On January 19th, 1966 Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister of India. She was the third Prime Minister of India and the first woman.

Indirta Gandi was born on November 19, 1917, she was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, a position he held for 17 years after India gained independence from British rule in 1947. Growing up in a highly political environment, Indira Gandhi was closely involved with the political processes of the country from an early age.

During Nehru's time as Prime Minister, Indira served as her father's personal assistant, offering her a close view of the workings of the government and the country. After Nehru's death in 1964, Indira's political career accelerated. She served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet.

In 1966, after Shastri's sudden death, Indira Gandhi was elected as the Prime Minister by the Congress Parliamentary Party. The 'Syndicate', a powerful group within the Congress Party, initially saw her as a docile figurehead whom they could control. The first couple of years of her prime ministership were thus marked by her tussle with the 'Syndicate' for control of the party and the government.

However, Indira Gandhi was no political novice and she swiftly consolidated her power. She skillfully maneuvered herself to the top of the party, outwitting her internal rivals, and became the dominant force within the Congress. She pursued a series of bold and often controversial policies, including the nationalization of banks and the abolition of privy purses of former princely states, which were widely seen as steps toward more equitable economic development.

In 1975, faced with mounting legal challenges and political opposition, she declared a state of emergency, a 21-month period often referred to as the "Emergency", which gave her the power to rule by decree. The Emergency period was highly controversial, involving mass arrests of leaders and activists, censorship of the press, and an aggressive family planning initiative.

In the general election held in March 1977, the Congress Party was defeated for the first time since independence, and Indira Gandhi was ousted from power. She was briefly imprisoned on charges of corruption but returned to power after the general election of 1980, which saw a resounding victory for her and her newly formed Congress (I) party.

Indira Gandhi served as the Prime Minister of India until October 31, 1984, when she was assassinated by two of her bodyguards in retaliation for Operation Blue Star, a military operation ordered by her to remove Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Her death led to anti-Sikh riots across the country and marked a tragic end to one of the most influential and controversial political careers in the history of India. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, succeeded her as Prime Minister, marking the continuation of the Nehru-Gandhi family's political legacy.