Delhi, Aug 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
PM Modi took to social media on ‘X’ and said, “On the occasion of his birth anniversary, paying homage to former Prime Minister of India, Shri Rajiv Gandhi.” Rajiv Gandhi became India’s youngest Prime Minister at the age of 41 and was among the youngest elected heads of government in the world. His mother, Indira Gandhi, was 49 when she first became Prime Minister in 1966, while his grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was 58 when he began his 17-year tenure as independent India’s first Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi represented a generational shift in Indian politics and led the Congress to one of the largest mandates in the country’s electoral history. In the Lok Sabha elections held following the assassination of his mother, Congress secured a record 401 of the 508 seats. Born on August 20, 1944, in the then Bombay, now Mumbai, Rajiv Gandhi was three years old when India gained independence, and his grandfather became the country’s first Prime Minister. His parents later moved to New Delhi from Lucknow, while his father, Feroze Gandhi, established himself as a fearless and hardworking parliamentarian.
Gandhi spent much of his early childhood at Teen Murti House with his grandfather. He briefly attended Welham Preparatory School in Dehradun before joining the Doon School, where he formed several lifelong friendships. His younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi, later joined him there. After completing his schooling, Rajiv Gandhi enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, before moving to Imperial College London, where he studied mechanical engineering. Politics, however, did not initially interest him as a career. His interests were largely centred on science, engineering, music, photography and amateur radio.
His greatest passion was flying. After returning to India from England, he cleared the entrance examination for the Delhi Flying Club, obtained a commercial pilot’s licence and went on to work as a pilot with Indian Airlines.
While studying in Cambridge, Rajiv Gandhi met Sonia Maino, an Italian student studying English at the Bell Educational Trust’s language school. The two married in a Hindu ceremony in New Delhi in 1968. Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi later had two children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and largely maintained a private family life despite being surrounded by political activity. The death of his younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi, in a plane crash in 1980 dramatically changed Rajiv Gandhi’s life. Although initially reluctant to enter politics, he eventually contested and won the by-election from Amethi, necessitated by his brother’s death, by a massive margin. Rajiv Gandhi’s rise to the country’s top political office came under tragic circumstances following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984. He assumed charge as both Prime Minister and the Congress President.
After the Congress party lost the 1989 general elections, Rajiv Gandhi became the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The National Front government collapsed in early 1991, prompting fresh elections. He died in a tragic bomb blast on May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
