"If I die a violent death as some fear and a few are plotting, I know the violence will be in the thought and the action of the assassin, not in my dying...." Indira Gandhi On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, was shot down while walking from her house to her office in New Delhi, India's Capital City (The New York Times). The fatal shooting was carried out by two men who were members of her personal bodyguard. The shooting marked an abrupt and tragic end to the lengthy political career of the woman who was not only India's first female Prime Minister, but also the daughter of the very first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, better known as Mohandus Gandhi. The news of the assassination of India’s most beloved and venerated women came as a shock to Indira’s worshipers, however, it was no surprise to the people who were well aware of the bitter conflicts of the time period in which Indira was ruling. Indira Gandhi came to power in a time of great turmoil and disturbance caused due to ethnic differences and political instability. During her tenure she faced the formidable task of trying to create political stability, appease the different ethnic groups and develop the fragile economy of the newly independent and impoverished county, India. Indira was successful in achieving some of her goals but her inability to resolve ethnic issues marked her greatest failure, leading to her death. Her assassination was indicative of the deep unrest in India, brutally forcing to the surface problems, which had been simmering in the country for decades. India, which had long been a British colony, did not achieve complete independence from Great Britain until 1948 (Info Please). The path to Indian independence was a long and bloody one, marked by religious and political strife in this ethnically and religiously-mixed country. When India finally did become independent, it was only after a large part ...
