Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary: Interesting facts about the former Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi. File Pic

Rajiv Gandhi remains India's youngest Prime Minister to date. He took charge in 1984 after his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards.

Rajiv Gandhi, the youngest Indian prime minister at the age of 40, was assassinated on May 21, 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was the second Indian prime minister to be assassinated after his mother Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her bodyguards.

The former prime minister was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber named Dhanu at a poll rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on the night of May 21, 1991. The blast killed at least 13 people and over 40 were injured.

Also Read: National Anti-Terrorism Day 2023: Why is it observed on May 21?

On Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary, we bring you some interesting facts about the leader:

• He studied at Welham Prep in Dehra Dun before he moved to the iconic Doon School. He went to Trinity College in Cambridge and from there, joined Imperial College (London).
• Rajiv Gandhi met Sonia Gandhi at Cambridge. In 1968, they married and Sonia Gandhi moved into the house of her mother-in-law, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Rajiv Gandhi had a passion for music - Western and Hindustani classical - and photography.
• Upon returning to India, Rajiv Gandhi obtained a commercial pilot's licence from the Delhi Flying Club and became a pilot with Indian Airlines
• Politics didn't interest Rajiv Gandhi initially. He was a pilot and joined the Indian Airlines in 1970.
• Rajiv Gandhi had to take on a bigger role in politics after the death of his more ambitious brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash in 1980. Rajiv Gandhi contested the polls from his brother's seat Amethi. He became the president of the Indian Youth Congress in 1981.
• During his tenure as Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi passed the anti-defection law in 1985, according to which an elected Member of Parliament could not join an opposition party till the next election.
• Rajiv Gandhi is remembered as a charismatic politician who took big steps to facilitate India's IT revolution.