Priyadarshini and the battle for Bangladesh in 1971
An ode to Indira Gandhi by a Bangladeshi citizen
By Anwar A. Khan
She was a mother like figure to our generation, the ‘Bharat Ratna’ Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi, who was born on 19 November 1917 and fell victim to an assasin’s bullet on 31 October 1984 at the age of 67.
“The sky is laced with fitful red; the circling mists and shadows flee; the dawn is rising from the sea like a white lady from her bed. And jagged brazen arrows fall aslant the feathers of the night, and a long wave of yellow light. Beautiful her eyes, heartening her voice, engaging are lessons we always rejoice. Her smile made happy even that shining star. Each moment seems lively, fun every hour. Her voice seemed the sweetest heard melody having us as our teacher, makes us very lucky. A friend in a teacher, we got as a gift. Her teachings always help us uplift.”
Patriotism is love for one’s nation; love for our nation in 1971 in Indira Gandhi’s heart helped us preserve the love for our nation also. Our citizens share the same sentiment – protect the nation, do something. There are people who stood at the edge of knife but because of her and her true-blue lieutenants, we could save our lives.
Woman – A Super Power – A woman – Priyadarshini gave us life in 1971, a lady and a wonderful political leader. She had some magical power to get things ready at the right hour. For us she remains the definition of love; for others she was a style icon. She was a wonderful leader as charming as a rose water, elegant, poised and – yes, a true multi-tasker.
For those of my generation – who were in college during our heroic and bloody war for independence – she served not only as an inspiration but became a living goddess for in 1971 who gave us the hope and light to see an independent and sovereign state – Bangladesh for us.When she was assassinated on 31 October 1984, I shed many a silent tear.Her death was an immense national loss for both India and Bangladesh, indeed!
Human life is a tale of continuous changes ranging from beautiful youth-hood to circling wrinkles. It’s nothing but a book of unaccomplished pages’ inch by inch the vibrancy of living dwindles. Life is a tale of inevitable mortality, cloaked in a pall of bleak darkness, how difficult it is to understand its brevity! Enveloped in uncanny despair and gloominess.
A leader like Indira Gandhi carried the weight of heavy and arduous responsibility. She was a stunning figure in the world politics during her times.
My piece is a product of my spontaneous commitment to show my highest regards to her. In the period, we were passing through, Indira Ghandi was a heroine to me in the international context and in the political situation in India.
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She served as prime minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father.
During Nehru’s time as Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964, Gandhi was considered a key assistant and accompanied him on his numerous foreign trips. She was elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1959. Upon her father’s death in 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and became a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. In the Congress Party’s parliamentary leadership election held in early 1966 (upon the death of Shastri), she defeated her rival Morarji Desai to become leader, and thus succeeded Shastri as Prime Minister of India.
As prime minister, Gandhi was known for her political intransigency and unprecedented centralisation of power. She went to war with Pakistan in support of the independence movement and war of independence in the-then East Pakistan, which resulted in a Bangladesh-Indian victory and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, as well as increasing India’s influence to the point where it became the sole regional power of South Asia.
In 1999, Indira Gandhi was named “Woman of the Millennium” in an online poll organised by the BBC. In 2020, Gandhi was named by the Time magazine among world’s 100 powerful women who defined the last century.
The day before her death (30 October 1984), Gandhi visited Odisha where she gave her last speech at the-then Parade Ground in front of the Secretariat of Odisha. In that speech, which some consider as a premonition of her imminent death, she said that she would be proud to die serving the nation: “I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow … I shall continue to serve until my last breath and when I die, I can say, that every drop of my blood will invigorate India and strengthen it… Even if I died in the service of the nation, I would be proud of it. Every drop of my blood … will contribute to the growth of this nation and to make it strong and dynamic.”
Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations, including the BBC. Attributing her assassination to Sikh bodyguards, Gandhi’s cremation was followed by large scale anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and several other cities in which nearly three thousand people were killed. On a live TV show Rajiv Gandhi said of the carnage, “When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.”
After leading India to victory against Pakistan in the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, President V. V. Giri awarded Gandhi with India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
In 2011, the Bangladesh Freedom Honour (Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanona), Bangladesh’s highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred on Priyadarshini Gandhi for her “outstanding contributions” to Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
Gandhi’s main legacy was standing firm in the face of American pressure to defeat Pakistan and turn the-ten East Pakistan into independent Bangladesh. She was also responsible for India joining the group of countries with nuclear weapons. Despite India being officially part of the Non-Aligned Movement, she gave Indian foreign policy a tilt towards the Soviet bloc to reinforce her support for Bangladesh’s liberation from Pakistan.
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi remains the only woman to occupy the Office of the Prime Minister of India.
Though 37 years have passed since 31 October 1984, she still lives in our hearts as an idol, the beautiful Lady of India – Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi.
The writer is an independent political analyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Views are personal and International Affairs Review neither endorses nor is responsible for them.
