List of assassination attempts on the prime ministers of India

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The Indira Gandhi Memorial at Delhi marks the site of the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Thiruperumbudur marks the site of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

There have been numerous assassination attempts on the prime ministers of India. The prime minister is the executive head of the Union Government of India, and is usually the most powerful person in the country.

Two prime ministers, namely Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi have been assassinated. The former was assassinated while in office, while the latter was assassinated after his tenure.

Apart from them, there have been rumours that Lal Bahadur Shastri was poisoned, causing his unnatural death while on an international visit.

Assassinated prime ministers[edit]

Name Date Place Type Assassin(s) Notes References
Indira Gandhi 31 October 1984 New Delhi Shooting Main convicts: Beant Singh and Satwant Singh

Co-conspirator: Kehar Singh

See also: Khalistan movement and Insurgency in Punjab
Rajiv Gandhi 21 May 1991 Thiruperumbudur, Tamil Nadu Suicide bombing Main convict: Thenmozhi Rajaratnam (alias Dhanu)

Co-conspirators: A. G. Perarivalan (alias Arivu), S. Nalini Sriharan, T. Suthendraraja (alias Santhan) and V. Sriharan (alias Murugan)

See also: Tamil Eelam, Sri Lankan Civil War, and Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War

Assassination attempts and plots[edit]

Jawaharlal Nehru[edit]

  • July 1948: An alleged plot to kill Jawaharlal Nehru was reported in July 1948. According to the report, three alleged gang members who were on their way to Delhi with a plan to kill Nehru were arrested at a dharamshala in Lakhisarai, Bihar.[1]
  • 4 May 1953: An alleged attempt to bomb the Bombay–Amritsar Express in which Nehru was travelling was thwarted when the police discovered two men crouched near the railway tracks in Kalyan, Bombay State.[2][3] It was later discovered that the object initially thought of as a bomb was a cracker and the attackers had only intended to cause a sensation.
  • 12 March 1955: In Nagpur, Maharashtra, a man jumped at Nehru's car with a six-inch knife. The attacked was identified as Baburao Laxman Kochale, a rickshaw-puller. Eyewitnesses noted that the knife could cause a fatal injury. The accused was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment.[2]
  • 4 June 1956: Prime Minister Nehru was the target of a stone pelting mob in Bombay, the capital of Bombay State. The Bombay Police had also received a threat that a bomb would be thrown at the prime minister. The police detained over 1,000 demonstrators and the prime minister remained unharmed.

Rajiv Gandhi[edit]

  • October 3, 1986: A Sikh gunman fired rounds from an improvised firearm at Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Delhi, while he was leaving the Raj Ghat.[4]
  • July 30, 1987 A Sri Lankan Navy sailor Wijemuni Vijitha Rohana de Silva hit Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with his rifle butt in Colombo, while he was inspecting Guard of Honour at Sri Lankan President’s House at Colombo.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Dutta, Prabhash K. "Nehru might be assassinated, a fear that kept Sardar Patel awake: 4 foiled plots". India Today. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kothari, Urvish (2018-12-28). "The many plots to kill Jawaharlal Nehru from 1948 to 1955". ThePrint. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  3. ↑ "Policeman foils attempt to bomb Nehru's train". The New York Times. 5 May 1953.
  4. ↑ Weintraub, Richard M. (1986-10-03). "Gandhi Unhurt in Apparent Assassination Attempt". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
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