Smt. Indira Gandhi was the only child of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. She adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that had been begun by her father.

She was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation for ordering Operation Blue Star.

Early life and career
Smt. Indira Gandhi was born on 19 November 1917 at the Anand Bhavan in the historically important town of Allahabad, in what was then the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, into the politically influential Nehru Family. Smt. Indira Gandhi's father was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and her mother was Smt. Kamla Nehru. Her grandfather, Shri Motilal Nehru, was a prominent Indian nationalist leader. Her father, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was a pivotal figure in the independence movement of India.

With Mahatma Gandhi fasting, mid 1920s
Smt. Indira Gandhi did her pre-schooling at the Modern School in Delhi. She attended primary school in a variety of institutions in India and Europe, including Ecole Internationale in Geneva, Ecole Nouvelle in Bex, St Cecilia's and St Mary's Convent Schools (both in Allahabad), before graduating from the Pupils' Own School in Poona and Bombay. She briefly studied at the Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan in the 1930s. In 1936, Smt. Indira Gandhi enrolled at Somerville College, Oxford, University of Oxford in United Kingdom. While preparing for the entrance examination, she suffered a personal tragedy after her mother died from a prolonged battle with tuberculosis in Switzerland. This left her emotionally devastated. Despite the setbacks, Smt. Indira Gandhi chose to continue studying in England and spent a few months at the Badminton School in Bristol before clearing the Oxford entrance examination in 1937.

During her time in Europe, Smt. Indira Gandhi was plagued with ill-health and was constantly attended by Doctors. She had to make repeated trips to Switzerland to recover, disrupting her studies. She was being treated by the famed Swiss Doctor Auguste Rollier in 1940, when the Nazi armies rapidly conquered Europe. Smt. Indira Gandhi tried to return to England through Portugal but was left stranded for nearly two months. She managed to enter England in early 1941, and from there returned to India without completing her studies at Oxford. She had excelled in history, political science and economics. The Oxford University later conferred on her an honorary degree. In 2010, Oxford further honoured Smt. Indira Gandhi by selecting her as one of the ten Oxasians, illustrious Asian Graduates from the University of Oxford.

During her stay in the U.K., Smt. Indira Gandhi frequently met her future husband Feroze Gandhi, whom she knew from Allahabad, and who was studying at the London School of Economics. The marriage took place in Allahabad according to Hindu rituals though Feroze belonged to a Parsi family of Gujarat.

In the 1950s, Smt. Indira Gandhi served her father unofficially as a personal assistant during his tenure as the first Prime Minister of India. After her father's death in 1964 she was appointed as a Member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and became a Member of Lal Bahadur Shastri's Cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

Then Congress Party President K. Kamaraj was instrumental in making Smt. Indira Gandhi the Prime Minister after the sudden demise of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. Smt. Indira Gandhi soon showed an ability to win elections and outmaneuver opponents. She introduced more left-wing economic policies and promoted agricultural productivity. She led India as a Prime Minister during the decisive victory of East Pakistan over Pakistan in 1971 war and creation of an independent Bangladesh. She imposed a state of emergency in 1975. Congress Party and Smt. Indira Gandhi herself lost the next general election for the first time in 1977. Smt. Indira Gandhi led the Congress back to victory in 1980 elections and she resumed the office of the Prime Minister. In June 1984, under her orders, the Indian Army forcefully entered the Golden Temple, the most sacred Sikh Gurdwara, to remove armed insurgents present inside the temple. She was killed on 31 October 1984 in retaliation for this operation by her bodyguards.

Legislative career
When Smt. Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister in 1966, the Congress was split in two factions, the socialists led by Smt. Indira Gandhi, and the conservatives led by Shri Morarji Desai. The internal problems showed in the 1967 election where the Congress lost nearly 60 seats winning 297 seats in the 545 seat Lok Sabha. She had to accommodate Shri Morarji Desai as the Deputy Prime Minister of India and the Minister of Finance. In 1969 after many disagreements with Shri Morarji Desai, the Indian National Congress split. She ruled with support from Socialist and Communist Parties for the next two years. In the same year, in July 1969 she nationalized several Banks.

War with Pakistan in 1971
The Pakistan army conducted atrocities against the civilian populations of East Pakistan. An estimated 10 million refugees fled to India, causing financial hardship and instability in the country. The United States under Richard Nixon's Presidentship supported Pakistan, and mooted a UN resolution warning India against going to war.

Foreign policy
Smt. Indira Gandhi invited the Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Shimla for a week-long Summit. The two national leaders eventually signed the Shimla Agreement, which bound the two countries to resolve the Kashmir dispute by negotiations and peaceful means.

Congress was criticized by some for not making the Line of Control (LoC) a permanent border while a few critics even believed that Pakistan-administered Kashmir should have been extracted from Pakistan, whose 93,000 prisoners of war were under Indian control. But the agreement did remove immediate United Nations and third party interference, and greatly reduced the likelihood of Pakistan launching a major attack in the near future. By not demanding total capitulation on a sensitive issue from Bhutto, she had allowed Pakistan to stabilize and normalize. Trade relations were also normalized, though much contact remained frozen for years.

Nuclear weapons programME
Smt. Indira Gandhi contributed and further carried out the vision of Pandit Jawarharalal Nehru, Former Prime Minister of India to develop the programme. Smt. Indira Gandhi gave authorization of developing nuclear weapons in 1967, in response to the Test No. 6 by People's Republic of China. Smt. Indira Gandhi saw this test as Chinese nuclear intimidation, therefore, she promoted the views of Pandit Nehru to establish India's stability and security interests as independent from those of the nuclear superpowers.

The programme became fully mature in 1974, when Dr. Raja Ramanna reported to Smt. Indira Gandhi that India has ability to test the first nuclear weapon. Smt. Indira Gandhi gave verbal authorization of this test, and preparations were made in a long-constructed Army base, the Indian Army Pokhran Test Range. In 1974, India successfully conducted an underground nuclear test, unofficially code named as "Smiling Buddha", near the desert village of Pokhran in Rajasthan. As the world was quiet by this test, a vehement protest came forward from Pakistan. Great ire was raised in Pakistan, Pakistan's Prime Minister Bhutto described this test as "Indian Hegemony" to intimidate Pakistan. Smt. Indira Gandhi directed a letter to Bhutto and, later to the world, describing the test as for peaceful purposes and India's commitment as to develop its programme for industrial and scientific use.

Green Revolution
Special agricultural innovation programmes and extra government support launched in the 1960s finally transformed India's chronic food shortages into surplus production of wheat, rice, cotton and milk, the success mainly attributed to the hard working majority Sikh farmers of Punjab. Rather than relying on food aid from the United States – headed by a President whom Smt. Indira Gandhi disliked considerably, the country became a food exporter. That achievement, along with the diversification of its commercial crop production, has become known as the "Green Revolution". At the same time, the White Revolution was an expansion in milk production which helped to combat malnutrition, especially amidst young children. 'Food Security', as the programme was called, was another source of support for Smt. Indira Gandhi in the years leading up to 1975.

Established in the early 1960s, the Green Revolution was the unofficial name given to the Intense Agricultural District Programme (IADP) which sought to insure abundant, inexpensive grain for urban dwellers upon whose support Smt. Indira Gandhi — as indeed all Indian politicians—heavily depended. The programme was based on four premises: 1) New varieties of seed(s), 2) Acceptance of the necessity of the chemicalization of Indian agriculture, i.e. fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers, etc., 3) A commitment to national and international cooperative research to develop new and improved existing seed varieties, 4) The concept of developing a scientific, agricultural institutions in the form of land grant colleges.

Bank nationalization
In 1969, fourteen major banks were nationalized as a means of encouraging economic development and widening access to banking facilities. Banks were given targets for lending in priority areas (like agriculture) and were directed to offer banking services to poorer members of Indian society who had been neglected by the Private Banks. Under the nationalization drive, the number of Bank Branches rose from 8,200 to over 62,000, most of which were opened in the unbanked, rural areas. The nationalization drive not only helped to increase household savings, but it also provided considerable investments in the informal sector, in small and medium-sized enterprises, and in agriculture, and contributed significantly to regional development and to the expansion of India’s industrial and agricultural base.

1971 election victory and second term
The Government faced major problems after her tremendous mandate of 1971. The internal structure of the Congress Party had withered following its numerous splits, leaving it entirely dependent on her leadership for its election fortunes. Garibi Hatao (Eradicate Poverty) was the theme for Smt. Indira Gandhi's 1971 bid. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programmes that came with it were designed to give Smt. Indira Gandhi an independent national support, based on rural and urban poor. This would allow her to bypass the dominant rural castes both in and of the State and the local Government; likewise the urban commercial class. And, for their part, the previously voiceless poor would at last gain both political worth and political weight.

The programmes created through Garibi Hatao, though carried out locally, were funded, developed, supervised, and staffed by New Delhi and the Indian National Congress Party. "These programmes also provided the Central political leadership with new and vast patronage resources to be disbursed... throughout the country." Scholars and historians now agree as to the extent of the failure of Garibi Hatao in alleviating poverty – only about 4% of all funds allocated for economic development went to the three main anti-poverty programmes, and precious few of these ever reached the 'Poorest of the Poor' – and the empty sloganeering of the programme was mainly used instead to engender populist support for Smt. Indira Gandhi's re-election.

Verdict on electoral malpractice
On 12 June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad declared Smt. Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha void on grounds of electoral malpractice. In an election petition filed by Shri Raj Narain (who later on defeated her in 1977 Parliamentary Election from Rae Bareily), he had alleged several major as well as minor instances of using Government resources for campaigning. The Court thus ordered her to be removed from her seat in Parliament and banned from running in elections for six years. The Prime Minister must be a Member of either the Lok Sabha (Lower House in the Parliament of India) or the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament). Thus, this decision effectively removed her from office. Smt. Indira Gandhi had asked one of India's best legal minds and also one of her colleagues in Government, Shri Ashoke Kumar Sen to defend her in Court. It has been written that Smt. Indira Gandhi was told she would only win if Shri Sen appeared for her.

But Smt. Indira Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The verdict was delivered by Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha at Allahabad High Court. Smt. Indira Gandhi, who gave evidence in her defence during the trial, was found guilty of dishonest election practices, excessive election expenditure, and of using Government machinery and officials for Party purposes.

Smt. Indira Gandhi insisted the conviction did not undermine her position, despite having been unseated from the lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha, by order of the High Court. She said: "There is a lot of talk about our Government not being clean, but from our experience the situation was very much worse when opposition parties were forming Governments". And she dismissed criticism of the way her Congress Party raised election campaign money, saying all parties used the same methods. The Prime Minister retained the support of her Party, which issued a statement backing her. After news of the verdict spread, hundreds of supporters demonstrated outside her house, pledging their loyalty. Indian High Commissioner B.K. Nehru said Smt. Indira Gandhi's conviction would not harm her political career. "Smt. Indira Gandhi has still today overwhelming support in the country," he said. "I believe the Prime Minister of India will continue in office until the electorate of India decides otherwise".

State of Emergency (1975–1977)
Smt. Indira Gandhi moved to restore order by ordering the arrest of most of the opposition participating in the unrest. Her Cabinet and Government then recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a State of Emergency, because of the disorder and lawlessness following the Allahabad High Court decision. Accordingly, the then President of India declared a State of Emergency caused by internal disorder, based on the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution, on 26 June 1975.

Rule by decree
Within a few months, President's Rule was imposed on the two opposition Party ruled States of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu thereby bringing the entire country under direct Central rule or by Governments led by the ruling Congress Party.

After extending the State of Emergency twice, in 1977 Smt. Indira Gandhi called elections, to give the electorate a chance to vindicate her rule. Smt. Indira Gandhi may have grossly misjudged her popularity by reading what the heavily censored Press wrote about her. In any case, she was opposed by the Janata Party. Janata, led by her long-time rival, Shri Morarji Desai and with Shri Jayaprakash Narayan as its spiritual guide, claimed the elections were the last chance for India to choose between "Democracy and Dictatorship." Indira's Congress party was crushed soundly in the elections which followed. Smt. Indira Gandhi and Shri Sanjay Gandhi both lost their seats, and Congress was cut down to 153 seats (compared with 350 in the previous Lok Sabha), 92 of which were in the South.

Removal, arrest, and return
The Congress Party split during the election campaign of 1977: Smt. Indira Gandhi's supporters like Jagjivan Ram and her most loyal Bahuguna and Nandini Satpathy, the three were compelled to part ways and form a new political entity CFD (Congress for Democracy) primarily due to intra party politicking.

The Janata coalition was only united by its hatred of Smt. Indira Gandhi. With so little in common, the Government was bogged down by infighting. Shri Jayaprakash Narayan died on 8 October 1979, which broke the unity of the Janata Party and Shri Moraji Desai took his place. Shri Morarji Desai resigned in June 1979, and Shri Charan Singh was appointed Prime Minister after Smt. Indira Gandhi promised that Congress would support his Government from outside.

After a short interval, Congress withdrew support and the then President Shri N. Sanjiva Reddy dissolved the Parliament in the winter of 1979. In the elections held the following January, Congress was returned to power with a landslide majority.

Currency crisis
During the early 1980s, there was a 40 percent fall in the value of the Indian Rupee from Rs. 7 to Rs. 12 against the US Dollar. The Reserve Bank of India had decided to devalue the Rupee to make Indian exports more competitive.

Operation Blue Star
In July 1982, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Head of the Sikh religious institution the Damdami Taksal based in the Northern Indian State of Punjab, led a campaign for the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution for greater rights to the States making a federal arrangement. In response to this, Smt. Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to attack the Bhindrawale. The State of Punjab was closed to international media, its phone and communication lines shut.

Assassination
The day before her death Mrs Indira Gandhi was in visit of Orissa on 30 October 1984 where she gave her last speech for all Indians: I am alive today, I may not be there tomorrow I shall continue to serve till my last breath and when I die every drop of my blood will strengthen India and keep a united India alive.

Indira Gandhi's last speech at Bhubaneswar
Indira Gandhi delivered her last speech at the then Parade Ground in front of the Secretariet of Orissa. After her death, the Parade Ground was converted to the Indira Gandhi Park which was inaugurated by her son, Shri Rajiv Gandhi.

On 31 October 1984, two of Smt. Indira Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the Prime Minister's residence at 1, Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. The shooting occurred as she was walking past a wicket gate guarded by Satwant and Beant. She was to have been interviewed by the British Actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. According to information immediately following the incident, Beant Singh shot her three times using his side-arm, and Satwant Singh fired 30 rounds. Beant Singh and Satwant Singh dropped their weapons and surrendered. Afterwards they were taken away by other guards into a closed room where Beant Singh was shot dead. Kehar Singh was later arrested for conspiracy in the attack. Both Satwant and Kehar were sentenced to death and hanged in Delhi's Tihar Jail.

Smt. Indira Gandhi was brought at 9:30 am to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where Doctors operated on her. She was declared dead at 2:20 pm. The postmortem examination was conducted by a team of Doctors headed by Dr. T. D. Dogra. Dr. Dogra stated that as many as 30 bullet wounds were sustained by Smt. Indira Gandhi, from two sources, an SLR and a pistol. The assailants had fired 31 bullets at her, of which 30 had hit; 23 had passed through her body while 7 were trapped inside her. Dr. Dogra extricated bullets to establish the identity of the weapons and to correlate each weapon with the bullets recovered by ballistic examination. The bullets were matched with respective weapons at CFSL Delhi. Subsequently Dr. Dogra appeared in the Court of Shri Mahesh Chandra as an expert witness and his testimony lasted several sessions. The cross examination was conducted by Shri P. N. Lekhi, the defence counsel.

Smt. Indira Gandhi was cremated on 3 November 1984 near Raj Ghat. Her funeral was televised live on domestic and international stations, including the BBC. Following her cremation, millions of Sikhs were displaced and nearly three thousand were killed in anti-Sikh riots. Shri Rajiv Gandhi on a live TV show said of the carnage, "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."

Family and personal life
Initially, her younger son Shri Sanjay Gandhi had been her chosen heir; but after his death in a flying accident in June 1980, his mother persuaded a reluctant elder son Shri Rajiv Gandhi to quit his job as a Pilot and enter politics in February 1981. Over a decade later, Shri Rajiv Gandhi was also assassinated on 21 May 1991.

Legacy
The Indira Awaas Yojana, a Central Government low-cost housing programme for the rural poor, is named after her. The International Airport at New Delhi is named Indira Gandhi International Airport in her honour. The Indira Gandhi National Open University, the largest University in the world, is also named after her.

 

Contribution towards environment

Smt. Indira Gandhi was invited for addressing the Plenary Session of United Nations Conference on Human Environment at Stockholm on 14^th  June, 1972. Her keynote address is reproduced below :

It is indeed an honour to address this Conference-in itself a fresh expression of the spirit which created the United Nations-concern for the present and future welfare of humanity. It does not aim merely at securing limited agreements but at establishing peace and harmony in life-among all races and with Nature. This gathering represents man's earnest endeavour to understand his own condition and to prolong his tenancy of this planet. A vast amount of detailed preparatory work has gone into the convening of this Conference guided by the dynamic personality of Mr. Maurice Strong the Secretary General.

I have had the good fortune of growing up with a sense of kinship with nature in all its manifestations. Birds, plants, stones were companions and, sleeping under the star-strewn sky, I became familiar with the names and movements of the constellations. But my deep interest in this our `only earth' was not for itself but as a fit home for man.

One cannot be truly human and civilized unless one looks upon not only all fellow-men but all creation with the eyes of a friend. Throughout India, edicts carved on rocks and iron pillars are reminders that 22 centuries ago the Emperor Ashoka defined a King's duty as not merely to protect citizens and punish wrongdoers but also to preserve animal life and forest trees. Ashoka was the first and perhaps the only monarch until very recently, to forbid the killing of a large number of species of animals for sport or food, foreshadowing some of the concerns of this Conference. He went further, regretting the carnage of his military conquests and enjoining upon his successors to find "their only pleasure in the peace that comes through righteousness".

Along with the rest of mankind, we in India--in spite of Ashoka have been guilty of wanton disregard for the sources of our sustenance. We share you concern at the rapid deterioration of flora and fauna. Some of our own wildlife has been wiped out, miles of forests with beautiful old trees, mute witnesses of history, have been destroyed. Even though our industrial development is in its infancy, and at its most difficult stage, we are taking various steps to deal with incipient environmental imbalances. The more so because of our concern for the human being--a species which is also imperiled. In poverty he is threatened by malnutrition and disease, in weakness by war, in richness by the pollution brought about by his own prosperity.

It is said that in country after country, progress should become synonymous with an assault on nature. We who are a part of nature and dependent on her for very need, speak constantly about "exploiting" nature. When the highest mountain in the world was climber in 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru objected to the phrase "conquest of Everest" which he thought was arrogant. It is surprising that this lack of consideration and the constant need to prove one's superiority should be projected onto our treatment of our fellowmen? I remember Edward Thompson, a British writer and a good friend of India, once telling Mr. Gandhi that wildlife was fast disappearing. Remarked the Mahatma--"It is decreasing in the jungles but it is increasing in the town".

We are gathered here under the aegis of the United Nations. We are supposed to belong to the same family sharing common traits and impelled by the same basic desires, yet we inhabit a divided world.

How can it be otherwise? There is still no recognition of the equality of man or respect for him as an individual. In matters of colour and race, religion and custom, society is governed by prejudice. Tensions arise because of man's aggressiveness and notions of superiority. The power of the big stick prevails and it is used not in favour of fair play or beauty, but to chase imaginary windmills--to assume the right to interfere in the affairs of others, and to arrogate authority for action which would not normally be allowed. Many of the advanced countries of today have reached their present affluence by their domination over other races and countries, the exploitation of their own natural resources. They got a head start through sheer ruthlessness, undisturbed by feelings of compassion or by abstract theories of freedom, equality or justice. The stirrings of demands for the political rights of citizens, and the economic rights of the toiler came after considerable advance had been made. The riches and the labour of the colonized countries played no small part in the industrialization and prosperity of the West. Now, as we struggle to create a better life for our people, it is in vastly different circumstances, for obviously in today's eagle-eyed watchfulness we cannot indulge in such practices even for a worthwhile purpose. We are bound by our own ideals. We owe allegiance to the principles of the rights of workers and the norms enshrined in the charters of international organizations. Above all we are answerable to the millions of politically awakened citizens in our countries. All these make progress costlier and more complicated.

On the one hand the rich look askance at our continuing poverty--on the other, they warn us against their own methods. We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers of people. Are not poverty and need the greatest polluters? For instance, unless we are in a position to provide employment and purchasing power for the daily necessities of the tribal people and those who live in or around our jungles, we cannot prevent them from combing the forest for food and livelihood; from poaching and from despoiling the vegetation. When they themselves feel deprived, how can we urge the preservation of animals? How can we speak to those who live in villages and in slums about keeping the oceans, the rivers and the air clean when their own lives are contaminated at the source? The environment cannot be improved in conditions of poverty. Nor can poverty be eradicated without the use of science and technology.

Must there be conflict between technology and a truly better world or between enlightenment of the spirit and a higher standard of living? Foreigners sometimes ask what to us seems a very strange question, whether progress in India would not mean diminishing of her spirituality or her values. Is spiritual quality so superficial as to be dependent upon the lack of material comfort? As a country we are not more or less spiritual than any other but traditionally our people have respected the spirit of detachment and renunciation. Historically, our great spiritual discoveries were made during periods of comparative affluence. The doctrines of detachment from possessions were developed not as rationalization of deprivation but to prevent comfort and ease from dulling the senses. Spirituality means the enrichment of the spirit, the strengthening of ones inner resources and the stretching of one's range of experience. It is the ability to be still in the midst of activity and vibrantly alive in moments of calm; to separate the essence from circumstances; to accept joy and sorrow with some equanimity. Perception and compassion are the marks of true spirituality.

I am reminded of an incident in one of our tribal areas. The vociferous demand of elder tribal chiefs that their customs should be left undisturbed found support from noted anthropologists. In its anxiety that the majority should not submerge the many ethnic, racial and cultural groups in our country, the Government of India largely accepted this advice. I was amongst those who entirely approved. However, a visit to remote part of our north-east frontier brought me in touch with a different point of view-the protest of the younger elements that while the rest of India was on the way to modernization they were being preserved as museum pieces. Could we not say the same to the affluent nations?

For the last quarter of a century, we have been engaged in an enterprise unparalled in human history--the provision of basic needs to one-sixth of mankind within the span of one or two generations. When we launched on that effort our early planners had more than the usual gaps to fill. There was not enough data and no helpful books. No guidance could be sought from the experience of other countries whose conditions--political, economic, social and technological--were altogether different. Planning in the sense we were innovating, had never been used in the context of a mixed economy. But we could not wait. The need to improve the conditions of our people was pressing. Planning and action, the improvement of data leading to better planning and better action, all this was a continuous and overlapping process. Our industrialization tended to follow the paths which the more advanced countries had traversed earlier. With the advance of the 60's and particularly during the last five years, we have encountered a bewildering collection of problems, some due to our shortcomings but many inherent in the process and in existing attitudes. The feeling is growing that we should re-order our priorities and move away from the single-dimensional model which has viewed growth from certain limited angles, which seems to have given a higher place to things rather than to persons and which has increased our wants rather than our enjoyment. We should have a more comprehensive approach to life, centred on man not as a statistic but an individual with many sides to his personality. The solution of these problems cannot be isolated phenomena of marginal importance but must be an integral part of the unfolding of the very process of development.

The extreme forms in which questions of population or environmental pollution are posed, obscure the total view of political, economic and social situations. The Government of India is one of the few which has an officially sponsored programme of family planning and this is making some progress. We believe that planned families will make for a healthier and more conscious population. But we know also that no programme of population control can be effective without education and without a visible rise in the standard of living. Our own programmes have succeeded in the urban or semi-urban areas. To the very poor, every child is an earner and a helper. We ar experimenting with new approaches and the family planning programme is being combined with those of maternity and child welfare, nutrition and development in general.

It is an over--simplification to blame all the world's problems on increasing population. Countries with but a small fraction of the world population consume the bulk of the world's production of minerals, fossil fuels and so on. Thus we see that when it comes to the depletion of natural resources and environmental pollution, the increase of one inhabitant in an affluent country., at his level of living, is equivalent to an increase of many Asian, Africans or Latin Americans at their current material levels of living.

The inherent conflict is not between conservation and development, but between environment and reckless exploitation of man and earth in the name of efficiency. Historians tell us that the modern age began with the will to freedom of the individual. And the individual came to believe that the had rights with no corresponding obligations. The man who got ahead was the one who commanded admiration. No questions were asked as to the methods employed or the price which others had to pay. The industrial civilization has promoted the concept of the efficient man, he whose entire energies are concentrated on producing more in a given unit of time and from a given unit of manpower. Groups or individuals who ar less competitive and according to this test, less efficient are regarded as lesser breeds--for example the older civilizations, the black and brown peoples, women and certain professions. Obsolescence is built into production, and efficiency is based on the creation of goods which are not really needed and which cannot be disposed of when discarded. What price such efficiency now, and is not recklessness a more appropriate term for such a behaviour?

All the `isms' of the modern age--even those which in theory disown the private profit principle--assume that man's cardinal interest is acquisition. The profit motive, individual or collectives, seems to overshadow all else. This overriding concern with self and Today is the basic cause of the ecological crisis.

Pollution is not a technical problem. The fault lies not in science and technology as such but in the sense of values of the contemporary world which ignores the rights of others and is oblivious of the longer perspective.

There are grave misgivings that the discussion on ecology may be designed to distract attention from the problems of war and poverty. We have to prove to the disinherited majority of the world that ecology and conservation will not work against their interest but will bring an improvement in their lives. To withhold technology from them would deprive them of vast resources of energy and knowledge. This is no longer feasible not will it be acceptable.

The environmental problems of developing countries are not the side effects of excessive industrialization but reflect the inadequacy of development. The rich countries may look upon development as the cause of environmental destruction, but to us it is one of the primary means of improving the environment for living, or providing food, water, sanitation and shelter; of making the deserts green and the mountains habitable. The research and perseverance of dedicated people have given us an insight which is likely to play an important part in the shaping of our future plans. We see that however much man hankers after material goods, they can never give him full satisfaction. Thus the higher standard of living must be achieved without alienating people from their heritage and without despoiling nature of its beauty, freshness and purity so essential to our lives.

The most urgent and basic question is that of peace. Nothing is so pointless as modern warfare. Nothing destroys so instantly, so completely as the diabolic weapons which not only kill but maim and deform the living and the yet to be born; which poison the land, leaving long trails of ugliness, barrenness and hopeless desolation. What ecological projects can survive a war? The Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Olof Palme, has already drawn the attention of the Conference to this in powerful words.

It is clear that the environmental crisis which is confronting the world, will profoundly alter the future destiny or our planet. No one among us, whatever our status, strength or circumstance can remain unaffected. The process of change challenges present international policies. Will the growing awareness of "one earth" and "one environment' guide us to the concept of "one humanity"? Will there be a more equitable sharing of environmental costs and greater international interest in the accelerated progress of the less developed world? Or, will it remain confined to a narrow concern, based on exclusive self-sufficiency?

The first essays in narrowing economic and technological disparities have not succeeded because the policies of aid were made to subserve the equations of power. We hope that the renewed emphasis on self-reliance, brought a about by the change in the climate for aid, will also promote search for new criteria of human satisfaction. In the meantime, the ecological crises should not add to the burdens of the weaker nations by introducing new considerations in the political and trade policies of rich nations. It would be ironic if the fight against pollution were to be converted into another business, out of which a few companies, corporations, or nations would make profits at the cost of the many. Here is a branch of experimentation and discovery in which scientist of all nations should take interest. They should ensure that their findings are available to all nations, unrestricted by patents. I am glad that the Conference has given thought on this aspect of the problem.

Life is one and the world is one, and all these questions are inter-linked. The population explosion; poverty; ignorance and disease, the pollution of our surroundings, the stockpiling of nuclear weapons and biological and chemical agents of destruction are all parts of a vicious circle. Each is important and urgent but dealing with them one by one would be wasted effort.

It serves little purpose to dwell on the past or to apportion blame, no one of us is blameless. If some are able to dominate over others, it is at least partially due to the weakness, the lack of unity and the temptation of gaining some advantage on the part of those who submit. If the prosperous have been exploiting the needy, can we honestly claim that in our own societies people do not take advantage of the weaker sections? We must re-evaluate the fundamentals on which our respective civic societies are based and the ideals by which they are sustained. If there is to be a change of heart, a change of direction and methods of functioning, it is not an organization or a country-no matter how well intentioned--which can achieve it. While each country must deal with that aspect of the problem which is most relevant to it, it is obvious that all countries must unite in an overall endeavour. There is no alternative to a cooperative approach on a global scale to the entire spectrum of our problems.

I have referred to some problems which seem to me to be the underlying causes of the present crises in our civilization. This is not in the expectation that this Conference can achieve miracles or solve all the world's difficulties, but in the hope that the opinions of each national will be kept in focus, that these problems will be viewed in perspective and each project devised as part of the whole.

On a previous occasion I have spoken of the unfinished revolution in our countries I am now convinced that this can be taken to its culmination when it is accompanied by a revolution in social thinking. In 1968 at the 14th General Conference of UNESCO the Indian delegation, along with others, proposed a new and major programme entitled "a design for living". This is essential to grasp the full implications of technical advance and its impact on different sections and groups. We do not want to put the clock back or resign ourselves to a simplistic natural state. We want new directions in the wiser use of the knowledge and tools with which science has equipped us. And this cannot be just one upsurge but a continuous search into cause and effect and an unending effort to match technology with higher levels of thinking. We must concern ourselves not only with the kind of world we want but also with what kind of man should inhabit it. Surely we do not desire a society divided into those who condition and those who are conditioned. We want thinking people capable of spontaneous self-directed activity, people who are interested and interesting, and who are imbued with compassion and concern for others.

It will not be easy for large societies to change their style of living. They cannot be coerced to do so, nor can governmental action suffice. People can be motivated and urged to participate in better alternatives.

It has been my experience that people who are at cross purposes with nature are cynical about mankind and ill-at-ease with themselves. Modern man must re-establish an unbroken link with nature and with life. He must again learn to invoke the energy of growing things and to recognize, as did the ancients in India centuries ago, that one can take from the Earth and the atmosphere only so much as one puts back into them. In their hymn to Earth, the sages of the Atharva Veda chanted-I quote,

"What of thee I dig out, let that quickly grow over, Let me not hit thy vitals, or thy heart".

So can man himself be vital and of good heart
and conscious of his responsibility

The most ambitious project in her memory in the north-east INDIA

It is in fitness of things that the "Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University (IGTAMSU)" has been established at Ziro in the State of Arunachal Pradesh through the State Legislation of the Government of Arunachal Pradesh vide Act 6 of 2012 with the technical, academic and financial support from the World Institution Building Programme (WIBP).

The main campus of the Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University is being developed in the picturesque Apatani Valley at Hong Hillock at Ziro in the Lower Subansiri District of Arunachal Pradesh in 500 acres of green land.

Faculties, Departments, Schools, Divisions and Centres at Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University:

The University has envisaged an Action Plan (2012-2017) with a view to implementing objectives having social, cultural, educational, scientific, environmental, medical, technological, economic and positive contents for the optimum development of North-Eastern States in general and of Arunachal Pradesh in particular. The following Departments, Schools, Divisions and Centres have been planned to be established for teaching, training, publications, research and consultancy in different technological, vocational and medical fields :

1. Faculty of Engineering and Technology
2. Faculty of Medical Sciences
3. Faculty of Applied Sciences
4. Faculty of Social Sciences
5. Faculty of Laws and Juridical Sciences
6. Faculty of Music
7. Faculty of Art and Culture
8. Faculty of Dance and Drama
9. Faculty of Languages
10. Department of Modern Medicine
11. Department of Para-Medical Sciences
12. Department of Yoga and Naturopathy
13. Department of Ayurveda
14. Department of Unani
15. Department of Siddha
16. Department of Homeopathy
17. Department of Nursing
18. Department of Integrated / Polypathic Medicine
19. Department of Education
20. Department of Applied Agriculture
21. Department of Tribal Development
22. Department of Library and Information Sciences
23. Department of Applied Psychology
24. Department of Biotechnology
25. Department of Nanotechnology
26. Department of GIS and Remote Sensing
27. Department of Ecology and Environment
28. Department of Disaster Management
29. Department of Building Technologies
30. Department of Architecture and Planning
31. Department of Sports Education and Mgt.
32. Department of Information Technology
33. Department of Management Studies
34. Department of Travel, Tourism & Hotel Mgt.
35. Department of Journalism & Mass Comm.
36. Department of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
37. School of Sustainable Development
38. School of Global Peace and Security
39. School of Arbitration, Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
40. School of Public Administration
41. School of Diplomacy and International Relations
42. School of e-Governance
43. School of Intellectual Property Rights
44. School of Medicinal Plants
45. School of Horticulture and Pomology
46. Centre for Rural Development and Appropriate Technology
47. Centre for Forecasting and Futurology
48. Examination and Evaluation Division
49. Publications Division
50. Research and Development Division
 

Ziro is the Headquarters of the Indira Gandhi Technological and Medical Sciences University. Presently the University is situated in the District Hospital Complex at Ziro and also at the Urban Centre at Ziro. The construction for the main campus in 150 hectares of land in Hong Village at Ziro will commence shortly.

Let us know more about historical and geographical importance of the place Ziro:

One of the most beautiful hill station of Arunachal Pradesh, located at about 1500 metres above mean sea level in the midst of the pine clad mountains, a Hidden land by Ursula G. Bowler, Ziro is the headquarter of Lower Subansiri District inhabited by more than have 50,000 friendly Apatani’s people. The land of Apatani’s is a valley, uneven and dotted with a number of hillocks beneath the lust paddy field. On the east, a high ridge, which demarcates the plateau from the wooded hills of the lower region. The ridge is having some important peaks. The Salin peak is on the old Apatani trade route to North Lakhimpur. Often these ranges remain with thick clouds. A small river, the Kele, drains the plain of the Apatani valley. It flows to the south for some 40 km before it meets the Panior River near Yazali.

 

The Apatani people, who worship nature God, extend hospitality more so during festivals like Myoko, Murung and Dree.They design beautiful Handloom and Handicrafts, besides, practicing famous paddy - fish cultivation. The area is rich in biological diversity having varied flora and fauna as per altitudinal zonation from sub tropical to alpine forest.

Geography

 

27°33′59″N 93°49′53″E

Ziro is the district headquarter of Lower Subansiri district and is one of the oldest towns in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the headquarters of the undivided Subansiri district comprising the present districts of Upper Subsansiri, Kurung Kumey, Lower Subansiri and Papum Pare. It is located at 27.63°N 93.83°E^[1] at an elevation of 1688 metres (5538 feet) to 2438 meters (8000 feet). Its cool weather in summer is its major attraction. It is famous for its pine clad gentle hills around it and rice field all around. Ziro is home to the Apa-Tani tribe.

Apa-Tanis have few unique special characteristic features which differs from other tribes in Arunachal Pradesh and India. Few of these special characteristic features are: (A) Apa-Tanis are permanently settled in one place whereas other tribes are nomadic in nature move from one place to another in search of fertile lands. They travel vast area of forests and settle temporarily for not more than four to five years in one place. (B) Apa-Tanis cultivate permanent wet land cultivations whereas other tribes practice dry land cultivations by clearing the forests by burning the jungles. (C) Apa-Tanis used to practice facial tattoos before; now they have dropped this custom few decades back.

Demographics

As per 2001 census, the Lower Subansiri District has recorded a population 0f 55,726 comprising 28,425 males and 27,301females of which 43342(21945males (+) 21397 females) are rural population spread over 226 villages and 12384(6480 males (+) 5,904 females) are Urban population. The proportion of rural population of the district constitutes 77.78 percent. While the urban population constitutes 22.22 percent.  The District population accounts for 5.08 percent of total population of the state. The average density of population per sq.km.is 16 for the district as compared to 13 persons for Arunachal Pradesh.

Lower Subansiri District is comprised of 3(three) CD Block with an area of approx. 3460 Sq. Km. Out of CD blocks, Ziro-II CD Block stands highest in rural population followed by Ziro-I and Tamen-Raga CD blocks.

As per 2001 Census, the literate persons and percentage to the total population of the district (excluding children in the age-group (0-6) has been recorded as 26969 (48.40%). The rural literates and percentage of the district constitutes 19066 and 43.99. Out of which 11225(51.15)are males and 7841(36.65) are females. Urban population constitutes 7903 literates,the percentage being 63.82 to total urban population. Out of which 4504 (69.51%) are males and 3399 (57.57%) are females.

Education

Ziro has highest numbers of Schools in Arunachal Pradesh. There are more than hundred private and Government Schools and one college run by Claretian Missionaries. Ziro has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 60%.

Tourist Attractions

*Paddy cum fish culture:- This practice of rearing fish in the paddy field is one unique feature for which Ziro is known all over, but more than that the hallmark of Apatani agriculture is its traditional irrigation system which has made the paddy cum fish culture possible. After transplanting of paddy from the nursery in wet rice cultivation field (W.R.C.), the fish fingerlings are put in Pakho/Hetey (channels in paddy field for drainage of water) at knee-deep height that are kept for 2–3 months before harvesting of fish. Though there is hardly any gap in the agriculture calendar of the Apatanis but the main activities i.e., sowing starts in February with harvesting in October.The rearing of fish in the paddy field starts from May and its harvesting is done from July to September.

*Tarin Fish Farm:- About 3.5 km from Hapoli Town, one can see beautiful high altitude fish farm where breeding of high altitude fishes is done. The fingerlings are sold during paddy cultivation season.

*Ziro Putu:- Also called as Army Putu by the localites it is a Hillock at old Ziro where an Army cantonment was located in sixties but shifted later. From this hillock one can have bird’s eye view of Ziro valley. The Airstrip is also located beneath this hillock in the midst of the scenic paddy field.

*Shiva Linga at Kardo:- It is about 4 km away from Hapoli town. The height of Shiva Lingam is 25 ft with 22 ft width. Large number of devotees visit it every day.

*Talley Valley:- It has diverse flora and fauna ranging from sub-tropical to alpine forests. It is covered with impenetrable vegetations marked by giant silver fir trees, a variety of rhododendron, orchids, ferns and varieties of bamboo. This biodiversity hot spot is approximately 32 km north east of Ziro and makes a perfect route for trekking.

*Tapyo Salt - Once Must Taste:- Tapyo - a unique herbal salt prepared by Apatani people - is one of the food habits which makes the Apatani distinct from the other tribal communities of the Arunachal Pradesh as described by CP Kala and M Dollo. It seems this traditional herbal salt, stemming from centuries of self-sufficient isolation, contains the iodine that may protect the Apatani people from this affliction.

Best Times to Visit Ziro

The best times to see, feel and be the part of an Apatani is in the month of January during 'Murung rituals', in the month of March during 'Myoko rituals' and from 4 to 7 July in 'Dree Festival'. Besides these rituals and festivals, visit during the agriculture seasons from February to October would be a unique experience for it is one of its kind in the entire world which has even been vouched by UN officials.

One of the most beautiful hill station of Arunachal Pradesh, located at about 1500 metres above mean sea level in the midst of the pine clad mountains, a Hidden land by Ursula G. Bowler, Ziro is the headquarter of Lower Subansiri District inhabited by more than have 50,000 friendly Apatani’s people. The land of Apatani’s is a valley, uneven and dotted with a number of hillocks beneath the lust paddy field. On the east, a high ridge, which demarcates the plateau from the wooded hills of the lower region. The ridge is having some important peaks. The Salin peak is on the old Apatani trade route to North Lakhimpur. Often these ranges remain with thick clouds. A small river, the Kele, drains the plain of the Apatani valley. It flows to the south for some 40 km before it meets the Panior River near Yazali.

The Apatani people, who worship nature God, extend hospitality more so during festivals like Myoko, Murung and Dree.They design beautiful Handloom and Handicrafts, besides, practicing famous paddy - fish cultivation. The area is rich in biological diversity having varied flora and fauna as per altitudinal zonation from sub tropical to alpine forest.

 

 What to see in and around ZIRO .....

 

KILE PAKHO: A ridge located at 7 km. from old Ziro. In a fine morning, one can have clear bird’s views of Ziro plateau on one side and snow range of Himalayas called “NYIME PEMBU” in the other.
PINE GROOVE: Pine clad area about 3 km. from old Ziro. GREF (Border Road organization) established in December 1961 is located around this scenic grandeur.

MIDEY: A place famous for gigantic SAT-NII PIISHA and SAMENII, a Blue pine tree (Pinus wallichina) being biggest and tallest tree in the Apatani valley measuring about 7 (seven) metre at GBH ( girth at breast height). One can trek through bamboo groove beneath the paddy field to this see this gigantic blue pine trees which is 2 Km from old Ziro.

 

 ZIRO PUTU: Sometime called ARMY PUTU is a Hillock at old Ziro where first administrative centre was set up after India’s independence and ARMY cantonment was located in sixties. From this hillock one can have bird’s eye view of Apatani plateau. The Airport is also located beneath this hillock in the midst of the scenic paddy field.

DOLO MANDO: A hillock of legendary love affairs between DOLO & MANDO. It is located at 2 KM from Hapoli towards Old Ziro on the western side of ZIRO – Daporijo Road. One can trek to the top to see the Hapoli Town in one side and old Ziro on other side.

D.I.C.: District Industries Centre located at 1 km. from Distt. Hq. Ziro(Hapoli), where traditional handlooms & handicrafts and others traditional items are displayed and also available for sale at competitive rate.

PAAPU: First administrative centre established before independence in 1944-45 by a foreigner Mr. F. Heimendrof famous anthropologist, author of “Himalayan Barbary”, “Apatani and their Neighbours” and “A Himalayan Tribe: From cattle to cash”, as a Special Officer appointed by British Administration.

HAPOLI: Headquarter of Lower Subansiri District Administration. The Deputy Commissioner’s residence and Circuit House are located at a hillock from where one can have clear view of Hapoli Township.

TARIN FISH FARM: About 3.5 km from Hapoli Town, one can see beautiful high altitude fish farm where breeding of high altitude fishes is done. The fingerlings are sold during paddy cultivation season.

 PADDY CUM FISH CULTIVATION: A famous innovative cultivation practices followed in Apatani plateau, now a day, where fishes are rear alongwith paddy cultivation. After transplanting of paddy from the nursery in wet rice cultivation field (W.R.C.), the fish fingerlings are put in MUGO (channels in paddy field for drainage of water) at knee-deep height that are kept for 2-3 months before harvesting of fish. 

 

BAMBOO GROOVE: One stem monopodial Bamboo, (Phyllotachys bamboosoides) grown with blue clad pine, is one of expert practices of farm forestry followed in this part of the world. One will appreciate their expertise when one venture inside in this groove in conjunction with hiking and picnic. 

TALEY WILD LIFE SANCTUARY: Most beautiful and virgin forests having diverse flora and fauna ranging from sub-tropical to alpine forests. It is covered with impenetrable vegetations marked by giant silver fir trees, a variety of rhodendron, orchids, ferns and varieties of bamboo. One should not leave Ziro without visiting this biodiversity hot spot of this plateau, which is away nearly 32 KM north east of ZIRO.

DILOPOLYANG -MANIIPOLYANG : A twin hillock on the way to Talley Valley after crossing Siiro village is a scenic grassland land beneath the natural forests catches the spectacle of eye. Further, the area is part of extension of Hapoli Township.

Myoko Festival:: This festival is celebrated during the month of March every year amongst three villages namely Diibo-Hija, Hari-Bulla and Hong of Apatani plateau on rotational basis with traditional gaiety and festivity. The festival is celebrated by the whole villager for well being of society in which people from other villages are invited for local beer ‘OHO’ and meat, besides, merry making like BUSHII and AYU (traditional song). Each individual sacrifices the pigs during the festival.

MURUNG FESTIVAL :: This festival is celebrated during the month of January by individual in which all the villagers participate. The festival is celebrated for well being of individual and immediate kit and kin. In this, Mithuns and cows are sacrificed that are distributed to the whole villagers of Apatani before “PENII SOLIN DU” traditional festivities in which young and old goes to other villages of Apatani plateau by chanting “HO-HO” in a queue. 

 

DREE FESTIVAL:: This Agricultural festival is celebrated during the month of July, centrally on 5th July every year at Nenchaleya, Old Ziro to propitiate the Dree God to protect the agriculture crops from pests and diseases. In this festival traditional songs and dances are also performed. The people of all villages of Apatani take part, besides people from other areas are also invited for community feast at festival ground.

 

ORCHID AND FLOWERS: Ziro is famous for rare orchids and other flowers like Rhododendron arboreum (SANJI APU), Hedychium ellipticum (PAPPI APU), Hedychium densiflorum, etc. The climate of the area is congenial for cultivation of orchids and varieties of flowers. At present one local entrepreneur has developed an orchid farm in which large variety of rare and exotic orchids are cultivated for sale and research pupose. The farm, M/s Nanakoo Orchid Farm, half a kilometre from Hapoli on Hapoli-Talley Valley road is a place worth visiting to. 

SHIVA LINGAM AT KARDO FOREST :

 Discovery of Shiva Lingam ::

A miraculous discovery of Shiva Lingam of Sidheswar Nath Temple took place in the 1-forthnight of July'2004. According to the Hindu Calendar, it is the month of Shravana, a sacred month to worship Lord Shiva. A Nepalese, Mr Prem Subha was cutting tree standing at the right of the Lingam. The tree was expected to fell just over it, fortunately, nothing harmed it and the tree landed a few meters away from the Lingam. He felt surprised over it and looked at the rising stone. Suddenly something struck in his mind and realized that it was not a mere stone. It stood clearly visible which appealed him to believe it as Shiva Lingam. Being fully inspired with his beliefs, he started telling the people all about what he had seen and what had happened.

The mystery of this Lingam in Ziro has obviously mentioned in the SHIVAPURANA in 17th chapter of the ninth section (Nava Khand ke Satrahwa Adhyaya) edition 1893 that the tallest Shiva Lingam will appear at a place which will be called Lingalaya and the later the whole will be known as Arunachal.

Now it makes everyone belief about the reality of its appearance. There one can see not only the Lingam but also the image of Goddess Parvati and Lord Ganesha with trunk turning leftward. It is also said that the goddess of water, the Ganga lives with Lord Shiva. Therefore, the constant flow of water from the base of the Lingam can be clearly seen.

 Location : It is about 4 Km away from Hapoli township. The height of Shiva Lingam is 25ft. and 22 ft width at Kardo. Million of devotees who offer their prayers, worship and faith of Lord Shiva in the remote Himalayan region of Tribal beliefs and traditions.

 

RANGANADI HYDEL PROJECT(NEEPCO) AT YAZALI : 45 Km away from District Hq., Ziro. Its capacity is 405 MW.

Suggestions from the Central / State Governments, Public and Private Sector Undertakings, International Bodies, Retired and Serving Bureaucrats, Technocrats, Judges, Civil Society Members are welcome to send their suggestions for making this project a grand success by emailing their ideas on the following email ID :

indiragandhiuniversity@gmail.com
chancellor@indiragandhiuniversity.in


Jai Hind !!!

---