India remembers Indira Gandhi while Sikhs pay homage to her assassins

31 October, 2012

India remembered the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 28th death anniversary today. On October 31, 1984, she was killed by her own Sikh bodyguards, and the assassination led to horrific Hindi-Sikh riots.

THE PEOPLE of India today paid homage to the first lady Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi on her 28th death anniversary at her memorial "Shakti Sthal" in New Delhi. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Chief and daughter-in-law, Sonia Gandhi along with her son Rahul Gandi and President Pranab Mukherjee were among the first to pay floral tributes to the departed leader at her memorial.

A series of functions were organized throughout the country to mark the day. Devotional songs were played at Shakti Sthal in remembrance of the late prime minister. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards - Beant Singh and Satwant Singh - at her official residence on the morning of October 31, 1984.

Indira Gandhi is remembered for her strong leadership during the conflict with Pakistan in 1971. Gandhi came under a cloud for declaring a state of emergency in 1975 and also for the launch of operation Blue Star to crush the extremist movements in Punjab, in which she allowed the militiary to open fire in the Golden Temple, which hurt the sentiments of the sikh community of the country. This was believed to be the reason of her assassination in 1984 by her own Sikh bodyguards.

The Sikh's largest representative body, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee and many devotees, paid homage to Beant Singh and Satwant Singh in Amritsar today.