In the history of India, the date of 31 October is recorded as the day when the country’s former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Known for her steely resolve and fearless decision-making, the country’s first woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on the morning of 31 October. Indira Gandhi held the reins of the country for three consecutive terms between 1966 and 1977 and then regained the position in 1980 and was assassinated while in office on 31 October 1984.
Today i.e. 31 October 2024 is the 40th death anniversary of Indira Gandhi, the woman Prime Minister of India and the Iron Lady of the country. Let us tell you today some special things about the Iron Lady-
That speech a day before death
The country’s fiery woman, whose voice alone made the enemies terrified of even looking at India. Her sudden death was a big shock to the country. It is said that Indira Gandhi had already sensed her death. That is why a day before her death, Indira Gandhi changed her speech and said something in front of the public, which surprised everyone. Even the time before her death, Indira Gandhi was awake, at that time her daughter-in-law Sonia was with her. Indira said – “I am here today, tomorrow I may not be here… when I die, every drop of my blood will be used to strengthen India”. This line spoken by Indira struck like a bolt of lightning. Her mentioning of her death in the speech seemed as if she was telling the people that this was her last meeting.
I told Sonia- don’t cry if something happens.
Experts say that suddenly her tone of speaking had changed and her words were pointing towards some possible incident. Experts also say that she had told her family members not to cry if something happened to her. On 31st October, Indira Gandhi’s security guard shot her, due to which she died, but a day before her death, Indira was very restless. She could not sleep the whole night. That night when her daughter-in-law Sonia got up at midnight to take her medicine, her mother-in-law came with her. Indira told Sonia not to worry, I am with you. That night Indira stayed awake till late or you can say she could not sleep.
The complete incident of 31 October 1984-
On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi was ready by 7:30 am. That day she wore a saffron coloured saree with a black border. Her first appointment was with Peter Ustinov, who had made a documentary on her. After this, in the afternoon she had to meet former British Prime Minister James Callaghan. She also had a meeting with a leader from Mizoram. In the evening she was going to have dinner with Britain’s Princess Anne. Anyway, after having breakfast, she came out at around 9:10 am. The sun was bright that day. To protect her from the sun, constable Narayan Singh was walking with her carrying a black umbrella. RK Dhawan was with her on this day.
He was discussing the day’s planning with RK. Suddenly, the security guard Beant Singh took out his revolver and started firing at Indira. His first bullet hit her stomach. After this, Beant fired two more bullets at Indira which hit her chest and waist. Satwant was standing a few feet away with an automatic carbine. He was terrified. Then his companion Beant shouted at him to fire. Satwant regained consciousness and riddled Indira’s body with 25 bullets.
Suddenly the whole atmosphere shook with the sound of bullets. There was chaos and within no time Indira was hit by several bullets one after the other. After some time she said goodbye to the world.