Top Political Assassinations
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984), India:
Indira Gandhi, the 3rd Prime Minister of India was assassinated on October 31, 1984. She was killed by two of her own Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. After the shooting, both threw their weapons down and Beant Singh said “I have done what I had to do. You do what you want to do.” Immediately, soldiers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police killed Beant Singh and the other bodyguard was arrested by Gandhi’s bodyguards. After the killing, over the next four days about thousands of Sikhs were killed in retaliatory violence. The assassination of Indira Gandhi had shaken the Indian politics for ever.
Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991), India:
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister of India, occurred as a result of suicide bombing in Tamil Nadu. The massacre had occurred when he reached a campaign rally in one of Tamil Nadu’s villages. He was about to deliver a speech when the assassin detonated a RDX explosive laden belt tucked below her dress. Gandhi and 14 others were killed in the explosion. The attack was blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist organization in Sri Lanka.
