Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister - Jan 19, 1966 - HISTORY.com Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister Share this: Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister Author Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister URL Publisher A+E Networks Following the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi becomes head of the Congress Party and thus prime minister of India. She was India’s first female head of government and by the time of her assassination in 1984 was one of its most controversial. Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the independent Republic of India. She became a national political figure in 1955, when she was elected to the executive body of the Congress Party. In 1959, she served as president of the party and in 1964 was appointed to an important post in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s ruling government. Soon after becoming prime minister, Gandhi was challenged by the right wing of the Congress Party, and in the 1967 election she won only a narrow victory and thus had to rule with a deputy prime minister.

In 1971, she won a resounding reelection victory over the opposition and became the undisputed leader of India. That year, she ordered India’s invasion of Pakistan in support of the creation of Bangladesh, which won her greater popularity and led her New Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections in 1972. During the next few years, she presided over increasing civil unrest brought on by food shortages, inflation, and regional disputes. Her administration was criticized for its strong-arm tactics in dealing with these problems. Meanwhile, charges by the Socialist Party that she had defrauded the 1971 election led to a national scandal. In 1975, the High Court in Allahabad convicted her of a minor election infraction and banned her from politics for six years. In response, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned thousands of political opponents, and restricted personal freedoms in the country. Among several unpopular programs during this period was the forced sterilization of men and women as a means of controlling population growth. In 1977, long-postponed national elections were held, and Gandhi and her party were swept from office.

The next year, Gandhi’s supporters broke from the Congress Party and formed the Congress (I) Party, with the “I” standing for “Indira.” Later in 1978, she was briefly imprisoned for official corruption. Soon after the ruling Janata Party fell apart, the Congress (I) Party, with Indira as its head, won a spectacular election victory in 1980, and Gandhi was again prime minister. In the early 1980s, several regional states intensified their call for greater autonomy from New Delhi, and the Sikh secessionist movement in Punjab resorted to violence and terrorism. In 1984, the Sikh leaders set up base in their sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar. Gandhi responded by sending the Indian army in, and hundreds of Sikhs were killed in the government assault. In retaliation, Sikh members of Gandhi’s own bodyguard gunned her down on the grounds of her home on October 31, 1984. She was succeeded by her son, Rajiv Gandhi.

Related Videos BBC ON THIS DAY | 19 | 1966: Indira Gandhi takes charge in India About This Site | Text Only 1966: Indira Gandhi takes charge in India Indira Gandhi, only daughter of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, is to become the country's next leader. She was chosen at the end of a bitter leadership battle with former finance minister Morarji Desai. Following her win, Mrs Gandhi pledged herself to serve the Congress Party and the country, and said she would "strive to create what my father used to call a climate of peace." Crowds had gathered outside Parliament House while the election was held, and cheered Mrs Gandhi wildly as she went to the President's House to report. She will not become prime minister until she submits her cabinet to the president. Mrs Gandhi did not confirm she would be a candidate until four days ago, when chief ministers from 11 of India's 16 states let it be known they would support her to take over. Another leading candidate, Gulzarilal Nanda, withdrew once it was clear Mrs Gandhi would be running.

He has been acting as prime minister since the unexpected death of Mr Nehru's successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, earlier this month. Mr Desai was under extreme pressure to pull out as well and avoid a potentially damaging leadership contest, but he insisted on going to a vote. It was predicted he would get less than 100 of the 526 votes from Congress MPs, but he surprised many by winning 169 votes to Mrs Gandhi's 355. Afterwards, Mr Desai pledged to cooperate fully with Mrs Gandhi. It is the second time running he has been defeated in a leadership contest: the first time, against Mr Shastri, he withdrew his candidacy without a vote. Mrs Gandhi, 48, was educated at West Bengal and Oxford and has two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, who are both studying in England. She gets her name not from Mahatma Gandhi, the legendary independence campaigner and founder of the Congress Party, but from her husband Feroze Gandhi, a lawyer who died in 1960. The couple spent 13 months in prison for subversion after fighting against British rule in India during the 1940s.

She has played a key part in the Congress Party since 1955, and served as information minister in Mr Shastri's government. Indira Gandhi | prime minister of India | Britannica.com prime minister of India Alternative Titles: Indira Nehru, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi Indira Gandhi Jawaharlal Nehru Indira Gandhi, in full Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, née Nehru (born November 19, 1917, Allahabad, India —died October 31, 1984, New Delhi), politician who served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984. Indira Gandhi, 1983.

Tim Graham/Getty Images Early life and rise to prominence Indira Nehru was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru , who was one of the chief figures in India’s struggle to achieve independence from Britain, was a top leader of the powerful and long-dominant Indian National Congress (Congress Party), and was the first prime minister (1947–64) of independent India. Her grandfather Motilal Nehru was one of the pioneers of the independence movement and was a close associate of Mohandas (“Mahatma”) Gandhi . She attended, for one year each, Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan (now in Bolpur, West Bengal state) and then the University of Oxford in England . She joined the Congress Party in 1938. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru being greeted by U.S. Pres. Harry S. Truman at the start of … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. In 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (died 1960), a fellow member of the party. The couple had two children, Sanjay and Rajiv .

However, the two parents were estranged from each other for much of their marriage. Indira’s mother had died in the mid-1930s, and thereafter she often acted as her father’s hostess for events and accompanied him on his travels. The Congress Party came to power when her father took office in 1947, and Gandhi became a member of its working committee in 1955. In 1959 she was elected to the largely honorary post of party president. She was made a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper chamber of the Indian parliament) in 1964, and that year Lal Bahadur Shastri —who had succeeded Nehru as prime minister—named her minister of information and broadcasting in his government. Indira Gandhi (left) and U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy (right) in New Delhi, India, March 1962. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library First period as prime minister On Shastri’s sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi was named leader of the Congress Party—and thus also became prime minister—in a compromise between the party’s right and left wings.

Her leadership, however, came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party, led by former minister of finance Morarji Desai . She won a seat in the 1967 elections to the Lok Sabha (lower chamber of the Indian parliament), but the Congress Party managed to win only a slim majority of seats, and Gandhi had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister. Britannica Stories Scientists Ponder Menopause in Killer Whales Tensions grew within the party, however, and in 1969 she was expelled from it by Desai and other members of the old guard. Undaunted, Gandhi, joined by a majority of party members, formed a new faction around her called the “New” Congress Party. In the 1971 Lok Sabha elections the New Congress group won a sweeping electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties. Gandhi strongly supported East Pakistan (now Bangladesh ) in its secessionist conflict with Pakistan in late 1971, and India’s armed forces achieved a swift and decisive victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh. She became the first government leader to recognize the new country.

In March 1972, buoyed by the country’s success against Pakistan, Gandhi again led her New Congress Party group to landslide victories in a large number of elections to state legislative assemblies. Shortly afterward, however, her defeated Socialist Party opponent from the 1971 national election charged that she had violated the election laws in that contest. In June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her, which meant that she would be deprived of her seat in the parliament and would be required to stay out of politics for six years. She appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court but did not receive a satisfactory response. Taking matters into her own hands, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned her political opponents, and assumed emergency powers. Many new laws were enacted that limited personal freedoms. During that period she also implemented several unpopular policies, including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth control . Indira Gandhi campaigning before national parliamentary elections in India, spring 1971. Bettmann/Corbis Fall from power and return to office Britannica Lists & Quizzes Former Prime Ministers | Prime Minister of India Dr.

Manmohan Singh May 22, 2004 - May 26, 2014 India’s fourteenth Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh is rightly acclaimed as a thinker and a scholar. He is well regarded for his diligence and his academic approach to work, as well as his accessibility and his unassuming demeanour. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in a village in ... Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee March 19, 1998 - May 22, 2004 A man of the masses, firm in his political convictions. On October 13, 1999, he took charge as Prime Minister of India for the second consecutive term at the head of a new coalition government, the National Democratic Alliance. He was Prime Minister for a short period in 1996. He is the ...

Shri Inder Kumar Gujral April 21, 1997 - March 19, 1998 Shri Inder Kumar Gujral was sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of India on Monday, the 21st of April, 1997. Son of Late Shri Avtar Narain Gujral and Late Smt. Pushpa Gujral, Shri Gujral is M.A., B.Com. Ph.D. & D.Litt. (Hons. Causa). He was born at Jhelum (in undivided Punjab) on 4th ... Shri H. D. Deve Gowda June 1, 1996 - April 21, 1997 Shri H. D. Deve Gowda, a staunch crusader of socio-economic development and an ardent admirer of the rich cultural heritage of India, was born on May 18, 1933 in Haradanahalli village of Holenarasipura taluk, Hassan District in Karnataka. A Civil Engineering Diploma holder, Shri Deve Gowda plunged into active politics at the early ...

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee May 16, 1996 - June 1, 1996 A man of the masses, firm in his political convictions. On October 13, 1999, he took charge as Prime Minister of India for the second consecutive term at the head of a new coalition government, the National Democratic Alliance. He was Prime Minister for a short period in 1996. He is the ... Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao June 21, 1991- May 16, 1996 Son of Shri P. Ranga Rao, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao was born on June 28, 1921 at Karimnagar. He studied in Osmania University, Hyderabad, Bombay University and the Nagpur University. A widower, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao is the father of three sons and five daughters. Being an agriculturist and an advocate, he joined ...

Shri Chandra Shekhar November 10, 1990 - June 21, 1991 Shri Chandra Shekhar was born on July 1, 1927, in a farmer's family in village Ibrahimpatti in District Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. He was President of the Janata Party from 1977 to 1988. Shri Chandra Shekhar was attracted to politics from his student days and was known as a fire-brand idealist with revolutionary fervour. ... Shri Vishwanath Pratap Singh December 2, 1989 - November 10, 1990 Born on June 25, 1931 at Allahabad, Shri V.P. Singh is the son of Raja Bahadur Ram Gopal Singh. He was educated at Allahabad and Poona Universities. He was married to Smt. Sita Kumari on June 25, 1955 and has two sons. A scholarly man, he was the proud founder of Gopal Vidyalaya, ...

Shri Rajiv Gandhi October 31, 1984 - December 2, 1989 At 40, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of India, perhaps even one of the youngest elected heads of Government in the world. His mother, Smt. Indira Gandhi, was eight years older when she first became Prime Minister in 1966. His illustrious grandfather, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, was 58 when he ... Smt. Indira Gandhi January 14, 1980 - October 31, 1984 Born on November 19, 1917 in an illustrious family, Smt. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. She studied at prime institutions like Ecole Nouvelle, Bex (Switzerland), Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Pupils' Own School, Poona and Bombay, Badminton School, Bristol, Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan and Somerville College, Oxford. She was conferred Honorary ...

Shri Charan Singh July 28, 1979 - January 14, 1980 Shri Charan Singh was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, in a middle class peasant family. He graduated in science in 1923, and did his post-graduation from Agra University in 1925. Also trained in law, he set up practice at Ghaziabad. He shifted to Meerut in 1929 ... Shri Morarji Desai March 24, 1977 - July 28, 1979 Shri Morarji Desai was born on February 29, 1896 in Bhadeli village, now in the Bulsar district of Gujarat. His father was a school teacher and a strict disciplinarian. From his childhood, young Morarji learnt from his father the value of hard work and truthfulness under all circumstances. He was educated St. ... Smt.

Indira Gandhi January 24, 1966 - March 24, 1977 Born on November 19, 1917 in an illustrious family, Smt. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. She studied at prime institutions like Ecole Nouvelle, Bex (Switzerland), Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Pupils' Own School, Poona and Bombay, Badminton School, Bristol, Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan and Somerville College, Oxford. She was conferred Honorary ... Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda January 11, 1966 - January 24, 1966 Born on July 4, 1898, in Sialkot (Punjab), Shri Gulzarilal Nanda was educated at Lahore, Agra and Allahabad. He worked as a research scholar on labour problems at the University of Allahabad (1920-1921) and became Professor of Economics at the National College (Bombay) in 1921. He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement the same ...

Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri June 9, 1964 - January 11, 1966 Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on October 2, 1901 at Mughalsarai, a small railway town seven miles from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. His father was a school teacher who died when Lal Bahadur Shastri was only a year and half old. His mother, still in her twenties, took her three children ... Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda May 27, 1964 - June 9, 1964 Born on July 4, 1898, in Sialkot (Punjab), Shri Gulzarilal Nanda was educated at Lahore, Agra and Allahabad. He worked as a research scholar on labour problems at the University of Allahabad (1920-1921) and became Professor of Economics at the National College (Bombay) in 1921. He joined the Non-Cooperation Movement the same ...

Shri Jawaharlal Nehru August 15, 1947 to May 27, 1964 Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allabahad on November 14, 1889. He received his early education at home under private tutors. At the age of fifteen, he went to England and after two years at Harrow, joined Cambridge University where he took his tripos in Natural Sciences. He was later called to ... On This Day: Indira Gandhi Elected Prime Minister of India On This Day: Indira Gandhi Elected Prime Minister of India January 19, 2011 06:00 AM by findingDulcinea Staff On Jan. 19, 1966, Indira Gandhi succeeded Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri to become the first female leader of the Indian government. Gandhi Named Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the only daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, a leader of the Indian independence movement and the nation’s first prime minister.

She served as an aide to her father during his 17-year rule and served in the cabinet of his successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri. When Shastri suffered a fatal heart attack on Jan. 11, 1966, Gandhi became one of the leading candidates to replace him , receiving the support of Congress Party leader Kumaraswami Kamaraj Nadar. “Increasingly, Kamaraj found that the person with the fewest serious enemies, the widest reputation and the most attractive personality was Indira Gandhi,” wrote Time. On Jan. 19, the Congress Party held its vote for prime minister. Gandhi received 355 votes, while her only competitor, Morarji Desai, received 169. Following her victory, Gandhi gave an address to the Congress Party . “As I stand before you,” she said, “my thoughts go back to the great leaders: Mahatma Gandhi, at whose feet I grew up, Panditji, my father, and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

These leaders have shown the way, and I want to go along the same path.” Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf A scion of the politically powerful Nehru dynasty, Indira Priyadarshini Nehru was immersed in India’s independence movement from Britain at an early age . Her grandfather, Motilal Nehru, was an early leader of Indian independence and her father, Jawaharlal Nehru , served as the first prime minister of independent India. At 12 years old, she led a children’s informant group called the Monkey Brigade. Designed to act as an early warning system for Indian National Congress workers who feared random search and arrest by police, her group had numerous successes. In 1942, she married journalist Feroze Gandhi—no relation to Mohandas Gandhi—and had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, with him. Rajiv would succeed her as prime minister following her assassination in 1984. She served as an advisor for her father when he assumed the role of prime minister in 1947 and became an active member of the Congress Party in the 1950s.

After the death of her father in 1964, she became Minister for Information and Broadcasting. Time: Death in the Garden Gandhi faced significant political opposition from Morarji Desai and the conservatives of the Congress Party almost immediately into her tenure as prime minister. She barely retained her position after the 1967 election and had to make concessions of power to the conservative wing. In her foreign policy, Gandhi remained nonaligned , wavering between support of the United States and USSR. India established itself as a formidable military power under her rule, defeating Pakistan in an 11-month-war in 1971 and building a nuclear weapon in 1974. She won re-election decisively 1971, but there were accusations of election fraud made against her. In 1975, she was found guilty of election fraud and banned from politics for six years ; she refused to resign and declared martial law, which allowed her to arrest dissenters, censor the press and rewrite the country’s constitution. When she was up for re-election in 1977, she lost convincingly and was removed from office. She was voted back into power in 1980.

As prime minister, she believed in the power of the central government and tried to quash regional conflicts. In 1983, when a Sikh rebellion broke out in the northern state of Punjab, Gandhi sent Indian troops to the Golden Temple , the holiest site in Sikhism. A bloody battle ensued and the rebellion was quelled, but the anger her military strike inspired in the Sikh community ultimately led to her death. On the morning of Oct. 31, 1984, two Sikh security guards shot Gandhi seven times on the grounds of her home. She died that afternoon, igniting widespread sectarian violence across India. Gandhi, who knew that she was a target for Sikh radicals, had refused to wear a bulletproof vest. “I am not interested in a long life. I am not afraid of these things,” she said on the eve of her death. “I don't mind if my life goes in the service of this nation.

If I die today, every drop of my blood will invigorate the nation.” January 19, 1966 : Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister Introduction Following the death of Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi becomes head of the Congress Party and thus prime minister of India. She was India’s first female head of government and by the time of her assassination in 1984 was one of its most controversial. Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the independent Republic of India. She became a national political figure in 1955, when she was elected to the executive body of the Congress Party. In 1959, she served as president of the party and in 1964 was appointed to an important post in Lal Bahadur Shastri’s ruling government. Soon after becoming prime minister, Gandhi was challenged by the right wing of the Congress Party, and in the 1967 election she won only a narrow victory and thus had to rule with a deputy prime minister. In 1971, she won a resounding reelection victory over the opposition and became the undisputed leader of India.

That year, she ordered India’s invasion of Pakistan in support of the creation of Bangladesh, which won her greater popularity and led her New Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections in 1972. During the next few years, she presided over increasing civil unrest brought on by food shortages, inflation, and regional disputes. Her administration was criticized for its strong-arm tactics in dealing with these problems. Meanwhile, charges by the Socialist Party that she had defrauded the 1971 election led to a national scandal. In 1975, the High Court in Allahabad convicted her of a minor election infraction and banned her from politics for six years. In response, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned thousands of political opponents, and restricted personal freedoms in the country. Among several unpopular programs during this period was the forced sterilization of men and women as a means of controlling population growth. In 1977, long-postponed national elections were held, and Gandhi and her party were swept from office.

The next year, Gandhi’s supporters broke from the Congress Party and formed the Congress (I) Party, with the “I” standing for “Indira.” Later in 1978, she was briefly imprisoned for official corruption. Soon after the ruling Janata Party fell apart, the Congress (I) Party, with Indira as its head, won a spectacular election victory in 1980, and Gandhi was again prime minister. In the early 1980s, several regional states intensified their call for greater autonomy from New Delhi, and the Sikh secessionist movement in Punjab resorted to violence and terrorism. In 1984, the Sikh leaders set up base in their sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar. Gandhi responded by sending the Indian army in, and hundreds of Sikhs were killed in the government assault. In retaliation, Sikh members of Gandhi’s own bodyguard gunned her down on the grounds of her home on October 31, 1984. She was succeeded by her son, Rajiv Gandhi.

Article Details: January 19, 1966 : Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister Author January 19, 1966 : Indira Gandhi becomes Indian prime minister URL List of Prime Ministers of India From 1947 Till Date You are here: Home 2008 November List of Prime Ministers of India From 1947 Till Date List of Prime Ministers of India From 1947 Till Date Posted on 28th November 2008 | 67 Comments India became an ‘Independent’ country on 15th August 1947.

The Following is a List of the Prime Ministers of India From 1947 Till Date:- The 1st / First Prime Minsiter of Independent India: PANDIT JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, (Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh on 14th November 1889 and Died in New Delhi on 27th May 1964, at the age of 74 years) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of the Indian National Congress /INC had been the 1st/first Prime Minister of India from 15th August 1947 To 27th May 1964 continuously for 17 years for more than 4full terms. Jawaharlal Nehru is one of the ‘Founder-Members’ of the “Indian National Congress”./INC. Jawaharlal Nehru died during his 4th term of his tenure as the Prime Minister of India. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was conferred on with India’s highest civilian award-the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in the year 1955.

After the death of the 1st / Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded him as the 2nd /second Prime Minister of India. The 1st/First Interim Prime Minister of India: Mr. GULZARILAL NANDA, (Born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) on 4th July 1898 and died on 15th January 1998 at the age of 99 years), Gulzarilal Nanda had been the 1st / first Interim Prime Minister of India from 27th May 1964 To 9th June1964 for 14 days, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, until Lal Bahadur Shastri was selected as the 2nd/second Prime Minister of India. Mr.

Gulzarilal Nanda had also been the 2nd/second “Interim Prime Minister” of India, after Lal Bahadur Shastri died on 11th January 1966, for 14 days from 11th January 1966 To 24th January 1966, until Mrs.Indira Gandhi was selected as the Third Prime Minister of India. Mr.Gulzarilal Nanda was conferred on with India’s highest civilian award the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in the year 1997.

The 2nd/Second Prime Minister of India: Mr.LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI (Born in Moghalsarai, Varanasi on 2nd October 1904 and died at Tashkent in USSR, while negotiating ‘Peace Talks’ on behalf of India with Pakistan on 11th January 1966 at the age of 61 years) Lal Bahadur Shastri of the Indian National Congress/INC had been the 2nd/second Prime Minister of India from 9th June 1964 To 11th January 1966, for 1 year and 7 months. Mr.Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded the 1st / first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and was succeeded by Mrs.Indira Gandhi.

The 2nd/Second Interim Prime Minister of India: Mr.GULZARILAL NANDA had been the 2nd/second Interim Prime Minister of India from 11th January 1966 To 24th January 1966 for 14 days until Mrs.Indira Gandhi was selected as the 3rd /third Prime Minister of India. Mr.Gulzarilal Nanda had been the 1st/first Interim Prime Minister of India from 27th May 1964 to 9th June 1964 for 14 days, after the death of the 1st /first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, until Lal Bahadur Shastri was elected as the 2nd / second Prime Minister of India.

The 3rd/Third Prime Minister of India: Mrs.INDIRA GANDHI, Born in Allahabad on 19th November 1917 and shot dead in her Office-cum-Residence at New Delhi, by her own security guards on 31st October 1984 at the age of 66 years) Mrs.Indira Gandhi is the only daughter of the 1st/first Prime Minister of India-Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, hte first Prime Minister of India. Mrs.Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress/INC had been the 3rd / third Prime Minister of India, who had been in office for the following 2 different terms, for a total period of 15 years:.

1st Time:From 24th January 1966 To 24th March 1977, succeeding Lal Bahadur Shastri and succeeded by Morarji Desai and the 2nd Time: From 14th January 1980 To 31st October 1984 succeeding Charan Singh until she was shot dead by her own security guards Mrs.Indira Gandhi is the’First and the Only Lady Prime Minister of India’. Mrs.Indira Gandhi was conferred on with India’s highest civilian award the ‘Bharat Ratna’ in the year 1971 posthumously.

The 4th/Fourth Prime Minister of India: Mr.MORARJI DESAI (Born on 29th February 1896 in Bhadeli village in Bulsar district in the then Bombay Presidency, now in Gujarat and died in New Delhi on 10th April 1995 at the age of 99 years) Mr.Morarji Desai had been the 4th /fourth Prime Minister of India from 24th March 1977 To 28th July 1979, for 2 years and 4 months. Mr. Morarji Desai was the first Non-congress Prime Minister of India, who headed the Janata Party Government. Mr.Morarji Desai succeeded Mrs.Indira Gandhi and was succeeded by Charan Singh as the Prime Minister of India.

The 5th/Fifth Prime Minister of India: Mr.CHARAN SINGH (Born in Meerut on 23rd December 1902 and died on 29th May 1987 at the age of 84 years) Mr.Charan Singh had been the 5th /fifth Prime Minister of India from 28th July 1979 To 14th January 1980 for 5 and 1/2 months. Mr.Charan Singh was From Janata Party (Secular). Within a few days of his assuming office as the Prime Minister one of the supporting parties withdrew support and Mr.Charan Singh had been only a Caretaker Prime Minister.. Mr.Charan Singh succeeded Mr.Morarji Desai and was succeeded by Mrs.Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India. After Charan Singh / From 14th January 1980 To 31st October 1984: Mrs Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress/INC was the Prime Minister of India for the second time, from 14th January 1980 to 31st October 1984.

Indira Gandhi was shot dead on 31st October 1984, by her own Security Guards in her official residence. The 6th/Sixth Prime Minister of India: Mr.RAJIV GANDHI, (Born in Allahabad on 20th August 1944 and Assassinated by ‘Human Bomb Blast’ in Sriperumpudur, near Chennai on 21st May 1991) Mr.Rajiv Gandhi is the first son of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the Grandson of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr.Rajiv Gandhi of the Indian National Congress/INC had been the 6th /sixth Prime Minister of India from 31st October 1984 to 1st December 1989 for 5 years and 1 month. Mr.Rajiv Gandhi had been the youngest Prime Minister of India (at the age of 41 years.). Mr.Rajiv Gandhi was conferred on with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharar Ratna in the year 1991, posthumously.

Mr.Rajiv Gandhi succeeded Charan Singh and was succeeded by V.P.Singh as the Prime Minister of India. The 7th/Seventh Prime Minister of India: Mr.VISWANATH PRATAPH SINGH/ V.P.SINGH (Born in Allahbad on 25th June 1931 and died on 27th November 2008 at the age of 77 years) Mr.V.P.Singh had been the 7th /seventh Prime Minister of India from 2nd December 1989 To 10th November 1990 for 11 months. Mr.V.P.Singh was the head of the Janata Dal Government.

Mr.V.P.Singh succeeded Mr.Rajiv Gandhi and was succeeded by Mr.Chandra Shekar as the Prime Minister of India The 8th/ Eighth Prime Minister of India: Mr.CHANDRA SHEKAR (Born in Ibrahimpatti village in Ballia District in Uttar Pradesh on 1st July 1927 and died in New Delhi on 8th July 2007 at the age of 80 years) Mr.Chandra shekar had been the 8th /eighth Prime Minister of India of the Janata Dal Socialist Faction Supported by Indian National Congress of Rajiv Gandhi, from 10th November 1990 to 21st June 1991 for 7 months. Mr.Chandra shekar succeeded Mr.V.P.Singh and was succeeded by Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister of India.

The 9th / Ninth Prime Minister of India: Mr.PAMULAPARTI VENKATA NARASIMHA RAO /P.V.NARASIHMA RAO (Born in Lakkampalli village of Narasampet in Warangal District.of Andhra Pradesh on 28th June 1921 and died in New Delhi on 23rd December 2004 at the age of 83 years) Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao of the Indian National Congress/INC had been the 9th /ninth Prime Minister of India from 21st June 1991 to 16th May 1996 for 4 years and 11 months. Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao is the first South Indian / the first from the State of Andhra Pradesh to become the Prime Minister of India. Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao succeeded Mr.Chandra Shekar and was succeeded by Mr.A.B.Vajpayee as the Prime MInister of India.

The 10th/ Tenth Prime Minister of India: Mr.ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE/A.B.VAJPAYEE: (Born in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on 25th December 1924- aged 91 years as of 25th December 2015) Mr.A.B.Vajpaye had been the 10th Prime Minister of India,in the following 2 terms: 1st Term:From 16th May 1996 To 1st June 1996 for 17 days as the Pime Minister of the Bharahiya Janata Party /BJP and a 2nd Term: From 19th March 1998 to 13th October 1999 for a period of 1 year, 6 months and 24 days as the Prime Mininster of a BJP led National Democratic Alliance /NDA and a 3rd Term: From 13th October 1999 to 22nd May 2004 for a period of 4 years 7 months and 9 days as the Prime Minister of the Bharathiya

 Janatha Party/ BJP led National Democratic Alliance/NDA Mr.A.B.Vajpayee had been the Prime Minister of India as the only Non -Congress Prime Minister who had completed a full 5 years term and he had been the Prime Minister of India for a total period of 6 years 2 months and 20 days (Non Consecutively) Mr.A.B.Vajpayee succeeded Mr.P.V.Narasimha Rao and was succeeded by Mr.H.D.Devegowda in the first term of his office of a short tenure of 17 days and he succeeded Mr.I.K.Gural in his 2nd term of office and he continued in office for a third term until he was succeeded by Dr.Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of India.

Mr.A.B.Vajpayee was conferred on with the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna in the year 2015 The 11th/ Eleventh Prime Minister of India: Mr.HARADANAHALLI DODDE GOWDA DEVE GOWDA / H.D.DEVE GOWDA: (Born in Haradanahalli village of Holenarasipura taluk, Hassan District, Karnataka on 18th May 1933- 82 years old as of 18th May 2015) Mr.H.D.Dev Gowda had been the 11th /eleventh Prime Minister of India from from 1st June 1996 To 21st April 1997.for a period of 10 months and 20 days. Deve Gowda was the Prime Minister heading a ‘non-congress’ and non-BJP’ collision -“United Front”.

The 12th/ Twelfth Prime Minister of India: Dr.INDER KUMAR GUJRAL/ Dr.I.K.GUJRAL (Born in Jhelum, the Undivided Punjab, which is presently in Pakistan on 4th December 1919 and died in Gurgaon, Haryana on 30th November 2012 at the age of 92 years) Dr.I.KGujral had been the 12th/twelfth Prime Minister of India from from 21st April 1997 To 19th March 1998 for 11 months.as the Prime Minister of the Janata Dal Government. From 19th March 1998 To 22nd May 2004: Mr.Atal Bihari Vajpayee / A.B.Vajpayee was the Prime Minister of India for the second and the third time, From 19th March 1998 To 13th October 1999 and From 13th October 1999 To 22nd May 2004.

The 13th/ Thirteenth & the 14th /Fourteenth Prime Minister of India: Dr.MANMOHAN SINGH (Born in Gah, Punjab on 26th Sepetmber 1932-aged 83 years as on 26th Septmeber 2015) Dr.Manmohan Singh had been the 13th &the 14th Prime Minister of India from 22nd May 2004 till 26th May 2014, for a continuous and full 2 terms of 10 years as the Prime Minister of the Indian National Congress/ INC led United Progressive Alliane/ UPA.

The 15th/ Fifteenth and the Present Prime Minister of India From 26th May 2014: Mr.NARENDRA DAMODAR DAS MODI /NARENDRA MODI: (Born on 17th Septmeber 1950- aged 65 years as of 17th Septmeber 2015) Mr.Narendra Modi has taken charge as the Prime Minister of India from 26th May 2014, as the Prime Minister of the Bharathiya Janata Party/BJP led National Democratic Alliance/ NDA. Mr.Narendr Modi had been the Chief Minister of Gujarath from 2001 to 2014. More from my site 67 Responses to "List of Prime Ministers of India From 1947 Till Date" Nivitha Thanks For increasing my knowledge With these all information i like it .. B.S.Rautela It is very good data and information for coming generation and it will be preserved till the sun and moon on the earth. It is the only History and only History to the coming generation. Very Good, Nice.

Manas: History and Politics, Constitution of India Independent India India acquired independence on 15 August 1947 though sections of the country were carved out and stitched together to create another new country, Pakistan. The “institutional” road to independence was perhaps laid down by the Government of India Act of 1935, where the gradual emergence of India as a self-governing entity had first been partly envisioned. Following India's independence in 1947, the Constituent Assembly deliberated over the precise constitutional future of India. On 26 January 1950, India became a Republic, and the Constitution of India was promulgated. Jawaharlal Nehru had become the country’s first Prime Minister in 1947, and in 1952, in the country’s first general election with a universal franchise, Nehru led the Indian National Congress to a clear victory. The Congress had long been the principal political party in India, providing the leadership to the struggle for independence, and under Nehru’s stewardship it remained the largest and most influential party over the next three decades.

In 1957, Nehru was elected to yet another five-year term as a member of the Lok Sabha and chosen to head the government. His ‘regime’ was marked by the advent of five-year plans, designed to bring big science and industry to India; in Nehru's own language, steel mills and dams were to be the temples of modern India. Relations with Pakistan remained chilling, and the purported friendship of India and China proved to be something of a hoax. China’s invasion of India's borders in 1962 is said to have dealt a mortal blow to Nehru. Nehru was succeeded at his death on 27 May 1964 for a period of two weeks by Gulzarilal Nanda (1898-1998), a veteran Congress politician who became active in the non-cooperation movement in 1922 and served several prison terms, principally in 1932 and from 1942-44 during the Quit India movement. Nanda served as acting Prime Minister until the Congress had elected a new leader, Lal Bahadur Shastri, also a veteran politician who came of age during the Gandhi-led non-cooperation movement.

Shastri was the compromise candidate who, perhaps unexpectedly, led the country to something of a victory over Pakistan in 1965. Shastri and the vanquished Pakistani President, Muhammad Ayub Khan, signed a peace treaty at Tashkent in the former Soviet Union on 10 January 1966, but Shastri barely lived to witness the accolades that were now being showered upon him since he died of an heart attack the day after the treaty was signed. Shastri’s empathy for the subaltern classes is conveyed through the slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”, “Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer”, which is attributed to him and through which he is remembered at Vijay Ghat, the national memorial to him in New Delhi in the proximity of Rajghat, the national memorial to Mohandas Gandhi. On Shastri’s death, the Congress was once again engulfed by an internal struggle. Gulzarilal Nanda once again served as the acting Prime Minister, again for a period of less than a month, before being succeeded by Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter.

By the late 1960s, Indira Gandhi had engineered a split in the Congress, as the only means to ensure her political survival, and the Congress party, which with every passing year was losing something of its shine, now went into a precipitous decline. In 1971, India crushed Pakistan in a short war that also saw the birth of Bangladesh, and Indira was now at the helm of her powers. But the Congress was now a mere shadow of its former self, and as domestic problems mounted and popular movements directed at Indira Gandhi began to show their effect, she resorted to more repressive measures. An internal emergency, which placed almost the entire opposition behind bars, was proclaimed in May 1975, and only removed in 1977; and the same opposition, which hastily convened to chart its strategy, achieved in delivering the Congress party its first loss in national elections. This government, serving various political interests and led by the victorious Janata Party, which had been formed out of various opposition parties, lasted a mere three years.

It was led by the controversial Gandhian and Congress stalwart, Morarji Desai, for two years, and for another year by Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902-1987), who came from a Jat farming community with roots in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Lok Sabha or Lower Assembly never met during Charan Singh’s Prime Ministership and the political alliance crumbled. Indira Gandhi rode a spectacular wave of victory in 1980. But she did not live to complete her term: shot by her own Sikh bodyguards, who sought to avenge the destruction unleashed upon the Golden Temple, the venerable shrine of the Sikh faith, by Indian government troops given the task of flushing out the terrorists holed in the shrine, she was succeeded by her son, Rajiv Gandhi, in late 1984. In the December 1994 Lok Sabha elections, Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress party won a landslide election.

But Rajiv’s premiership was to be marked by numerous political disasters, and Rajiv’s own name was tainted by the allegation that he had received huge bribes from a Swedish firm of Bofors, manufacturers of a machine-gun for which the Indian army placed a large order. His own finance minister, V. P. Singh (1931-), once a Indira Gandhi loyalist who had been picked by her in 1980 to serve as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was to turn against Rajiv; and in 1989, V. P. Singh led the Janata Party to an electoral rout over the Congress. However, the revived Janata party mustered only 145 votes, and it had to take the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by L. K. Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee, in order to form a government. It is at this juncture that India truly entered the era of coalition governments. V. P.

Singh would soon be brought down by two disputes: one over the status of the Babri Masjid, a sixteenth-century mosque that Hindu militants claimed had been built over the Ram Janmasthan [birthplace], and the second over the recommendations of the Mandal commission pertaining to quotas for various elements of India’s underprivileged masses. On 7 November 1990, by a vote of 356-151, V. P. Singh lost the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and some days later Chandra Sekhar (1927-), with the support of Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress, was sworn in as the next prime minister. However, Congress withdrew its support in March 1991, and elections were called in May. On 21 May 1991, as intense electioneering was taking place, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Sri Lankan suicide bomber. The mantle of Congress leadership fell on the veteran P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921-2004), who led the party to triumph, even as the BJP raised the number of its seats in Parliament from a little over 80 to 120.

On 6 December 1992, acting in defiance of Supreme Court orders, Hindu militants destroyed the Babri Masjid, and so initiated one of the most intense crises in India’s post-independent history. Rao weathered many a storm, and presided over the liberalization of the economy -- the architect of which was Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister and, since 2004, the Prime Minister of India. But Rao could not keep the BJP and its friends in check. In the general elections of 1996, the BJP emerged as the largest party, but its 194 seats were not enough to give it a working majority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, and Atal Behari Vajpayee’s first government lasted a mere twelve days.

A 13-party coalition of the United National Front and the Indian left was brought into power, and Deve Gowda, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, was raised to the office of the Prime Minister; but after less than a year in office, he resigned and was succeeded by Inder Kumar Gujral, whose main contribution in office was to bequeath “the Gujral doctrine” – a reference to his genuine attempts to mend India’s relations with its South Asian neighbors, based on the principle that as the largest country, India could afford to be generous, and did not have to require reciprocity for all its munificent actions. But Gujral’s government similarly lasted less than a year; and in the general elections of February 1998, the BJP emerged again as the single largest party, this time with 200 seats. Vajpayee was invited to form a government, and did so with a coalition of several parties, including the AIADMK, led by Jayalalitha. Nothing that the BJP did was so ripe with consequences as the decision to turn India into a nuclear state with a series of nuclear tests in May 1998.

The coalition, not unpredictably, broke down; but the general elections of September 1999, in which the BJP again emerged as the single largest party, and the Congress had a poor showing at the polls, despite being led by Sonia Gandhi, a scion of the ‘Nehru dynasty’, were to reinforce the impression that regional parties and politics have fundamentally altered the state of Indian politics. Under Vajpayee, the BJP presided over the country’s destiny until 2004, even though it was becoming inescapably clear that the dominance of any one party is no longer a foregone conclusion and that coalition politics appears to be the way of the future. Many commentators were rightfully alarmed by various ominous developments that transpired during the BJP’s years in office, such as the coercive Hinduization of the country, the inability of the state to guarantee the rights of religious minorities, and other obvious manifestations of an utter disregard for human rights, such as state-sponsored killings in Kashmir, the north-east, and elsewhere, or the oppressions unleashed upon Christians and women.

On the other hand, Vajpayee and the BJP are not only credited with having administered a crushing blow to Pakistan’s adventurism on the Himalayan mountain tops at Kargil, but with having spearheaded a rapid expansion of the Indian economy. In provincial elections held in several states in late 2003, the BJP registered impressive triumphs and the party leadership was led into thinking that, in calling for early elections, it could consolidate its gains with a magisterial showing in national elections. The BJP waged a campaign on the slogan of “India Shining”, trumpeting the emergence of India as a major power. However, the Indian electorate once again showed that it was not to be taken for granted, and the BJP and its allies lost to a coalition headed by the Congress party. [ See India’s Moment: Elections 2004. ] The Fourteenth Lok Sabha convened on 17 May 2004 and Manmohan Singh (1932-) assumed the office of the Prime Minister at the head of what is known as the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government.

The UPA is supported by the Left Front, a coalition of parties headed by the CPM, or the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For a Slovak translation of this page, go to: For a Russian translation of this page, go to: Smt. Indira Gandhi | Prime Minister of India Smt. Indira Gandhi January 24, 1966 - March 24, 1977 | Congress Born on November 19, 1917 in an illustrious family, Smt. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. She studied at prime institutions like Ecole Nouvelle, Bex (Switzerland), Ecole Internationale, Geneva, Pupils’ Own School, Poona and Bombay, Badminton School, Bristol, Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan and Somerville College, Oxford. She was conferred Honorary doctoral degree by a host of Universities globally. With an impressive academic background she also got the Citation of Distinction from the Columbia University. Smt. Indira Gandhi was actively involved in the freedom struggle.

In her childhood, she founded the ‘Bal Charkha Sangh’ and in 1930, the ‘Vanar Sena’ of children to help the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement. She was imprisoned in September 1942, and worked in riot-affected areas of Delhi in 1947 under Gandhi’s guidance. She got married to Feroze Gandhi on March 26, 1942 and had two sons. Smt. Gandhi became a Member, Congress Working Committee and Central Election of the party in 1955. In 1958 she was appointed as a Member for Central Parliamentary Board of Congress. She was the Chairperson, National Integration Council of A.I.C.C. and President, All India Youth Congress, 1956 and Women’s Dept. A.I.C.C. She became the President, Indian National Congress in 1959 and served till 1960 and then again from January 1978. She had been Minister for Information and Broadcasting (1964- 1966).

Then she held the highest office as the Prime Minister of India from January 1966 to March 1977. Concurrently, she was the Minister for Atomic Energy from September 1967 to March 1977. She also held the additional charge of the Ministry of External Affairs from September 5, 1967 to February 14, 1969. Smt. Gandhi headed the Ministry of Home Affairs from June 1970 to November 1973 and Minister for Space from June 1972 to March 1977. From January 1980 she was Chairperson, Planning Commission. She again chaired the prime Minister’s Office from January 14, 1980. Smt. Indira Gandhi was associated with a large number of organisations and institutions, like Kamala Nehru Memorial Hospital, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and Kasturba Gandhi Memorial Trust. She was the Chairperson of Swaraj Bhavan Trust. She was also associated with Bal Sahyog, Bal Bhavan Board and Children’s National Museum in 1955. Smt.

Gandhi founded the Kamala Nehru Vidyalaya in Allahabad. She was also associated with certain big institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University and North-Eastern University during 1966-77. She also served as a Member of Delhi University Court, Indian Delegation to UNESCO (1960-64), Member, Executive Board of UNESCO from 1960-64 and Member, National Defence Council, 1962. She was also associated with Sangeet Natak Academy, National Integration Council, Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society and Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. Smt. Gandhi also became a Member of Rajya Sabha in August 1964 and served till February 1967. She was the Member of Lok Sabha during fourth, fifth and sixth sessions. She was elected to the Seventh Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli (U.P.) and Medak (Andhra Pradesh) in January 1980. She chose to retain the Medak seat and relinquished the Rae Bareli seat.

She was chosen as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in 1967-77 and again in January 1980. Interested in a wide array of subjects, she viewed life as an integrated process, where activities and interests are different facets of the whole, not separated into compartments or labelled under different heads. She had many achievements to her credit. She was the recipient of Bharat Ratna in 1972, Mexican Academy Award for Liberation of Bangladesh (1972), 2nd Annual Medal, FAO (1973) and Sahitya Vachaspati (Hindi) by Nagari Pracharini Sabha in 1976. Smt. Gandhi also received Mothers’ Award, U.S.A. in 1953, Islbella d’Este Award of Italy for outstanding work in diplomacy and Yale University’s Howland Memorial Prize. For two consecutive years in 1967 and 1968 she was the woman most admired by the French according to a poll by the French Institute of Public Opinion. According to a special Gallup Poll Survey in the U.S.A.

in 1971 she was the most admired person in the world. Diploma of Honour was conferred to her by the Argentine Society in 1971 for the Protection of Animals. Her famous publications include ‘The Years of Challenge’ (1966-69), ‘The Years of Endeavour’ (1969-72), ‘India’ (London) in 1975; ‘Inde’ (Lausanne) in 1979 and numerous other collections of speeches and writings. She travelled widely in India and all over the world. Smt. Gandhi also visited neighbours like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, China, Nepal and Sri Lanka. She paid official visits to countries like France, German Democratic Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Guyana, Hungary, Iran, Iraq and Italy. Smt. Gandhi was one to visit majority of the countries like Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Bolivia and Egypt.

She paid visits to many European, American and Asian nationals like Indonesia, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Syria, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, U.A.E., the United Kingdom, U.S.A., U.S.S.R., Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. She also marked her presence in the United Nations Headquarters. Gallery of Prime Ministers of India Gallery of Prime Ministers of India PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA PT. JAWAHARLAL NEHRU The first Prime Minister of Independent India, also holds the record for continuously being in the office for the longest period (Aug. 15, 1947 to May 27, 1964) about 17 years, or 6,131 days - to be precise! Born in Allahabad, November 14, 1889; died on May 27, 1964. A prolific writer ("Discovery of India") and a great orator, he was the co-founder of Non-Aligned Movement. Conferred Bharat Ratna (1955).

GULZARI LAL NANDA A Gandhian to the core, was interim Prime Minister on two occasions - after the sudden demise of Pt. Nehru (from may 27, 1964 to June 9, 1964), for 14 days, and again after the sudden demise of Lal Bahadur Shastri (from January 11 to 24, 1966), again for a period of 14 days. Born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan), July 4, 1898; died on January 15, 1998, as a centenarian. Was a leading light in the labour movement. Conferred Bharat Ratna (1997). LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI Though he came to power under the shadow cast of the ever-famous Pt. Nehru, he quickly won the hearts of all Indians, especially after routing Pakistan in the 1965 war. Indian still reverbrates with his slogan "Jai Jawan ! Jai Kisan !".

He held office for 582 days, from June 9, 1964 to January 11, 1966. Born in Moghalsarai (Varanasi), October 2, 1904; died in Tashkent (USSR) on January 11, 1966 , while negotiating peace talks with Pakistan. Conferred Bharat Ratna (posthumous, 1966). INDIRA GANDHI Proved her mettle as the chip of the old block; held office from Jan. 24, 1966 to March 24, 1977 and again |from Jan. 14 to Oct. 31,1984, for a total of 5,831 days, just 300 days short of her father, Pt. Nehru. Abolition of privy purse, nationalization of banks, birth of Bangladesh are some of her achievements. Born in Allahabad, Nov. 19, 1917; died on Oct. 31,1984. Conferred Bharat Ratna in 1971.

MORARJI DESAI The first non-congress Prime Minister since Independence, Morarji Desai headed the Janata Party Government for 857 days, from March 24, 1977 to July 28, 1979. He was one of those rare Gandhians. Born on 29th February, 1896, in Bahadesli Village, Gujarat; a centenarian, he passed away on April 10, 1995. Conferred Bharat Ratna in 1991. CHARAN SINGH A "kisan" Prime Minister from Uttar Pradesh, he never faced Parliament, even though he was in office for 171 days, from July 28, 1979 to Jan. 14, 1980. Within days of assuming office, one of the supporting parties withdrew its support, after which he continued as caretaker P.M , till fresh elections were held. Born in Noorpur, Meerut Dist., U. P. on Dec.23, 1902; died in 1987.

RAJIV GANDHI The youngest Prime Minister so far, this grand son of Pt. Nehru assumed office at the age of 41, the day his mother was assassinated (Oct. 31,1984). In the 1985 elections, he led his party to a big win and continued as P. M. till Dec. 1,1989, when his party lost the hustings. Born in Bombay (Mumbai, now) on Aug. 20, 1944; died in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991, at the hands of a human bomb. Conferred Bharat Ratna (posthumous, 1991) V.P. SINGH Riding the wave of the Janata Dal, V. P. Singh became Prime Minister on Dec. 2,1989 and continued till Nov. 10, 1990 (344 days). He took a major decision in implementing the Mandal Commission recommendations. Born in Allahabad on June 25, 1931. CHANDRA SHEKHAR The " Young Turk" became Prime Minister on Nov.

10,1990 and continued till June 21, 1991 (224 days). Born in Village Ibrahimpatti in Ballia District, U P., on July 1, 1927. P. V. NARASIMHA RAO The first ever from South to hold this office, he ruled for full five years, from June 21, 1991 to May 10, 1996 (1, 785 days), despite a hung Parliament, initially. A literature, Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao was born in Vangara, Karimnagar District, Andhra Pradesh, on June 28, 1921. He launched the Economic Liberalisation Programme. A. B. VAJPAYEE The first "bachelor" Prime Minister, he was at the helm for 16 days from May 16 to June 1, 1996, creating a record for the shortest stint in office. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born in Gwalior (M.

P) on 25th December, 1926. A prolific writer and a great orator. H D DEVE GOWDA The second Government of the 11th Lok Sabha was headed by Haradanahalli Dodde Deve Gowda, who was in office from June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997 (for roughly 11 months). Deve Gowda was born on May 18, 1933, in Haradanahalli Village, Hassan District, Karnataka. I. K. GUJRAL Inder Kumar Gujral became Prime Minister on April 21, 1997. He resigned office on Nov. 28. 1997. Gujral was born on December 4, 1919, in Jhelum (in the undivided Punjab, now in Pakistan). A. B. VAJPAYEE He assumed charge for the second time on March 19, 1998. He took the oath on October 13, 1999 after General Election. He submitted resignation on May 13, 2004.

Question: Who became Prime Minister of India in January 1966?
Answer: Indira Gandhi