Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991) was the sixth Prime Minister of India, taking office on 31 October 1984 following the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi. A former Indian Airlines pilot with no prior political career, he was drafted into politics after the 1980 death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi. In the December 1984 general election, his Indian National Congress won a landslide of more than 400 Lok Sabha seats, the largest majority in Indian parliamentary history.

His tenure is associated with the early loosening of India's licensing regime, expansion of telecommunications and computing (often linked to advisers such as Sam Pitroda and the founding of C-DOT), and lowering the voting age to 18 through the 61st Constitutional Amendment in 1989. He also pushed Panchayati Raj reforms that were enacted after his death as the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

In foreign policy, Rajiv Gandhi signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord with President J. R. Jayewardene on 29 July 1987, which led to the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) against the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka — a mission widely viewed as costly and inconclusive. He also presented a phased plan for global nuclear disarmament at the UN General Assembly in June 1988.

His government was damaged by the Bofors scandal, allegations of kickbacks in a 1986 howitzer contract with Sweden's AB Bofors, which contributed to Congress losing the 1989 election to V. P. Singh's National Front. The Shah Bano controversy and the opening of the disputed Ayodhya site in 1986 also shaped his legacy.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on 21 May 1991 in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, by an LTTE suicide bomber while campaigning. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna later that year.