Remembering the Tragic Day: Reflecting on the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, October 31, 1984
Image Source: Oliveboard
Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984. Two of the Prime Minister’s bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, fired over 30 bullets at her from point-blank range.
Indira’s assassination sent shockwaves through the nation, unleashing some of the most vicious communal violence India has ever seen. In just about three days, approximately 3,350 Sikhs (government estimates) were massacred, with 2,800 in the national capital itself.
This is what happened on that day 39 years ago.
In Operation Blue Star, the Indian Army entered Amritsar’s Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine, to flush out separatists residing in the premises. While successful in its intended objectives, it caused great damage to the temple and killed anywhere between a few hundred to a thousand Sikh civilians. This enraged Sikhs worldwide, who saw Blue Star as an assault on their faith.
The Prime Minister, who had ordered the operation, bore the brunt of the blame. “Everyone knew that her life was in danger,” Katharine Frank wrote in her biography of Indira (Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi, 2001).
Following Blue Star, Indira’s security was beefed up. Although she rejected transferring her security over from the police to the Army, commandos from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police were added to her protection team. Security around her family, especially her grandchildren, Rahul (then 14), and Priyanka (12), was also stepped up.
What shocks everyone the most is that she was shot by one of her guards whom she trusted the most for her security.
Around 9.10 am on October 31, Indira Gandhi emerged from her official residence at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Road and headed for her personal office in the adjoining bungalow at Akbar Road. As she walked down the garden path, Sub-Inspector Beant Singh, a long-time member of Indira’s security detail, came forward. Constable Satwant Singh, a new recruit, was standing a few paces away.
Beant Singh held a revolver and shot her in the abdomen from a distance of three feet. He would fire four more shots at point-blank range before Satwant Singh emptied his 30-round Sten gun clip at Indira.
After the shooting ended, both Beant Singh and Satwant Singh dropped their weapons. “I have done what I had to do. Now you do what you have to do,” Beant Singh reportedly said in Punjabi.
Indira’s limp body would be rushed to AIIMS in a white Ambassador car, her head cradled in the lap of her daughter-in-law Sonia. After a four-hour-long surgery, during which doctors attempted to perform a miracle, she was declared dead at 2.23 pm.
Indira’s son Rajiv Gandhi rushed back from West Bengal, where he was campaigning for the upcoming elections.
This tragic incident ended with people targeting Sikhs and saying ‘Khoon ka badla khoon se lenge’ (an eye for an eye).
Team Profile
- News Writer
- Isha Tripathi is a 5th-year law student. Being a law student, her primary writing focus has always been on society, mental health, and various legal aspects, but she is always open to other areas of writing. She has also completed two internships as a content writer. In addition to this, she has written various blogs, articles, etc.
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