Indira Gandhi Research Paper

Indira Gandhi was an important historical figure in India. She broke through traditional gender boundaries, and became a woman leader of the largest democracy in the world. This was an accomplishment that even the United States has not achieved. She also marked the start of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty within a democratic India. Internal affairs such as the Hindu-Sikh conflict and the exponentially growing population led to Indira Gandhi changing her governance to that of an authoritarian.

Indira Gandhi's background prepared her to become the prime minister of India. She lived from 1917 until 1984, and spent most of her time in India and England ("Indira Gandhi"). In England, she went to college and joined the British Labour Party, which was more liberal towards the idea of India's independence. Her parents, Kamala and Jawaharlal Nehru, were both activists and fought for the decolonization of

India. In 1947, Jawaharlal became India's prime and foreign minister after Mohandas Gandhi who Jawaharlal knew and whose non-violent peace movements influence Nehru greatly. He wrote the Indian constitution with the preamble stating, “... [the] turning of the country into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic that will secure social, economic, and political justice for all its citizens. It guarantees liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, and worship; equality of status and of opportunity; and promotion of fraternity, securing the dignity of the individual, and the unity and integrity of the nation” (“Khan”). Later, Indira Gandhi violated this section of the constitution. Jawaharlal's wife Kamala served as the first lady. When Kamala died in 1936, Indira took over her mother's duties. Indira accompanied her father on several diplomatic meetings, and in 1955 she joined the executive body of the Congress Party in India. In 1959 she was elected as the party's president, and later when Jawaharlal's heath began to decline, she took over most of his prime minister duties. Jawaharlal died in 1964, and a new prime minister was elected. When the new prime minister died in 1966, Indira Gandhi was appointed to be India's new prime minister (“Jawaharlal Nehru”).
Between the time Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi governed, India became industrialized causing the population to grow exponentially.

Jawaharlal worked hard to industrialize India. Jawaharlal supported the usage of hydroelectric power, he invested funds in infrastructure, and he requested the research and aid of scientists to help use natural resources more effectively and widely. “Industrialization increased in India by 7% per year from 1951-1965” ("Jawaharlal Nehru"). Industrialization caused people to move out of the rural areas and into the growing cities. This attracted people to move into India and into the city. As a result, the population grew by 2.3% annually ("Jawaharlal Nehru"). The population and industrialization increase caused agriculture and food production to lag behind. During the years 1972 and 1973, crops failed, deepening the problem. To gain loans from the International Monetary Fund, Indira shifted to more conservative economic policies that angered many of her partisans. Again, she did this without consent of the congress-N party (“Jawaharlal

Nehru”).
In 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that Gandhi had violated electoral rules for years, and stated that she could not keep her seat in Parliament (“Indira Gandhi”). Her opponents and people within her party stated that “...she simply want[ed] to be a dictator...a Communist dictator…” (“Schanberg”). Instead of following the Supreme Court's decision and listening to her congress-N party, Indira proclaimed a state of emergency, suspended civil rights, and censored the press. When her power was threatened, she reacted like authoritarian leader by claiming a state of emergency to ensure that she would continue serving as India's prime minister (“Indira Gandhi”). The state of emergency lead to widespread corruption within the government, and the imprisonment of many “wrongdoers”.
Tensions between Hindus and Sikhs was an issue in India long before Indira Gandhi became the prime minister. In India, Hindus are the majority and Sikhs are the minority. “...Sikhs accounted for 1.9% of the population in 2001...while Hindus contributed to over 80%” (“India”). Because of the extreme Hindu majority, Sikhs were treated poorly and unfairly. After Pakistan broke away from India to become an Islamic state, Sikh negotiators wanted their own state as well (“Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction”). The negotiators especially pressed for a separate state in the 1980s, after the “ethnic cleansing” of Operation Bluestar which began in Punjab (“Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction”). The Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab was the Sikh's most holy temple. Punjab was a city known for terrorism and extremists, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Jarnail led a small Sikh militia, and successfully took over parts of the Golden Temple. Originally, Indira tried to ignore Jarnail and his supporters. But the small extremist army began killing Hindus, moderate Sikhs, and even tourists. The public pressured the government for strong action, and the press criticized her for her perceived womanly weakness. To counter Jarnail and the press, Operation Bluestar was developed. Operation Bluestar was a planned surprise attack on the Golden Temple to stop Jarnail's attacks on innocent civilians. This operation failed but while Jarnail died, his supporters remained. The attack was the first of many, causing the dislocation of “...12 million people, the deaths of 500,000, and the [destruction] of 140 Sikh temples...” (“Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction”). Indira ordered Operation Bluestar without holding a vote in the governing congress. The general public greatly supported this act because Indira was a woman, and it was widely believed that she was too pacifist to commit to any strong opposition to counter the Sikhs. Indira was an authoritarian leader because she made the decision to attack the Sikh temple without full consent from the congress-N (“Gandhi Assassinated, October 31, 1984”).
India’s exponentially growing population and the Hindu-Sikh conflict were pre-existing conditions Indira inherited with her prime ministry. Had she governed during a different time period or over a different state, she might have reacted democratically and not as an authoritarian. However, the issues that Indira faced over 30 years still exist in India today. The population in India continues to grow, causing slums in India to increase as well. Hindus remain the majority, and Sikhs are still the minority and continue to be treated not as equals. While Indira’s authoritarian acts did not help the issues, there is no way to tell if democratic decisions would have benefited India.