Indira Gandhi assassinated }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/02/world/assassination-aftermath-olive-branches-neighbors-pakistan-offers-improve-india.html | title=Assassination Aftermath: Olive Branches from Neighbours; Pakistan Offers to Improve India Ties | newspaper=The New York Times | date=2 November 1984 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.normasbrasil.com.br/norma/decreto-90394-1984_43628.html | title=Decreto nº 90.394 de 31/10/1984 }}</ref><ref>[https://sbc.org.pl/Content/88480/PDF/88480.pdf]</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Asian Recorder | date=1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OnweAAAAMAAJ&q=Gabon+declares+national+mourning }}</ref> [[Portugal]] declared two days of mourning,<ref>[https://sbc.org.pl/Content/88480/PDF/88480.pdf]</ref> [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Cyprus]], [[Mongolian People's Republic]] and [[Mauritius]] declared a day of national mourning.<ref>Указ No. 3904 от 1 ноември 1984 г. Обн. ДВ. бр. 88 от 6 ноември 1984 г.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://istorijskenovine.unilib.rs/view/index.html#panel:pp%7Cissue:UB_00064_19841102%7Cpage:1 | title=BNL viewer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Cyprus Bulletin: Review of Cyprus Developments | date=1984 | publisher=Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JSfhuFv6JUC&q=cyprus+declared+national+mourning+for+indira+gandhi }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Daily Report: Asia & Pacific | date=November 1984 | publisher=The Service | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKZidXhINwcC&q=mongolian+declared+3+november+day+of+mourning+for+indira+gandhi }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Africa Research Bulletin | date=1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XwEAQAAIAAJ&q=declared+day+of+mourning+for+indira+gandhi+death }}</ref> | |||
===Funeral=== | ===Funeral=== | ||
Gandhi's body was taken in a [[gun carriage]] through Delhi roads on the morning of 1 November to [[Teen Murti Bhavan]], where her father stayed and where she lay in state.<ref name=cnn/> She was cremated with full state | Gandhi's body was taken in a [[gun carriage]] through Delhi roads on the morning of 1 November to [[Teen Murti Bhavan]], where her father stayed and where she lay in state.<ref name=cnn/> She was cremated with full state honours on 3 November near [[Raj Ghat and associated memorials|Raj Ghat]], a memorial to [[Mahatma Gandhi]], at an area named [[Shakti Sthal]]. Her elder son and successor, [[Rajiv Gandhi]], lit the pyre. | ||
Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the state funeral were:<ref name="report">{{cite web|title=MEA Annual Report 1984-85|url=https://mealib.nic.in/?2513?000|website=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India|date=1985|accessdate=13 June 2021}}</ref> | Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the state funeral were:<ref name="report">{{cite web|title=MEA Annual Report 1984-85|url=https://mealib.nic.in/?2513?000|website=Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India|date=1985|accessdate=13 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The World Leaders At the Gandhi Funeral |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/04/world/the-world-leaders-at-the-gandhi-funeral.html |access-date=27 December 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=4 November 1984}}</ref> | ||
{| class="wikitable sortable" | {| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| Line 48: | Line 60: | ||
! Dignitaries | ! Dignitaries | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag|Algeria}} || [[Abdelhamid Brahimi]] | | {{flag|Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|1984|name=Afghanistan}} || Chairman of the Council of Ministers [[Sultan Ali Keshtmand]] | ||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Algeria}} || Prime Minister [[Abdelhamid Brahimi]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Argentina}} || Vice President [[Víctor Hipólito Martínez]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag|Australia}} || [[Ninian Stephen]] | | {{flag|Australia}} || Governor-General [[Ninian Stephen]] <br />Prime Minister [[Bob Hawke]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Bangladesh}} || President [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Belgium}} || Deputy Prime Minister [[Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Bhutan}} || King [[Jigme Singye Wangchuck]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|People's Republic of Bulgaria|1984|name=Bulgaria}} || General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party [[Todor Zhivkov]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|SRUB|1974|name=Burma}} || Chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party [[Ne Win]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Canada}} || Chief Justice [[Brian Dickson]]<br />Secretary of State for External Affairs [[Joe Clark]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|China}} || Vice Premier [[Yao Yilin]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Cyprus|1960}} || President [[Spyros Kyprianou]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|1984|name=Czechoslovakia}} || Prime Minister [[Lubomír Štrougal]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Fiji}} || Governor-General [[Penaia Ganilau]]<br />Prime Minister [[Kamisese Mara]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Finland}} || Prime Minister [[Kalevi Sorsa]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|France}} || Prime Minister [[Laurent Fabius]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|East Germany}} || President of the People's Chamber [[Horst Sindermann]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|West Germany}} || Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Greece}} || Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Guyana}} || Prime Minister [[Desmond Hoyte]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Indonesia}} || Vice President [[Umar Wirahadikusumah]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Ireland}} || Taoiseach [[Garret FitzGerald]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Italy}} || Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Giulio Andreotti]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Japan|1870}} || Prime Minister [[Yasuhiro Nakasone]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Jordan}} || [[Prince Hassan bin Talal|Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag|People's Republic of | | {{flag|People's Republic of Kampuchea|1984|name=Kampuchea}} || President of the Council of State [[Heng Samrin]]<br />Prime Minister [[Chan Sy]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Kenya}} || Vice President [[Mwai Kibaki]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|North Korea|1948}} || Vice President [[Pak Song-chol]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag|South Korea|1984}} || [[:ko:채문식|Chae Mun-shik]] | | {{flag|South Korea|1984}} || Speaker of the National Assembly [[:ko:채문식|Chae Mun-shik]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Laos}} || President [[Souphanouvong]]<br />Prime Minister [[Kaysone Phomvihane]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Liberia}} || Vice President [[Harry Moniba]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|1984|name=Libya}} || Secretary-General of the General People's Congress [[Mifta al-Usta Umar]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Madagascar}} || President [[Didier Ratsiraka]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Malaysia}} || Deputy Prime Minister [[Musa Hitam]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Maldives}} || Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Fathulla Jameel]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Mauritius (1968–1992)|1984|name=Mauritius}} || Prime Minister [[Anerood Jugnauth]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Mongolian People's Republic|1945|name=Mongolia}} || First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers [[:mn:Түмэнбаярын Рагчаа|Tumenbayaryn Ragchaa]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|People's Republic of Mozambique|name=Mozambique}} || President [[Samora Machel]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag| | | {{flag|Nauru}} || President [[Hammer DeRoburt]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| {{flag|Zimbabwe}} || [[Robert Mugabe]] | | {{flag|Kingdom of Nepal|name=Nepal}} || Prime Minister [[Lokendra Bahadur Chand]] | ||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Netherlands}} || [[Prince Claus of the Netherlands|Prince Claus]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|New Zealand}} || Governor-General [[David Beattie]]<br />Prime Minister [[David Lange]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Norway}} || Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Svenn Stray]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Pakistan}} || President [[Zia-ul-Haq]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Philippines|1936}} || First Lady [[Imelda Marcos]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Polish People's Republic|1984|name=Poland}} || Chairman of the Council of State [[Henryk Jabłoński]]<br />Prime Minister [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Portugal}} || Prime Minister [[Mário Soares]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Soviet Union|1984}} || Chairman of the Council of Ministers [[Nikolai Tikhonov]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Spain}} || Prime Minister [[Felipe González]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Sri Lanka}} || President [[J. R. Jayewardene]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Sweden}} || Minister for Foreign Affairs [[Lennart Bodström]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Ba'athist Syria|1980|name=Syria}} || Vice President [[Zuhair Masharqa]]<br />Minister of Foreign Affairs [[Farouk al-Sharaa]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Tanzania}} || President [[Julius Nyerere]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Turkey}} || Deputy Prime Minister [[Kaya Erdem]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Uganda}} || President [[Milton Obote]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|United Arab Emirates}} || Deputy Prime Minister [[Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|United Kingdom}} || Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]]<br />[[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]] (representing Queen [[Elizabeth II]]) | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|United States}} || Secretary of State [[George Shultz]]<ref>{{cite news|quote=Secretary of State George P. Shultz was named to head the official US delegation to Gandhi's funeral. Bush, asked why he would not represent the United States there, as he often has at state funerals, said: 'Because I'm involved in an election campaign...I think people will understand.'|title=Reagan, Others Express Shock, Grief|date=November 1, 1984|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Boston Globe|page=14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/statement-assassination-prime-minister-indira-gandhi-india|title=Statement on the Assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India|date=October 31, 1984|last=Reagan|first=Ronald|website=reaganlibrary.gov|access-date=October 27, 2022}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Vanuatu}} || President [[Ati George Sokomanu]]<br />Prime Minister [[Walter Lini]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Vietnam}} || President [[Trường Chinh]]<br />Prime Minister [[Phạm Văn Đồng]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Yemen Arab Republic|name=North Yemen}} || Prime Minister [[Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|SFR Yugoslavia|name=Yugoslavia}} || President [[Veselin Đuranović]]<br />Prime Minister [[Milka Planinc]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Zambia|1964}} || President [[Kenneth Kaunda]] | |||
|- | |||
| {{flag|Zimbabwe}} || Prime Minister [[Robert Mugabe]] | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
Over the next four days, 8,000 Sikhs were killed in [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|retaliatory violence]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| first=Dean |last=Nelson |date=2014-01-30 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=3 May 2016 |df=dmy-all}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | Over the next four days, 8,000 Sikhs were killed in [[1984 anti-Sikh riots|retaliatory violence]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10607451/Delhi-to-reopen-inquiry-in-to-massacre-of-Sikhs-in-1984-riots.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live| first=Dean |last=Nelson |date=2014-01-30 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=3 May 2016 |df=dmy-all}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Political Violence in South Asia |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2018 |isbn=9781351118200 |editor=Riaz |editor-first=Ali |editor2=Zaman |editor-first2=Fahmida |editor3=Nasreen |editor-first3=Zobaida}}</ref> Other sources record well over 25,000 deaths of Sikhs.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brass |first=Paul R. |title=The Politics of India Since Independence |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2008 |isbn=9780521459709 |edition=2 |page=200}}</ref> | ||
The Justice Thakkar Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice [[Manharlal Pranlal Thakkar]], set up to probe 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19890415-Thakkar-commission-report-leak-govt-try-to-accuse-Arun-Nehru-of-being-the-main-culprit-815980-1989-04-15 |title=Thakkar Commission report leak: Govt try to accuse Arun Nehru of being the main culprit |first=Prabhu |last=Chawla |date=April 15, 1989 |magazine=[[India Today]] |access-date=2018-10-30 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> | The Justice Thakkar Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice [[Manharlal Pranlal Thakkar]], set up to probe 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19890415-Thakkar-commission-report-leak-govt-try-to-accuse-Arun-Nehru-of-being-the-main-culprit-815980-1989-04-15 |title=Thakkar Commission report leak: Govt try to accuse Arun Nehru of being the main culprit |first=Prabhu |last=Chawla |date=April 15, 1989 |magazine=[[India Today]] |access-date=2018-10-30 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> | ||
Satwant Singh and | Satwant Singh and co-conspirator Kehar Singh were sentenced to death. Both were executed on 6 January 1989.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hazarika |first1=Sanjoy |title=Protests Follow Hanging of 2 Sikhs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/07/world/protests-follow-hanging-of-2-sikhs.html |volume=138|work=The New York Times |issue=47743 |date=7 January 1989}}</ref> | ||
A Punjabi movie titled ''[[Kaum De Heere]]'' (''Gems of the Community'') highlighting the roles/lives of the two guards that assassinated Indira Gandhi was set to be released on 22 August 2014, but was banned by the Indian government<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Centre-blocks-release-of-controversial-film-on-Indira-Gandhis-assassins-Kaum-de-Heere/articleshow/40606687.cms |title=Centre blocks release of controversial film on Indira Gandhi's assassins 'Kaum de Heere' |work=[[The Times of India]] |location=Mumbai |date=August 21, 2014 |agency=Times News Network |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121153206/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Centre-blocks-release-of-controversial-film-on-Indira-Gandhis-assassins-Kaum-de-Heere/articleshow/40606687.cms |archive-date=21 November 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140821/latest-news.htm |title=Film on Indira Gandhi's assassins barred from release |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |location=Chandigarh, India |agency=[[Press Trust of India]] |date=August 21, 2014 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233520/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140821/latest-news.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> for five years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Delhi HC clears release of Punjabi movie 'Kaum De Heere' |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/delhi-hc-clears-release-of-punjabi-movie-kaum-de-heere-824741 |access-date=15 September 2021 |work=The Tribune |agency=Press Trust India |date=29 August 2019}}</ref> | A Punjabi movie titled ''[[Kaum De Heere]]'' (''Gems of the Community'') highlighting the roles/lives of the two guards that assassinated Indira Gandhi was set to be released on 22 August 2014, but was banned by the Indian government<ref>{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Centre-blocks-release-of-controversial-film-on-Indira-Gandhis-assassins-Kaum-de-Heere/articleshow/40606687.cms |title=Centre blocks release of controversial film on Indira Gandhi's assassins 'Kaum de Heere' |work=[[The Times of India]] |location=Mumbai |date=August 21, 2014 |agency=Times News Network |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121153206/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Centre-blocks-release-of-controversial-film-on-Indira-Gandhis-assassins-Kaum-de-Heere/articleshow/40606687.cms |archive-date=21 November 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140821/latest-news.htm |title=Film on Indira Gandhi's assassins barred from release |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |location=Chandigarh, India |agency=[[Press Trust of India]] |date=August 21, 2014 |access-date=31 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233520/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140821/latest-news.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> for five years.<ref>{{cite news |title=Delhi HC clears release of Punjabi movie 'Kaum De Heere' |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/punjab/delhi-hc-clears-release-of-punjabi-movie-kaum-de-heere-824741 |access-date=15 September 2021 |work=The Tribune |agency=Press Trust India |date=29 August 2019}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[List of things named after Indira Gandhi]] | |||
* [[Punjab | * [[Insurgency in Punjab, India]] | ||
* [[Domestic policy of the Indira Gandhi government]] | |||
* [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi]], the otherwise unrelated killing of [[Rajiv Gandhi|Indira's son and successor as Prime Minister]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 146: | Line 212: | ||
* [http://indiragandhi.in/en/memorial/virtual-museum Explore the Virtual Memorial of Indira Gandhi] | * [http://indiragandhi.in/en/memorial/virtual-museum Explore the Virtual Memorial of Indira Gandhi] | ||
{{coord|28 | {{coord|28.6002|77.2061|type:event_globe:earth_region:IN|display=title}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Indira}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Indira}} | ||
| Line 152: | Line 218: | ||
[[Category:1984 anti-Sikh riots]] | [[Category:1984 anti-Sikh riots]] | ||
[[Category:1984 murders in India]] | [[Category:1984 murders in India]] | ||
[[Category:October 1984 | [[Category:October 1984 in India]] | ||
[[Category:Female murder victims]] | [[Category:Female murder victims]] | ||
[[Category:1980s in Delhi]] | [[Category:1980s in Delhi]] | ||
[[Category:Assassinations in India]] | [[Category:Assassinations in India]] | ||
[[Category:Incidents of violence against women]] | |||
[[Category:Indira Gandhi|Assassination]] | [[Category:Indira Gandhi|Assassination]] | ||
[[Category:Indira Gandhi administration|Assassination]] | [[Category:Indira Gandhi administration|Assassination]] | ||
[[Category:Assassinated | [[Category:Assassinated prime ministers]] | ||
[[Category:Deaths by person in India]] | [[Category:Deaths by person in India]] | ||
[[Category:Violence against women in India]] | |||
[[Category:1984 in India]] | [[Category:1984 in India]] | ||
[[Category:State funerals in India]] | [[Category:State funerals in India]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Deaths and funerals of politicians]] | ||
[[Category:Murder in Delhi]] | [[Category:Murder in Delhi]] | ||
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 1984]] | |||
Latest revision as of 04:03, 27 March 2026
| Assassination of Indira Gandhi | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Insurgency in Punjab, India | |
 The spot where Indira Gandhi was shot down is marked by a glass opening in the crystal pathway at the Indira Gandhi Memorial | |
| Location | Prime Minister residence, Safdarjung Road, New Delhi |
| Date | 31 October 1984 9:30 a.m. |
Attack type | Assassination by firearm |
| Weapons | .38 (9.1 mm) revolver and Sterling submachine gun |
| Victim | Indira Gandhi |
| Assailants | Satwant Singh and Beant Singh |
Template:Indira Gandhi series Indira Gandhi, Indian prime minister, was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi by her two bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, after the Indian Armed Forces carried out Operation Blue Star between 1 and 8 June 1984 on Gandhi's orders. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site of Sikhism. The operation resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
Gandhi's assassination led to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots which was instigated by nationalist mobs and political figures from the Indian National Congress (INC), Indira Gandhi's party, who orchestrated pogroms against Sikh populations throughout India. Four days of mob violence resulted in the destruction of 40 historic gurdwaras and other important Sikh holy sites. Official Indian government figures put the death toll at 3,350, while other sources have claimed that between 8,000 and over 16,000 Sikhs were killed.
Operation Blue Star[edit | edit source]
Operation Blue Star was a large Indian military operation carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant Sikh followers from the buildings of the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar.[1]
229 armed Sikh militants were killed inside the Golden Temple complex during the operation, which also lead to at least 554 civilian deaths.[2][3][4] 717 dead bodies were found inside Golden temple complex, 501 civilians and 216 militants killed between 3 and 9 June.[citation needed] Eleven additional people were killed on 1 June by shooting between the Central Reserve Police Force and militants according to then Amritsar District Commissioner Ramesh Inder Singh.[5] Regarding Indian Army personnel deaths, Lt. Gen. Prem Nath Hoon, who became General commanding officer of Western Command (1986-87), revealed that 336 Indian Army and security forces personnel died in the operation fighting with entrenched militants led by former Major General Shabeg Singh.[6][7] In sum, 1119 to 1130 total people died inside the Golden Temple complex and within Amritsar City during the operation.[8]
The Government of India’s 1984 White Paper on Operation Blue Star reported that 83 Indian Army personnel were killed and 249 were wounded during the operation.[9].Some contemporary journalistic accounts, however, suggested higher casualties. Journalist Shekhar Gupta, who was present in Amritsar during the operation, stated that 136 army personnel were killed and around 220 injured, describing it as “the highest casualties suffered by our armed forces in a domestic operation in 24 hours.”[10] In sum, 919 to 930 total people died inside the Golden Temple complex and within Amritsar City during the operation.[5]
Other sources estimate around 5,000 civilian and 700 military personnel deaths in around the complex and in Amritsar during the operation.[11][12]:35[13][14][15][16][17][18][15]:151 The Operation also caused serious damage to two of the holiest Sikh shrines, the Golden Temple and Akal Takht, as well as the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.[19]
The perceived threat to Gandhi's life increased after the operation.[20] Accordingly, Sikhs were removed from her personal bodyguard detail by the Intelligence Bureau for fear of assassination. Gandhi feared that this would reinforce her anti-Sikh image among the public, however, she ordered the Delhi Police to reinstate her Sikh bodyguards,[21] including Beant Singh, reportedly her personal favourite.[22]
Assassination[edit | edit source]
Attack[edit | edit source]
At about 9:20 a.m. Indian Standard Time on 31 October 1984, Gandhi was on her way to be interviewed by British actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. She was accompanied by her personal secretary R. K. Dhawan, personal security officer Rameshwar Dayal, and Constable Narayan Singh.[23] She was walking through the garden of the Prime Minister's Residence at No. 1 Safdarjung Road in New Delhi towards the neighbouring 1 Akbar Road office.[24] Gandhi was not wearing her bulletproof vest that day, which she had been advised to wear at all times after Operation Blue Star.[25]
Gandhi passed a wicket gate guarded by Constable Satwant and Sub-Inspector Beant Singh, and the two men opened fire.[25][26] Beant fired three rounds into her abdomen from his .38 (9.7 mm) revolver;[22] then Satwant fired 30 rounds from his Sterling sub-machine gun after she had said “ouch” and fallen to the ground.[22] Both men then threw down their weapons and Beant said, "I have done what I had to do. You do what you want to do." In the next six minutes, Border Police officers Tarsem Singh Jamwal and Ram Saran captured and killed Beant, while Satwant was arrested by Gandhi's other bodyguards along with an accomplice trying to escape; he was seriously wounded.[27] Satwant Singh was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for killing Gandhi. He was hanged in 1989, along with accomplice Kehar Singh.[28]
Salma Sultan gave the first news of the assassination of Gandhi on Doordarshan's evening news on 31 October 1984, more than ten hours after she was killed.[29][30] It is alleged by the Indian government that Gandhi's secretary R. K. Dhawan overruled intelligence and security officials who had ordered the removal of policemen as a security threat, including her assassins.[31]
Beant was one of Gandhi's favourite guards, whom she had known for ten years.[22] Because he was a Sikh, he had been taken off her staff after Operation Blue Star, yet Gandhi had made sure that he was reinstated.[32] Satwant was 22 years old at the time of the assassination, and had been assigned to Gandhi's guard just five months earlier.[22]
Declared death[edit | edit source]
Gandhi was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) at 9:30 a.m. AIIMS director-designate Sneh Bhargava wrote that though Gandhi was clinically dead upon arrival, doctors had to keep up appearances and continue to operate on her until her son Rajiv Gandhi could be sworn in as prime minister.[33] She was declared dead at 2:20 p.m. The postmortem examination was conducted by a team of doctors headed by Tirath Das Dogra, who stated that 30 bullets had struck Gandhi from a Sterling sub-machine gun and a revolver. The assailants had fired 33 bullets at her, of which 30 had hit; 23 had passed through her body, while seven remained inside. Dogra extracted bullets to establish the identity of the weapons and to correlate each weapon with the bullets recovered by ballistic examination. The bullets were matched to the weapons at CFSL Delhi.
National mourning[edit | edit source]
The Indian government ordered a national mourning from 1 to 12 November with flags half-masted and cancelled entertainment and cultural events and closed offices for several days.[34][35] Tanzania declared seven days of mourning,[36] Uganda five,[37] and Cuba four.[38] Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Nicaragua and Gabon each declared three days of mourning.[39][40][41][42][43][44] Portugal declared two days of mourning,[45] Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Mongolian People's Republic and Mauritius declared a day of national mourning.[46][47][48][49][50]
Funeral[edit | edit source]
Gandhi's body was taken in a gun carriage through Delhi roads on the morning of 1 November to Teen Murti Bhavan, where her father stayed and where she lay in state.[24] She was cremated with full state honours on 3 November near Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, at an area named Shakti Sthal. Her elder son and successor, Rajiv Gandhi, lit the pyre.
Among the foreign dignitaries who attended the state funeral were:[51][52]
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Aftermath[edit | edit source]
Over the next four days, 8,000 Sikhs were killed in retaliatory violence.[55][56] Other sources record well over 25,000 deaths of Sikhs.[57]
The Justice Thakkar Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice Manharlal Pranlal Thakkar, set up to probe 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.[58]
Satwant Singh and co-conspirator Kehar Singh were sentenced to death. Both were executed on 6 January 1989.[59]
A Punjabi movie titled Kaum De Heere (Gems of the Community) highlighting the roles/lives of the two guards that assassinated Indira Gandhi was set to be released on 22 August 2014, but was banned by the Indian government[60][61] for five years.[62]
See also[edit | edit source]
- List of things named after Indira Gandhi
- Insurgency in Punjab, India
- Domestic policy of the Indira Gandhi government
- Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the otherwise unrelated killing of Indira's son and successor as Prime Minister
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Swami, Praveen (16 January 2014). "RAW chief consulted MI6 in the build-up to Operation Bluestar". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
- ↑ "Portraits of people killed during Operation Blue Star to be installed". Hindustan Times. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
The directory published by Dal Khalsa contains a list of 229.
- ↑ "Directory of Operation Bluestar 'martyrs' released by radical Sikh group". India Today. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
The directory brought out by Dal Khalsa includes the profiles of 220 persons. Dal Khalsa spokesman Kanwarpal Singh, who initiated the exercise to compile the directory, said that the release of the updated directory was important as the people should know whom the memorial was being dedicated to. "It has not been an easy task to identify the fighters and the people who provided them the logistic support. The directory has the names and profiles of all these martyrs," he added. The Directory at a glance: 17 of those killed were related to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. 156 persons killed in Operation Bluestar belonged to Damdami Taksal. 22 were Kar Sewaks from Nanded in Maharasthtra. 26 persons were affiliated to All India Sikh Students Federation. 10 belonged to Akhand Kirtni Jatha. Three were Nihangs of Bidhi Chand Dal. One belonged to Babbar Khalsa. 13-year-old Sarabjit Singh Dadher was the "youngest of the martyrs". One Gorkha from Nepal and two Hindus, who had embraced Sikhism, were also killed. One person who died in the Army operation had come from Singapore.
- ↑ "Punjab: Backgrounder". South Asia Terrorism Portal. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
over 550 innocent civilians were killed in crossfire
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Singh, Ramesh Inder (2022). "Deaths and Destruction". Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Bluestar: The Eyewitness Account. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9354899065.
- ↑ Hoon, P. N. (2015). The Untold Truth. Chandigarh: Mohindra Publishing House. p. 47. ISBN 978-81-947969-0-9.
- ↑ Sidhu, G. B. S. (2020). The Khalistan Conspiracy. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9390327720.
- ↑ Singh, Ramesh Inder (2022). "Deaths and Destruction". Turmoil in Punjab: Before and After Bluestar: The Eyewitness Account. HarperCollins India. ISBN 978-9354899065.
- ↑ "White Paper on the Punjab Agitation" (PDF). Government of India. 1984. p. 169. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ↑ Gupta, Shekhar (4 November 2017). "Before Indira Assassination: Life and Death of a Man Called Bhindranwale". ThePrint. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ↑ Chima, Jugdep S. (2008). The Sikh Separatist Insurgency in India: Political Leadership and Ethnonationalist Movements. Sage Publishing India. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-9351509530.
- ↑ Karim, Afsir (1991). Counter Terrorism, the Pakistan Factor. Lancer Publishers. pp. 33–36. ISBN 978-8170621270.
- ↑ Kumar, Ram Narayan; Singh, Amrik; Agrwaal, Ashok (2003). Reduced to Ashes: The Insurgency and Human Rights in Punjab : Final Report. South Asia Forum for Human RIghts. p. 36. ISBN 978-9993353577.
- ↑ Tarkunde, V. M.; Fernandes, George; Rao, Amiya; Ghose, Aurbindo; Bhattacharya, Sunil; Ahuja, Tejinder; Pancholi, N. D. (1985). Oppression in Punjab: A Citizens for Democracy Report to the Nation. New Delhi: Citizens for Human Rights and Civil Liberties. p. 65. ISBN 978-0934839020.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Jaijee, Inderjit Singh (1999). Politics of Genocide: Punjab, 1984–1998. Ajanta Publications. ISBN 978-8120204157. OCLC 42752917.
- ↑ Grewal, J. S. (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India II.3) (Revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 205–241. ISBN 978-1316025338. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ↑ Karim 1991, p. 35.
- ↑ "What happened during 1984 Operation Blue Star?". India Today. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
Official reports put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 and the number of civilian deaths at 492, though independent estimates ran much higher.
- ↑ Kiss, Peter A. (2014). Winning Wars amongst the People: Case Studies in Asymmetric Conflict (Illustrated ed.). Potomac Books. p. 100. ISBN 9781612347004. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
In operation Bluestar a force of several battalions occupied the holy precincts in a battle lasting several hours. Bhindranwale and man of his associates were killed – but there was a very large number of civilian casualties as well.
- ↑ "Operation Blue Star: India's first tryst with militant extremism". Dnaindia.com. 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
- ↑ Ghose, Sagarika (28 December 2018). "She Handpicked Him, He Shot Her Dead". readersdigest.in. Reader's Digest. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Smith, William E. (12 November 1984). "Indira Gandhi's assassination sparks a fearful round of sectarian violence". Time. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Dutta, Prabhash K. (31 October 2018). "The last day of Indira Gandhi". India Today.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "25 years after Indira Gandhi's assassination". CNN-IBN. 30 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 "The last walk: Indira Gandhi's last morning as the PM". India Today. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ↑ "1984: Assassination and revenge". BBC News. 31 October 1984. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ↑ "Questions still surround Gandhi assassination". Times Daily. New Delhi. AP. 24 November 1984. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Dr. Sangat Kr. Singh, The Sikhs in History, p. 393
- ↑ "The riots that could not be televised". Indianexpress.com. 3 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 December 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "We the eyeballs : Cover Story – India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 24 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy (28 March 1989). "India Releases Stinging Report on Gandhi's Death". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ↑ Ghose, Sagarika (28 December 2018). "She Handpicked Him, He Shot Her Dead". readersdigest.in. Reader's Digest. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ↑ Mollan, Cherylann (28 June 2025). "A pioneering doctor remembers India leader Indira Gandhi's final moments". BBC News. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ↑ "HT THIS DAY: November 1, 1984 — Prime Minister Indira Gandhi shot dead; 12-day mourning announced". Hindustan Times. 31 October 2021.
- ↑ Crossette, Barbara (6 January 1989). "India Hangs Two Sikhs Convicted in Assassination of Indira Gandhi". The New York Times.
- ↑ "Africa". 1984.
- ↑ "Africa". 1984.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Indochina Chronology. Texas Tech University. Vietnam Centre: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California. 1982. p. 4. ISSN 0897-4519.
- ↑ "Indira Gandhi assassinated".
- ↑ "Assassination Aftermath: Olive Branches from Neighbours; Pakistan Offers to Improve India Ties". The New York Times. 2 November 1984.
- ↑ "Decreto nº 90.394 de 31/10/1984".
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ "Asian Recorder". 1964.
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Указ No. 3904 от 1 ноември 1984 г. Обн. ДВ. бр. 88 от 6 ноември 1984 г.
- ↑ "BNL viewer".
- ↑ "Cyprus Bulletin: Review of Cyprus Developments". Press and Information Office, Republic of Cyprus. 1984.
- ↑ Daily Report: Asia & Pacific. The Service. November 1984.
- ↑ "Africa Research Bulletin". 1984.
- ↑ "MEA Annual Report 1984-85". Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. 1985. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ↑ "The World Leaders At the Gandhi Funeral". The New York Times. 4 November 1984. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ↑ "Reagan, Others Express Shock, Grief". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. 1 November 1984. p. 14.
Secretary of State George P. Shultz was named to head the official US delegation to Gandhi's funeral. Bush, asked why he would not represent the United States there, as he often has at state funerals, said: 'Because I'm involved in an election campaign...I think people will understand.'
- ↑ Reagan, Ronald (31 October 1984). "Statement on the Assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India". reaganlibrary.gov. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ↑ Nelson, Dean (30 January 2014). "Delhi to reopen inquiry in to massacre of Sikhs in 1984 riots". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ↑ Riaz, Ali; Zaman, Fahmida; Nasreen, Zobaida, eds. (2018). Political Violence in South Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351118200.
- ↑ Brass, Paul R. (2008). The Politics of India Since Independence (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780521459709.
- ↑ Chawla, Prabhu (15 April 1989). "Thakkar Commission report leak: Govt try to accuse Arun Nehru of being the main culprit". India Today. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ↑ Hazarika, Sanjoy (7 January 1989). "Protests Follow Hanging of 2 Sikhs". The New York Times. Vol. 138, no. 47743.
- ↑ "Centre blocks release of controversial film on Indira Gandhi's assassins 'Kaum de Heere'". The Times of India. Mumbai. Times News Network. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "Film on Indira Gandhi's assassins barred from release". The Tribune. Chandigarh, India. Press Trust of India. 21 August 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "Delhi HC clears release of Punjabi movie 'Kaum De Heere'". The Tribune. Press Trust India. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Indira Gandhi Memorial Indira Gandhi assassination books in Tamil in two volumes by Mrs. Z.Y. Himsagar and S. Padmavathi, M.A., M.L., Notion press.com, Chennai, 2016 edition, ISBN 9789352065967, 9789352065974
- Explore the Virtual Memorial of Indira Gandhi