Unicaus NEWS
A recipient of Bharat Ratna, Rajiv Gandhi served because the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took workplace after the assassination of his mom, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
New Delhi:
Today marks the thirty fourth loss of life anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated on May 21, 1991. On this solemn day, let’s revisit the tragic occasions that led to his loss of life and the explanations behind the conspiracy. Let’s begin from the start — together with his rise to energy. After the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her personal bodyguards in 1984, her son Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in because the Prime Minister of India by President Giani Zail Singh. At simply 40 years previous, he grew to become the youngest Prime Minister within the historical past of the nation.
The rise of LTTE Around the identical time, in 1976, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was based by Velupillai Prabhakaran. The group aimed to determine an unbiased Tamil state in Sri Lanka and to withstand the oppression of the Tamil individuals there. It is alleged that originally the LTTE loved sympathy and help from India, particularly throughout Indira Gandhi’s tenure, when Indian intelligence reportedly offered coaching and support to Tamil insurgent factions.
Indian peacekeeping drive in Sri Lanka However, the dynamic shifted dramatically in 1987 when India and Sri Lanka signed a peace accord. Under the settlement, Rajiv Gandhi deployed the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka with the target of disarming the LTTE and restoring peace. Initially, the LTTE welcomed the Indian forces. But over time, the group grew suspicious and started viewing India’s presence as unwarranted interference. Soon hostilities broke out between the LTTE and Indian troops, resulting in a violent fallout.
LTTE’s grudge in opposition to Rajiv Gandhi The LTTE’s anger towards Rajiv Gandhi deepened after the deployment of IPKF. Though the Congress misplaced energy in 1989, Gandhi remained a robust determine in opposition. In 1991, throughout his election marketing campaign, he talked about in an interview that if re-elected, he would take into account sending Indian forces again to Sri Lanka. The LTTE took this assertion severely, deciphering it as a menace to their survival.
The assassination plot This concern triggered a well-coordinated assassination plot. On May 21, 1991, whereas Rajiv Gandhi was on a marketing campaign path in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur, a girl named Thenmozhi “Gayatri” Rajaratnam, posing as a supporter, approached him to garland him. She was truly a suicide bomber and an LTTE operative. Moments later, she detonated explosives hidden on her, killing Rajiv Gandhi and 13 others on the spot. It’s value noting that intelligence had suggested Rajiv Gandhi to keep away from the rally, however he selected to go forward — a call that price him his life.
ALSO READ: National Anti-Terrorism Day 2025: Why India observes it yearly on May 21, know historical past and significance
