Rajeev Abhimanulu, 20 Aug 1944

[bujjulu]

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[b]Rajiv Ratna Gandhi[/b] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English"]/[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]ˈ[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]r[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]ɑː[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]dʒ[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]iː[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]v[/url] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]ˈ[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]ɡ[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]ɑː[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]n[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]d[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key"]iː[/url][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English"]/[/url] ([url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hi-RajivGandhi.ogg"][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Loudspeaker.svg/11px-Loudspeaker.svg.png[/img][/url] [url="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Hi-RajivGandhi.ogg"]pronunciation[/url] ([url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Media_help"]help[/url]·[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hi-RajivGandhi.ogg"]info[/url]); 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_India"]sixth[/url] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_India"]Prime Minister of India[/url] (1984–1989). He took office after his mother's [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination"]assassination[/url] on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_India"]Prime Minister of India[/url] when he took office at the age of 40.[/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
Rajiv Gandhi was the eldest son of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi"]Indira[/url] and [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feroze_Gandhi"]Feroze Gandhi[/url]. He went to study at [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College,_Cambridge"]Trinity College[/url], [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge"]Cambridge[/url], and later at [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_College_London"]Imperial College London[/url], but did not complete a degree at either. At Cambridge he met the Italian-born [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Gandhi"]Antonia Albina Maino[/url], then a waitress in a restaurant, whom he later married. After dropping out of university, he became a professional pilot for [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Airlines"]Indian Airlines[/url]. He remained aloof from politics, despite his family's political prominence. Following the death of his younger brother [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Gandhi"]Sanjay Gandhi[/url] in 1980 Rajiv entered politics. Following the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Indira_Gandhi"]assassination[/url] of his mother in 1984 after [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Blue_Star"]Operation Blue Star[/url], the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Congress"]Indian National Congress[/url] party leaders nominated him to be Prime Minister.[/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
Rajiv Gandhi led the Congress to a major election victory in 1984 soon after, amassing the largest majority ever seen in the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Parliament"]Indian Parliament[/url], the Congress party winning 411 seats out of 542. He began dismantling the [i][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License_Raj"]License Raj[/url][/i] – government quotas, tariffs and permit regulations on economic activity – modernised the telecommunications industry, the education system, expanded science and technology initiatives and improved relations with the United States.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-princeton.edu-0"][1][/url][/sup][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
In 1988, Gandhi reversed the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Maldives_Coup"]coup in Maldives[/url] antagonising the militant Tamil outfits such as [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Liberation_Organisation_of_Tamil_Eelam"]PLOTE[/url].[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-1"][2][/url][/sup] He was also responsible for first intervening and then sending Indian troops (Indian Peace Keeping Force or [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPKF"]IPKF[/url]) for peace efforts in [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka"]Sri Lanka[/url] in 1987, which soon ended in open conflict with the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam"]Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam[/url].[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-2"][3][/url][/sup] In mid-1987, the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_scandal"]Bofors scandal[/url] broke his honest, corruption-free image and resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 elections.[/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
Rajiv Gandhi remained [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_President"]Congress President[/url] until the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election,_1991"]elections in 1991[/url]. While campaigning, he was assassinated by the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam"]Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam[/url]. His widow [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Gandhi"]Sonia Gandhi[/url] became the leader of the Congress party in 1998, and led the party to victory in the 2004 elections. His son [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahul_Gandhi"]Rahul Gandhi[/url] is a Member of Parliament and the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-3"][4][/url][/sup][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Highest National Award of India, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Ratna"]Bharat Ratna[/url] (1991), joining a list of 40 luminaries, including [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi"]Indira Gandhi[/url].[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-4"][5][/url][/sup][/size][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]
Rajiv Gandhi was an active [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_in_India"]amateur radio operator[/url], and used the callsign VU2RG.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi#cite_note-5"][6][/url][/sup] He also founded [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INTACH"]INTACH[/url] in 1984 that seeks to preserve India's art and cultural heritage.[/size][/font][/color]