Peoples and Problems

by Indira Gandhi

Mrs. Indira Gandhi, like her father Jawarharlal Nehru, is no stranger to the heights and troughs of Indian politics. But in two spells as Indian Prime Minister she has established herself as an international statesman of considerable stature. Turning to her speeches one begins to understand why. PEOPLES AND PROBLEMS contains more than two dozen of her most important speeches from the time she first became Prime Minister of India in January 1966 until the present day. Many of the speeches were delivered to international audiences such as the United Nations in New York, others to forums as diverse as the Sorbonne in Paris, the Indian Science Congress and the National Academy of Sciences in Allahabad. In these speeches, Mrs. Gandhi adopts the role of spokesman for the developing countries, and of the champion of the cause of non-alignment. Assuming her father's mantle, she speaks out for the countries that were once subjected to European colonialism, and she speaks of the achievements of her own country since independence. Her speeches concentrate on four main themes. The first is the crusade for the abolition of hunger and poverty, by the development of the resources of the third world for the benefit of the third world. The second is the conservation of resources. The rich out of greed, and the poor out of need, have been reckless in plundering the earth's assets,' she says, adding that it is essential to develop renewable sources of energy, such as bio-gas and solar, power, and to avoid depletion of resources that are non- renewable. The third is the stance of non-alignment. Developing countries, she proclaims, must not fall into the trap of becoming pawns in the power struggle waged between the two super- powers, but must stand aloof from both of them. If developing nations are to achieve their goals of self-sufficiency and prosperity, they must co-operate amongst themselves. This co-operation must be both economic and scientific.

209 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1983

About the author

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindustani: [ˈɪnːdɪrə ˈɡaːnd̪ʱi] ( listen); née Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and central figure of the Indian National Congress party, and to date the only female Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi was the only child of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. She served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, making her the second-longest-serving Prime Minister after her father.

Gandhi served as her father's personal assistant and hostess during his tenure as prime minister between 1947 and 1964. She was elected Congress President in 1959. Upon her father's death in 1964, Gandhi refused to enter the Congress party leadership contest and instead chose to become a cabinet minister in the government led by Lal Bahadur Shastri. In the Congress Party's parliamentary leadership election held in early 1966, upon the death of Shastri, she defeated her rival, Morarji Desai, to become leader; and, thus, succeeded Shastri as Prime Minister of India.

As the Prime Minister of India, Gandhi was known for her political ruthlessness and unprecedented centralisation of power. She went to war with Pakistan in support of the independence movement and war of independence in East Pakistan, which resulted in an Indian victory and the creation of Bangladesh, as well as increasing India's influence to the point where it became the regional hegemon of South Asia. Gandhi also presided over a controversial state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which she ruled by decree. She was assassinated in 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards, a few months after she ordered the storming of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar to counter the Punjab insurgency.

Reviews

[Gautam Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Brian Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is fascinating to see the breadth of ideas articulated in he speeches of this great but perhaps flawed woman.