There have been numerous assassination attempts on prime ministers of India . The prime minister is the executive head of the Union Government of India, and is usually the most powerful person in the country.
Two prime ministers, namely Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (former prime minister) have been assassinated.
| Name | Date | Place | Type | Assassin(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indira Gandhi | 31 October 1984 | New Delhi, India | Shooting | Main convicts: Co-conspirator: |
| Rajiv Gandhi (former prime minister) | 21 May 1991 | Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India | Suicide bombing | Main convict:
Co-conspirators:
|
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the 3rd prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and, to date, only female prime minister, and a central figure in Indian politics as the leader of the Indian National Congress (INC). She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, and the mother of Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded her in office as the country's sixth prime minister. Gandhi's cumulative tenure of 15 years and 350 days makes her the second-longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father. Henry Kissinger described her as an "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her tough personality.
Rajiv Gandhi was an Indian politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become at the age of 40 the youngest Indian prime minister. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election, and then became Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination.
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom, and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing an ethno‐religious sovereign state called Khalistan in the Punjab region. The proposed boundaries of Khalistan vary between different groups; some suggest the entirety of the Sikh-majority Indian state of Punjab, while larger claims include Pakistani Punjab and other parts of North India such as Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Shimla and Lahore have been proposed as the capital of Khalistan.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was an Indian militant. He was the leading figure of the Khalistan movement, although he did not personally advocate for a separate Sikh nation.
Giani Zail Singh was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the seventh president of India from 1982 to 1987 and 9th Chief Minister of Punjab. He was the first Sikh to become president.
The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, and advancing India's foreign strategic interests. It is also involved in the security of India's nuclear programme.
Terrorism in India, according to the Home Ministry, poses a significant threat to the people of India. Compared to other countries, India faces a wide range of terror groups. Terrorism found in India includes Islamist terrorism, ultranationalist terrorism, and left-wing terrorism. India is one of the countries most impacted by terrorism.
The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This movement was initially peaceful, but foreign involvement and political pressures drove a heavy handed response from Indian authorities. The demand for a separate Punjabi Sikh nation‐state gained momentum after the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984 aimed to flush out militants residing in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a holy site for Sikhs. Terrorism, police brutality and corruption of the authorities greatly exacerbated a tense situation. By the mid-1980s, the movement had evolved into a militant secessionist crisis due to the perceived indifference of the Indian state in regards to mutual negotiations. Eventually, more effective police and military operations, combined with a policy of rapprochement by the Indian government and the election loss of separatist sympathizers in the 1992 Punjab Legislative Assembly election, largely quelled the rebellion by the mid-1990s.
Tara Singh Hayer was an Indian-Canadian newspaper publisher and editor who was murdered after his outspoken criticism of fundamentalist violence and terrorism. In particular, he was a key witness in the trial of the Air India Flight 182 bombing.
The Indian National Congress was established when 72 representatives from all over the country met at Bombay in 1885. Prominent delegates included Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee, Badruddin Tyabji, Pherozeshah Mehta, W. C. Banerjee, S. Ramaswami Mudaliar, S. Subramania Iyer, and Romesh Chunder Dutt. The Englishman Allan Octavian Hume, a former British civil servant, was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress.
Harjinder Singh Jinda was a Sikh militant and one of the two assassins of Arun Vaidya. He was responsible for three high-profile assassinations: Arjan Dass, Lalit Maken and Gen. Vaidya. He along with other members of Khalistan Commando Force participated in Indian history's biggest bank robbery of ₹ 57 million from Punjab National Bank, Miller Gunj branch, Ludhiana to finance the militancy for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.
Ram D. Pradhan was an Indian Administrative Service officer, from the 1952 batch who served as Union Home Secretary and Governor of Arunachal Pradesh during the Rajiv Gandhi government.
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Gandhi and the assassin, were killed. It was carried out by 22-year-old Kalaivani Rajaratnam, a member of the banned Sri Lankan Tamil separatist rebel organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). At the time, India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Harchand Singh Longowal was the President of the Akali Dal during the Punjab insurgency of the 1980. He had signed the Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv-Longowal Accord along with Rajiv Gandhi on 24 July 1985. The government accepted most of the demands of Akali Dal who in turn agreed to withdraw their agitation. Less than a month after signing the Punjab accord, Sant Longowal was assassinated by Gyan Singh Leel and Jarnail Singh Halvara.
The Dashmesh Regiment is a militant group, and is part of the Khalistan movement to create a Sikh homeland called Khalistan via armed struggle.
Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 a.m. on 31 October 1984 at her residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star by the Indian Army between 1 and 8 June 1984 on the orders of Gandhi. The military operation was to remove Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab, the holiest site of Sikhism. The military action resulted in the death of many pilgrims as well as damage to the Akal Takht and the destruction of the Sikh Reference Library.
The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War was the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end the Sri Lankan Civil War between separatist Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists, principally the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan Military.
Gurjant Singh Budhsinghwala was a Sikh martyr and the third Jathedar of the Khalistan Liberation Force. Budhsinghwala's organization, KLF, was one of the most active Sikh militant groups of the time. Budhsinghwala had KLF join the Sohan Singh Panthic Committee and partnered with Khalistan Commando Force (Panjwar), Babbar Khalsa, Bhindranwale Tiger Force (Sangha), and Sikh Student Federation (Bittu) in militant actions. Budhsinghwala is also credited with making KLF one of the strongest and most lethal militant groups.
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is a US-based secessionist group that supports the formation of Khalistan. Founded and primarily headed by lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in 2009, the organization was created in response to the lack of litigation to convict the murders and massacres of Sikhs after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.
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