Assassination of Indira Gandhi: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1984 assassination of the 3rd Prime Minister of India}}

a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]]. She was killed by her [[Sikh]] bodyguards<ref name=bbconthisday>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/31/newsid_3961000/3961851.stm |title=1984: Assassination and revenge |access-date=23 January 2009 |work=BBC News |date=31 October 1984 |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 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Satwant Singh]] and [[Beant Singh (assassin)|Beant Singh]] in the aftermath of [[Operation Blue Star]]. Operation Blue Star was an Indian military action carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984, ordered by Indira Gandhi to remove [[Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale]] and his followers from the holy Golden temple of the [[Harmandir Sahib]] in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. The collateral damage included the death of many pilgrims, as well as damage to the [[Akal Takht]].<ref name="Kiss_Khalistan">{{cite book |last1=Kiss |first1=Peter A. |title=Winning Wars amongst the People: Case Studies in Asymmetric Conflict |date=2014 |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=9781612347004 |page=100 |edition=Illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIY6AwAAQBAJ&q=khalistani+currency+bhindranwale&pg=PA100 |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|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.}}</ref>  The military action on the sacred temple was criticized by Sikhs both inside and outside India.

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 followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib complex in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]].<ref name="TH_Mi6">{{cite news |title=RAW chief consulted MI6 in 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>  

In June 1984, the Indian government ordered a military operation, Operation Blue Star to clear [[Harmandir Sahib | Darbar Sahib, Amritsar]] and thirty other [[Gurdwaras]] of innocent Sikhs led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who were with many other pilgrims in Gurdwaras. During this operation, the [[Indian army]] had around 3,000 casualties with 700 injuries, and 200–250 Sikh militants were killed. The handling of the operation, damage to the holy shrine and loss of life on both sides, led to widespread criticism of the Indian government.  

The perception of 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 - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|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 by the [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Intelligence Bureau]] due to the fear of assassination. However, Gandhi was of the opinion that this would reinforce her anti-Sikh image among the public and strengthen her political opponents. She ordered the [[Special Protection Group]] to reinstate her Sikh bodyguards, including Beant Singh who was reported to be her personal favorite.

At about 9:20&nbsp;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 wearing a saffron [[saree]] with a black border, and accompanied by constable Narayan Singh, personal security officer Rameshwar Dayal and personal secretary, [[R. K. Dhawan]].<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. |last=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 neighboring 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 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 revolver;<ref name=smith/> then Satwant fired 30 rounds from his [[Sten]] submachine 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, 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 hanged in 1989 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=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/We+the+eyeballs/1/1328.html |title=We the eyeballs : Cover Story – India Today |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 whom|date=October 2018}} 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 favorite guards, whom she had known for ten years.<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> Because he was a Sikh, he had been taken off her staff after Operation Blue Star, however, 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 when he killed her, and had been assigned to Gandhi's guard just five months before her assassination.<ref name=smith/>

Gandhi was taken to the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi]] at 9:30&nbsp;a.m., where doctors operated on her. She was declared dead at 2:20&nbsp;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 with respective weapons at CFSL Delhi.  

 

==Funeral==

| {{flag|People's Republic of Bulgaria}} || [[Todor Zhivkov]] (President)<ref name="report"/>

| {{flag|Polish People's Republic}} || [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] (President)<ref name="report"/>

| {{flag|Philippines}} || [[Imelda Marcos]] (First Lady)<ref name="report"/>

| {{flag|South Korea}} ||  [[:ko:채문식|Chae Mun-shik]] (Speaker of the National Assembly)<ref name="report"/>

 

Satwant Singh and alleged conspirator Kehar Singh were sentenced to death. Both were executed on 6 January 1989.

A Punjabi movie titled ''[[Kaum De Heere]]'' (''Gems of the Community'') highlighting the role/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>

[[Category:Assassinations in India|Gandhi, Indira]]

[[Category:Indira Gandhi]]

[[Category:Assassinated heads of government|Gandhi, Indira]]