Remarkable Journey of Rajiv Gandhi’s life journey

Rajiv Gandhi was a famous Indian politician who served as the 6th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India at age 40, after his mother Indra Gandhi’s assassination.

Rajiv Gandhi family’s political legacy

He belongs to the Nehru-Gandhi family which plays a prominent role in politics.  Rajiv Gandhi was born on 20 Aug 1944 in Bombay. He was three years old when India gained independence. His grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru became India’s first Prime Minister at that time. 

Feroze and Indra Gandhi’s son Rajiv & his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi went to the Doon School in Dehradun Uttarakhand state.

After schooling, Rajiv Gandhi went to the Imperial College in London and completed mechanical engineering at the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge University, He met Sonia Maino, an Italian girl who was an English student.

Both of them got married in 1968 in New Delhi. They had two children, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi are in politics today. Rajiv Gandhi did not wish to join politics. 

His classmates used to say that he read science books and not philosophy, history, and politics, which clearly shows that he was not interested in politics. But after the death of his brother in a plane crash, he had to enter politics.

Achievements during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure

When he was the Prime Minister of India, the work done during his tenure still proved beneficial for India & this is the work done during his tenure.

1. Telecom Revolution

Rajiv Gandhi is the “father of information technology and the telecommunications revolution in India”. Known as the architect of digital India. He brought the technology to ground level with his advisor Sam Pitroda. 

During his tenure, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) was established in 1984 to build state-of-the-art telecommunication technology & fulfill the needs of Indian telecommunication. 

The efforts of Rajiv Gandhi’s Public Call Office (PCO) brought a revolution in telecom. A PCO has been established in every rural village, which may not be as helpful to villagers, but at least something is better than nothing.

Later Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was established in 1986 with the help of Sam Pitroda. MTNL’s establishment helped to spread the telephone network.

2. Computerization

Rajiv Gandhi had done an engineering course. He knew that with science and technology, it is possible to do much in the future. That’s why Rahul Gandhi Promoted science and tech and allied industries.

After the introduction of computerization the Indian Railways, Airlines, defense, and telecommunications gradually saw developments in every sector.

3. Voting Age

The voting age was reduced from 21 years to 18 years. Amendment Act 61st of the Constitution was passed in 1989, to empower the Indian youth.

4. Panchayati Raj

The Panchayat gives the local people an opportunity to convey their views to the head of the government by electing rural local self-government.

After a few years of independence of India in 1952 Panchayati Raj started in discussion by Jawahar Lal Nehru the prime minister of India. 

But after almost 40 years, with the efforts of Rajiv Gandhi, Panchayati Raj got Constitutional status (74th Amendment) on 24 April 1993 during P.V Narasimha Rao.

This work would have already been done in Rajiv Gandhi’s government (64 Amendment). However, due to the non-passing of the bill in Rajya Sabha, this work could be done later in P.V Narasimha Rao’s government.

5. Education

The National Education Policy was introduced in 1986 during his term. The goal of the National Education Policy (NEP) was to provide equal and quality education to all people, especially Indian women and regional communities.

In 1985 Indra Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was founded under the government of Rajiv Gandhi. The Concept of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) was also proposed by the former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. JNV started with an aim to avail good quality modern education.

Controversies or mistakes

No matter how good the work someone has done, people do not stop finding mistakes. According to Quora, he was also at fault for all of these –

1. Shah Bano Case
2. Ayodhya Case
3. 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots
4. Bofors Scam
5. 1987 Indian Peace Keeping Force

Rajiv Gandhi assassination

An election rally was organized at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 21 May 1991. Rajiv Gandhi reached the rally but before reaching the stage, a suicide bomber killed him.

A female suicide bomber named Dhanu was behind the attack. It was soon observed that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization was behind his death conspiracy. 

The LTTE blamed Rajiv Gandhi for the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s (IPKF) interference in the Sri Lankan Civil War.

The IPKF was sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 to help the Sri Lankan government to end the civil war, that has been going on for over a decade. However, the IPKF was widely unpopular among the Sri Lankan Tamils. 

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was a serious accident in India’s history of Prime Minster. He was a well-known and attractive leader, and his death was a significant loss for India. It had a profound impact on Indian politics and became a source of controversy.

On the death anniversary, the day of Rajiv Gandhi, 21 May, Anti-Terrorism Day is observed in India.