New Delhi, October 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday remembered their grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary, sharing childhood photographs and personal reflections on their time with her.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, posted a childhood photograph recalling how he would sit on Indira Gandhi’s lap, hold her hands and listen to her recite a Shanti Mantra from the Yajur Veda.
“Sitting on your lap. Holding both your hands. Listening to your voice say these words. Repeating them after you,” he wrote on X, before sharing the Sanskrit verse: “Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mṛtyormā amṛtaṃ gamaya. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.”
Calling it a precious gift from his grandmother, Rahul added, “What a beautiful gift you gave me, Dadi. What a gift. I never imagined.”
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared a childhood photograph with Indira Gandhi, remembering her as a woman of extraordinary strength and character.
“What a beautiful woman she was! Free as the sky, deep as the ocean, resilient as the Earth and brighter than fire,” she wrote.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge paid tribute to the former Prime Minister, recalling her final speech delivered a day before her assassination on October 31, 1984. Quoting her words on dedication to the country, he described her as a symbol of courage, resolve and visionary leadership.
Kharge said Indira Gandhi’s commitment to India’s unity, integrity and honour, as well as her contribution to the country’s development, would remain part of its national consciousness.
Indira Gandhi served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Among the major milestones of her tenure were India’s victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, the expansion of the Green Revolution, the country’s first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974 and the nationalisation of 14 major commercial banks in 1969.
Born on November 19, 1917, in Allahabad, she was the daughter of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Kamala Nehru. Her birth anniversary is observed as National Integration Day.
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