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Biography of Rajiv GandhiName: Rajiv GandhiBirth Date: August 20, 1944 Death Date: May 21, 1991 Place of Birth: Bombay, India Nationality: Indian Gender: Male Occupations: prime minister, politician, member of parliament Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991) entered Indian politics after the death of his younger brother Sanjay in 1980, serving as adviser to his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and as an elected member of Parliament. He became prime minister shortly after the assassination of his mother in 1984.Rajiv Gandhi, India's sixth prime minister and general secretary of the Congress (I) party, was born on August 20, 1944, in Bombay, India. He was the grandson of India's first prime minister, Jawarharlal Nehru, and the eldest son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her journalist, parliamentarian husband, Feroze Gandhi (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi). Brought up surrounded by politics, Rajiv Gandhi stayed out of the political world until the death of his younger brother Sanjay, who had been active politically as his mother's adviser and as a member of Parliament.Gandhi's early years were spent at the prime minister's residence in New Delhi where his mother served as …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…corruption and incompetence. The Congress (I) party lost its majority and Gandhi was forced to resign as prime minister. Although displaced, Gandhi's opposition to Singh's administration proved tireless. His determination to return to office inspired a campaign in 1991 that political analysts believed would result in an absolute majority for Gandhi and his party. But he would not resume his former position. On May 21, 1991, Gandhi was assassinated by a terrorist bomb while campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Tamil separatists claimed the killing was an act of revenge for Gandhi's intervention in the Sri Lanka civil war of 1987. Further Reading For additional information see "Rajiv Gandhi, Super-salesman," Newsweek (June 17, 1985); "Rajiv the Son," New York Times Magazine (December 2, 1984); "India After Indira Gandhi," MacLean's (November 12, 1984); "Indira's Intrigues: India Elects a New Crown Prince," The New Leader (July 13, 1981); "Gandhi's Reluctant Heir," MacLean's (November 12, 1984); Underwood, N.-DeMont, J.al, et, "The End of a Dynasty?" MacLean's (June 3, 1991) |