“We were expecting it:” When Sonia Gandhi mistook gunshots for Diwali crackers before discovering that Indira Gandhi had been shot by her bodyguards at their residence

42 YEARS AGO, Indian politics went through a drastic shift when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, on October 31, 1984. By then, Indira Gandhi had already served as the Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her death.

Her death is often regarded as an aftereffect of Operation Blue Star, a military operation carried out on Gandhi's orders to flush out Khalistani militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale–  a sikh separatist leader –, from the sacred Golden Temple in June 1984. Just months later, on what appeared to be a regular day, Indira Gandhi was shot dead in the garden of her residence at 1 Safdarjung Road in Delhi. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi spoke about the day of her assassination in an old India Today interview with senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai dated 2016.

At their residential compound, which included two bungalows, Indira lived in one of them with her son Rajiv Gandhi, daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi, and grandchildren Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

See Also: New Zealand’s Biggest Methamphetamine Drug Bust Mastermind’s Name Disclosed to the Public; he is the Nephew of Satwant Singh, One of the Khalistani Assassin of Indira Gandhi

When Sonia Gandhi Recalled the Day Indira Gandhi Was Assassinated

On the morning of October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi kissed her grandchildren and bid them farewell as they left for school. At the time, Rahul was 14 years old, while Priyanka was 12. In a 2016 interview, host and senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai asked Sonia Gandhi to draw a contrast between the first and last times she met Indira Gandhi.

Indira Gandhi took her final breath in the arms of Sonia Gandhi while she was being rushed to the AIIMS Delhi hospital after being shot. Sonia Gandhi recalled that day, sighing as she said, “It was a terrible day.” She went on to describe what had happened, recalling that she was in her room, which was right next to Indira's. 

Indira Gandhi was preparing for an interview that day when Sonia suddenly heard loud noises coming from outside their residence. “Diwali had just been, and you know, sometimes Diwali carries on for a few days later. I heard these noises, and I thought maybe they were Diwali patakas (crackers),” Sonia Gandhi recalled.

See Also: 42 Years Since Operation Blue Star: Why did it take place, how did it change the political, social and cultural equations in the country forever

She continued telling Sardesai that she felt something was wrong and recalled sending a woman who worked at their residence to check on the noise outside. She said, “She came back howling, crying, and of course, I knew that something [had happened] because we knew that and we were expecting it. My mother-in-law knew and had spoken to us about it.” Sonia Gandhi also shared that the former Prime Minister had discussed the possibility of such an incident with her family, especially Rahul Gandhi— Indira Gandhi’s Grandson.

After finding out what the loud noises were, Sonia Gandhi ran outside and saw Indira Gandhi's body riddled with bullets. They immediately rushed her to the hospital, and Sonia recalled that there were no ambulances available, so Indira had to be placed in their Ambassador car. Sonia was seated right next to her mother-in-law, who was covered in blood. She shared that it took her a long time to come to terms with what had happened that day. “It was a terrible blow, for Rajiv, for Rahul and Priyanka, for all of us,” Sonia Gandhi said in her 2016 interview.

Decades later, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid tribute to their late grandmother on X. “What a beautiful woman she was! Free as the sky, deep as the ocean, resilient as the earth, brighter than a burning fire,” Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X. Rahul Gandhi shared a mantra from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which he recalled repeating after her. “Asato mā sadgamaya. Tamaso mā jyotirgamaya. Mṛtyor mā amṛtaṃ gamaya. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. What a beautiful gift you gave me, Dadi. What a gift. I never imagined,” he added.

[Rh/VS/RS]

Suggested Reading: