List the significant events during the tenure of Smt. Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India.
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Answer:
Indira Gandhi was, without an iota of doubt, one of the major Prime Ministers this country has so far had, and in my opinion,her tenure was the most eventful period in independent India’s political history, both in positive and a negative ways. Almost five years back, I had written an answer to a similar question, and I am reproducing some relevant excerpts therefrom, which are equally apt here.
1967:Refusal to bow down to the hegemony of America, which refused to release food and other aids unless India supported their war in Vietnam. Piqued at this rebuff, Indira Gandhi set in motion with renewed vigor the Green Revolution, the seeds for which were already sown by her predecessor.
1969: Nationalization of 14 major private sector Banks, industries like coal and services like insurance etc.Perhaps today's generation may not see much merit in these moves, and may even think of them as counter productive.But seen in context, the move to Nationalize the Private sector Banks was a vital step in freeing the economic growth of the country from the clutches of a few vested interests,and throwing open the Banking facilities to the common people.Along with Railways, Telecom,and Space Research, Banking in India, is one of the biggest and safest in the world, which guarantees the financial security of the general public against the global economic risks. (The corrupt misuse of Banks for political gains was one of the negative fall outs, and old banking hands would still remember the uncouth and unsophisticated behavior of people like Janardhan Pujary, who was then a junior minister in Indira's cabinet, but this did not alter the perception of the masses)
1971: War with Pakistan and successful Liberation of Bangladesh: If anything, this sentimental and sensational victory raised the stock of Indira Gandhi to the cult status and she was hailed as the Goddess Durga. It indeed took great courage on the part of Indira Gandhi to take the battle inside the enemy territory, undaunted by the threat of America positioning it's dreaded Seventh fleet in the close vicinity of Indian waters. This victory, along with her imaginative slogan of " Garibi Hatao" (Abolish Poverty) gave Indira Gandhi a massive mandate in the general elections, which even her father, the charismatic Nehru could not command.
1972: Peace with Pakistan and Shimla Agreement : This helped to mollify the distrust of the Western powers about India's hegemonic intentions in the region, and improved Indira Gandhi's image as a statesman in the international opinion.
1974: Operation Smiling Buddha : The clandestine underground testing of India's indigenous nuclear capability in Pokhran, Rajasthan, no doubt irked the Western Powers, but nevertheless gave India's defence preparedness a major boost in confidence.
1975 : State of Internal Emergency: Without any doubt, the most controversial action of Indira Gandhi ever.