He succeeded Fakruddin Ali Ahmed after his death in 1977.
On the fateful morning, the then prime minister was shot at by her two Sikh bodyguards in revenge for Operation Bluestar, when the army had stormed the Golden Temple under orders from Gandhi. Bhargava, 54 at the time, recalls the decision to take Gandhi to the operating theatre even though there was no pulse.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
Morarji Desai was 81 when he was elected prime minister and ruled India for two years, from March 1977 to July 1999.
Here's looking at other Presidents who have travelled by train.
During that election, the ballot papers were shuffled three or four times during the polling so that the agents of the candidates find it difficult to note down the serial numbers to identify votes cast by members during counting.
Going by precedence, the 15th presidential election scheduled to be held on July 17 this year will see a contest, notwithstanding the frenetic political confabulations for a consensus candidate.
The notification for the President poll will be issued on June 15, the CEC said, and June 29 will be the last date for the filing of nominations.
Some of them have also endorsed Sachin Pilot as chief minister. However, they added that whatever decision the party high command takes in this regard, they will accept it.
"I seek support of all legislators and I ask them to vote for me by exercising their conscience just as Indira Gandhi did in a Presidential election," he said.
After weeks of hectic campaigning in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Nepal on Friday morning for a two-day visit. PM Modi landed in the temple town of Janakpur, 225 km from capital Kathmandu. PM Modi inaugurated a bus from Janakpur to Ayodhya to promote religious tourism in Nepal and India. Here are glimpses from his Nepal visit.
Setting in motion the process for the 16th presidential election, the Election Commission on Thursday said anyone desiring to contest would need 50 electors as proposers and 50 others as seconders -- a move aimed at weeding out non-serious candidates in these polls that once saw nominations getting rejected for 36 out of 37 candidates.
'When I realised that I was to take the pictures of Pandit Nehru, I was very nervous and scared.'
If you are confused about the US presidential elections, here's a simple guide by Smita Prakash to explain how it works.
It was never the quality of the CV that defined an incumbent's performance or legacy.
20 years ago this day, May 11, 1998, India conducted its second nuclear test at Pokharan in Rajasthan. In a fascinating interview on Rediff.com, K Subrahmanyam revealed how Indian PMs reacted to nuclear ambitions.
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