19 August,2024 02:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rajiv Gandhi. File Photo
Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the seventh Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989, was born on August 20, 1944. He was named after his maternal grandmother, Kamala Nehru, the wife of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Rajiv Gandhi was the last member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to hold the office of Prime Minister of India.
Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai (then Bombay) and was three years old when India gained independence, with his grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, becoming the country's first Prime Minister.
Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary is also known as Sadbhavana Diwas, a day dedicated to promoting peace, national integration, and communal harmony among all religions in the country.
The All India Congress Committee established the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award in 1992 as a tribute to Raji Gandhi's contribution to promoting communal harmony, national integration and peace.
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Rajiv Gandhi took over the charge of the Congress in 1984 following the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He became India's youngest Prime Minister at the age of 40 when he assumed office in October 1984. He served as the Prime Minister of India till December 2, 1989.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
Rajiv Gandhi birth anniversary: Here are some interesting facts about the leader