Tribute to Rajiv Gandhi: Know some interesting facts about the former Prime Minister of India

Why the name Rajiv was given?

Rajiv Gandhi was born on 20 August, 1944 in Mumbai. Rajiv Gandhi's name was kept as Rajiv because the name of Jawaharlal Nehru's wife was Kamala which means goddess Lakshmi and 'Rajiv' word means Kamal or Lotus flower which is used to worship goddess, Lakshmi

Rajiv Gandhi's interest in music

Rajiv Gandhi was very interested in music. He liked Western and Hindustani classical and modern music. He also had a passion for listening to the radio and doing photography.

Rajiv Gandhi mentioned talent

Among all the mentioned hobbies Pilot was his biggest obsession. So, he went to Delhi and took pilot training from Flying Club, and in 1970 as a pilot, he started working in Indian Airlines.

Rajiv Gandhi and wife Sonia Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi's met Edvige Antonio Albina Maino in London. In 1968, he married Edvige Antonio Albina Maino in New Delhi and renamed her Sonia Gandhi. They have two children, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi entry into politics

When his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash on 23 June, 1980, he had joined politics and contested election from his brother's seat Amethi. In 1981, Rajiv Gandhi was made the president of the Indian Youth Congress.

Why Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister

Rajiv Gandhi's mother Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguard on 31 October, 1984. In 1984, the Congress contested the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress got 404 out of 533 seats, which was considered the biggest victory in the history. Thus Rajiv Gandhi became the youngest Prime Minister of India at the age of 40.

Rajiv Gandhi as PM

He introduced the age of voting rights as 18 and also included Panchayati Raj. He strongly encouraged youth power and said that the development of the country depends only on the awareness of the youth of the country. That's why Jawahar Rozgar Yojana was started to give jobs to the youth.

Rajiv Gandhi's nickname

Rajiv Gandhi was nicknamed Mr. Clean because of his fight against corruption.

Rajiv Gandhi's assassination

On 21 May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi reached Sriperumbudur, 30 km from Chennai to address a rally where he was assassinated. A woman named Dhanu approached Rajiv Gandhi, bent down to touch his feet and exploded a bomb, which was placed under her dress. His aggressive efforts to curb the LTTE in Sri Lanka led to his untimely assassination by the group in Sriperambudur.

Rajiv Gandhi awarded the Country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna

In 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna by the Indian Government.