Indira Gandhi

Hello, my name is Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi. When I was a little girl, I didn't play with dolls the way other children did. Instead, I imagined myself as a leader, giving speeches to my toy soldiers. I grew up in a very large and special house called Anand Bhavan, which means "Abode of Joy." But it was more than just a home. It was the center of India's fight for freedom from British rule. My grandfather, Motilal Nehru, and my father, Jawaharlal Nehru, were important leaders in this movement. Famous visitors, like the great Mahatma Gandhi, were always coming and going, discussing big ideas about our country's future. It was exciting to be surrounded by such history, but sometimes it was also quite lonely. With so many grown-up matters happening, I often felt like a quiet observer in my own home, learning just by watching and listening.

My education was not in one single place. I traveled and studied in different schools in India and even far away in Switzerland and England. Seeing the world helped me understand different cultures and people, but it always made me love my home country, India, even more. It was in England that I met a kind and clever young man named Feroze Gandhi. We fell in love and decided to get married. We had our wedding back in India on March 26th, 1942. Soon, our family grew. We had two wonderful sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, and I loved being their mother. Building a family was a joyful part of my life, but I always knew my destiny was connected to serving my country. The lessons I learned as a child, listening to the great leaders in my home, were always in my heart, reminding me of the work that needed to be done for the people of India.

I will never forget the feeling of joy and hope on August 15th, 1947. That was the day India finally became an independent country. My father, Jawaharlal Nehru, became its very first Prime Minister. It was a time of great change and excitement for everyone. I moved to the capital, New Delhi, to be by his side. I wasn't just his daughter; I became his official hostess and his closest helper. I organized events for leaders from all over the world and traveled with him, listening and learning about how to run a country. It was like the best school I could ever attend. Watching my father taught me about courage, hard work, and the great responsibility of leadership. All those years of helping him prepared me for my own journey. After my father was no longer with us, the people of India looked for a new leader. On January 24th, 1966, I was chosen to be the third Prime Minister of India. It was a moment that filled my heart with pride, but also with the heavy weight of duty to serve all the people of my nation.

Being Prime Minister was the most challenging and important job of my life. My main goal was to make India a stronger nation and to help our poorest families. One of our biggest problems was not having enough food for everyone. To solve this, I started something called the Green Revolution. This meant we gave farmers better seeds and new tools to help them grow much more wheat and rice. Soon, India could feed all of its people, and we didn't have to worry about anyone going hungry. My time as a leader also had very difficult moments. In 1971, we had to fight a war to help our neighbors in what is now Bangladesh. Later, there was a time of trouble in our country, and I had to declare something called the 'Emergency.' This meant I made some very tough rules to keep order. Many people did not agree with these choices, and it was a very hard period for India and for me. But in my heart, I always believed I was doing what was best to protect our country and guide it toward a better future.

My life was a long journey of service to India. There were times the people voted for someone else, and I lost my position as Prime Minister. But I never stopped working for them, and eventually, they asked me to lead them again. They trusted me. I made a promise to my country that I would serve it until my very last breath, and I kept that promise. My life came to a sudden end on October 31st, 1984, but my spirit lives on in the country I loved so dearly. Looking back, I hope my story shows you that it doesn't matter if you are a boy or a girl. If you have courage, a strong will, and a deep love for your people, you can overcome any obstacle and make a lasting difference in the world.