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40 Years Ago This Day, A PM Was Killed

October 31, 2024 15:21 IST

Indira Gandhi was murdered by her bodyguards on the morning of October 31, 1984. Her death sparked off horrific anti-Sikh riots, killing over 3,000 innocent Indians.

IMAGE: The body of then prime minister Indira Gandhi being laid on a gun carriage at Teen Murti House in New Delhi, November 3, 1984. All Photographs: India Abroad/Rediff Archives

 

IMAGE: People from various walks of life including then Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal walk past the body of Indira Gandhi lying in state at Teen Murti House, November 1, 1984.
Rahul Gandhi is visible on the left.

 

IMAGE: Then UN secretary-general Perez de Cueller pays homage to Indira Gandhi at Teen Murti House, November 3,1984.

 

IMAGE: People gather around the jeep carrying the urn of Indira Gandhi's ashes in Srinagar, November 5, 1984.

 

IMAGE: An urn containing the ashes of Indira Gandhi atop a jeep being taken out in a procession from Allahabad airport to Anand Bhavan, November 9, 1984.

 

IMAGE: Then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi sprays his mother's ashes over the Gangotri region of the Himalayas from an IAF plane, November 11, 1984.

 

IMAGE: Police and paramilitary troops stand guard outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences after Indira Gandhi was taken there for surgery after being shot by her bodyguards, October 31, 1984. She died in the hospital as thousands prayed and wept outside.

 

IMAGE: Estranged daughter-in-law Maneka Gandhi at the hospital, October 31, 1984.

 

IMAGE: A month and a fortnight before she was assassinated, September 16, 1984, Indira Gandhi at the Brihadeeswara temple, built by Raja Raja Chola, the greatest monarch of the Chola dynasty, at Thanjavur.

 

IMAGE: Indira Gandhi at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay, October 8, 1984.

 

IMAGE: Indira Gandhi addresses a meeting at Jangaon in Andhra Pradesh, October 14, 1984.

 

IMAGE: And another meeting at Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh on October 20, 1984, 11 days before her death.

 

 

Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com

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