MYANMAR'S INDIRA GANDHI: DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Comparing between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindustani: [ˈɪnːdɪrə ˈɡaːnd̪ʱi] (
listen); née Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the third Prime Minister of India and a central figure of the Indian National Congress party. Gandhi, who served from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, is the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office.
Indira Gandhi was the only child of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She served as the Chief of Staff of her father's highly centralized administration between 1947 and 1964 and came to wield considerable unofficial influence in government. Elected Congress President in 1959, she was offered the premiership in succession to her father. Gandhi refused and instead chose to become a cabinet minister in the government. She finally consented to become Prime Minister in succession to Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.
As Prime Minister, Gandhi became known for her political ruthlessness and unprecedented centralisation of power. She presided over a period where India emerged with greater power than before to become the regional hegemon of South Asia with considerable political, economic, and military developments. Gandhi also presided over a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which she ruled by decree and made lasting changes to the constitution of India. She was assassinated in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.
In 2001, Gandhi was voted the greatest Indian Prime Minister in a poll organised by India Today. She was also named "Woman of the Millennium" in a poll organised by the BBC in 1999.[1]
Indira was mostly taught at home by tutors, and intermittently attended school until matriculation in 1934.[nb 1] She went on to study at the Viswa Bharati University in Calcutta.[12] A year later, however, she had to leave university to attend to her ailing mother in Europe.[13] While there, it was decided that Indira would continue her education at the University of Oxford in Britain.[14] After her mother passed away, she briefly attended the Badminton School before enrolling at Somerville College in 1937 to read history.[15] Indira had to take the entrance examination twice; having failed at her first attempt, with a poor performance in Latin.[15] At Oxford, she did well in history, political science and economics, but her grades in Latin—a compulsory subject—remained poor.[16][17]
Gandhi fasting in 1924, with the young Indira, who is dressed in a khadi
garment, following Gandhi's advocacy that khadi be worn by all Indians
instead of British-made textiles.
Indira Nehru c. early 1930s
During her time in Europe, Ms. Indira 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. Indira 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. The university later conferred on her
an honorary degree. In 2010, Oxford further honored her by selecting her
as one of the ten Oxasians, illustrious Asian graduates from the University of Oxford.[18]
During her stay in the UK, young Indira 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 Adi Dharm rituals though Feroze belonged to a Parsi family of Gujarat.[19]
In the 1950s, Indira, now Mrs. Indira Gandhi after her marriage, 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.[20]
In 1971, Gandhi intervened in the Pakistani Civil War in support of East Pakistan. India emerged victorious in the resulting conflict to become the regional hegemon of South Asia.[21] During the war, the U.S. had supported Pakistan, while India received help from the Soviet Union.[22] U.S. President Richard Nixon
disliked Gandhi personally, referring to her as a "witch" and "clever
fox" in his private communication with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.[22]
Relations with the U.S. grew distant as Gandhi developed close ties
with the Soviet Union after the war. The latter emerged to become
India's largest trading partner and its biggest arms supplier for much
of Gandhi's premiership.[23] Nixon later wrote of the war: "[Gandhi] suckered [America]. Suckered us.....this woman suckered us."[24]
India's new hegemonic position as articulated under the "Indira Doctrine" led to attempts to bring the Himalayan states under the Indian sphere of influence.[25] Nepal and Bhutan remained aligned with India, while in 1975, after years of building up support, Gandhi annexed Sikkim to India.[26] This was denounced as a "despicable act" by China.[27]
India maintained close ties with neighbouring Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) following the Liberation War. Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman recognized Gandhi's contributions to the independence of Bangladesh. However, Mujibur Rahman's pro-India policies antagonised many in Bangladeshi politics and the military, who feared that Bangladesh had become a client state of India.[28][29] The Assassination of Mujibur Rahman in 1975 led to the establishment of Islamist military regimes that sought to distance the country from India.[30] Gandhi's relationship with the military regimes was strained, due to her alleged support of anti-Islamist leftist guerrilla forces in Bangladesh.[30] Generally, however, there was a rapprochement between Gandhi and the Bangladeshi regimes, although issues such as border disputes and the Farakka Dam remained an irritant in bilateral ties.[31] In 2011, the Government of Bangladesh conferred its highest state award posthumously on Gandhi for her "outstanding contribution" to the country's independence.[32]
Gandhi's approach to dealing with Sri Lanka's ethnic problems was initially accommodating. She enjoyed cordial relations with Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. In 1974, India ceded the tiny islet of Kachchatheevu to Sri Lanka in order to save Bandaranaike's socialist government from a political disaster.[33] However, relations soured over Sri Lanka's turn away from socialism under Junius Jayewardene, whom Gandhi despised as a "western puppet."[34] India under Gandhi was alleged to have supported LTTE militants in the 1980s to put pressure on Jayewardene to abide by Indian interests.[35] Nevertheless, Gandhi rejected demands to invade Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Black July 1983, an anti-Tamil pogrom carried out by Sinhalese mobs.[36]
Gandhi made a statement emphasizing that she stood for the territorial
integrity of Sri Lanka, although she also stated that India cannot
"remain a silent spectator to any injustice done to the Tamil
community."[36][37]
India's relationship with Pakistan remained strained following the Shimla Accord in 1972. Gandhi's authorization of the detonation of a nuclear device at Pokhran in 1974 was viewed by Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as an attempt to intimidate Pakistan into accepting India's hegemony in the subcontinent. However, in May 1976, Gandhi and Bhutto both agreed to reopen diplomatic establishments and normalize relations.[38] Following the rise to power of General Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan in 1978, India's relations with its neighbour reached a nadir. Gandhi accused General Zia of supporting Khalistani militants in Punjab.[38] Military hostilities recommenced in 1984 following Gandhi's authorization of Operation Meghdoot.[39] India was victorious in the resulting Siachen conflict against Pakistan.[39]
Indira Gandhi meeting the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi during their state visit to India in 1970.
Gandhi remained a staunch supporter of Palestinians in the Arab-Israeli conflict and was critical of the Middle East diplomacy sponsored by the United States.[34] Israel was viewed as a religious state and thus an analogue to India's arch rival Pakistan. Indian diplomats also hoped to win Arab support in countering Pakistan in Kashmir.
Nevertheless, Gandhi authorized the development of a secret channel of
contact and security assistance with Israel in the late 1960s. Her
lieutenant, Narasimha Rao, later became Prime Minister and approved full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992.[40]
India's pro-Arab policy had mixed success. Establishment of close ties with the socialist and secular Baathist regimes to some extent neutralized Pakistani propaganda against India.[41] However, the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971 put the Arab and Muslim states of the Middle East in a dilemma as the war was fought by two states both friendly to the Arabs.[42] The progressive Arab regimes in Egypt, Syria, and Algeria chose to remain neutral, while the conservative pro-American Arab monarchies in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates openly supported Pakistan.[42] Egypt's stance was met with dismay by the Indians, who had come to expect close co-operation with the Baathist regimes.[41] But, the death of Nasser in 1970 and Sadat's growing friendship with Riyadh, and his mounting differences with Moscow, constrained Egypt to a policy of neutrality.[41] Gandhi's overtures to Muammar Gaddafi were rebuffed.[42] Libya agreed with the Arab monarchies in believing that Gandhi's intervention in East Pakistan was an attack against Islam.[42]
The 1971 war temporarily became a stumbling block in growing Indo-Iranian ties.[41] Although Iran had earlier characterized the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965 as Indian aggression, the Shah had launched an effort at rapprochement with India in 1969 as part of his effort to secure support for a larger Iranian role in the Persian Gulf.[41] Gandhi's tilt towards Moscow and her dismemberment of Pakistan was perceived by the Shah as part of a larger anti-Iran conspiracy involving India, Iraq, and the Soviet Union.[41] Nevertheless, Iran had resisted Pakistani pressure to activate the Baghdad Pact and draw in the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) into the conflict.[41] Gradually, Indian and Iranian disillusionment with their respective regional allies led to a renewed partnership between the nations.[43] Gandhi was unhappy with the lack of support from India's Arab allies during the war with Pakistan, while the Shah was apprehensive at the growing friendship between Pakistan and the Gulf states, specially Saudi Arabia, and the growing influence of Islam in Pakistani society.[43] There was an increase in Indian economic and military co-operation with Iran during the 1970s.[43] The 1974 India-Iranian agreement led to Iran supplying nearly 75 percent of India's crude oil demands.[44] Gandhi appreciated the Shah's disregard of Pan-Islamism in diplomacy.[43]
Foreign and domestic policy successes in the 1970s enabled Gandhi to rebuild India's image in the eyes of African states.[46] Victory over Pakistan and India's possession of nuclear weapons showed the degree of India's progress.[46] Furthermore, the conclusion of the Indo-Soviet treaty in 1971 and threatening gestures by the major western power, the United States, to send its nuclear armed Task Force 74 into the Bay of Bengal at the height of the East Pakistan crisis had enabled India to regain its anti-imperialist image.[46] Gandhi firmly tied Indian anti-imperialist interests in Africa to those of the Soviet Union.[48] Unlike Nehru, she openly and enthusiastically supported liberation struggles in Africa.[48] At the same time, Chinese influence in Africa had declined owing to its incessant quarrels with the Soviet Union.[46] These developments permanently halted India's decline in Africa and helped reestablish its geo-strategic presence.[46]
There is considerable debate regarding whether Gandhi was a socialist on principle or out of political expediency.[50] S. K. Datta-Ray described her as "a master of rhetoric...often more posture than policy", while the The Times journalist, Peter Hazelhurst, famously quipped that Gandhi's socialism was "slightly left of self-interest."[51] Critics have focused on the contradictions in the evolution of her stance towards communism; Gandhi being known for her anti-communist stance in the 1950s with Meghnad Desai even describing her as "the scourge of [India's] Communist Party."[52] Yet, she later forged close relations with Indian communists even while using the army to break the Naxalites. In this context, Gandhi was accused of formulating populist policies to suit her political needs; being seemingly against the rich and big business while preserving the status quo in order to manipulate the support of the left at times of political insecurity, such as the late 1960s.[53][54] Although Gandhi came to be viewed in time as the scourge of the right-wing and reactionary political elements of India, leftist opposition to her policies emerged. As early as 1969, critics had began accusing her of insincerity and machiavellism. The Indian Libertarian wrote that: "it would be difficult to find a more machiavellian leftist than Mrs Indira Gandhi...for here is Machiavelli at its best in the person of a suave, charming and astute politician."[55] Rosser wrote that "some have even seen the declaration of emergency rule in 1975 as a move to suppress [leftist] dissent against Gandhi's policy shift to the right."[50] In the 1980s, Gandhi was accused of "betraying socialism" after the beginning of Operation Forward, an attempt at economic reform.[56] Nevertheless, others were more convinced of Gandhi's sincerity and devotion to socialism. Pankaj Vohra noted that "even the late prime minister’s critics would concede that the maximum number of legislations of social significance was brought about during her tenure...[and that] she lives in the hearts of millions of Indians who shared her concern for the poor and weaker sections and who supported her politics."[57]
In summarizing the biographical works on Gandhi, Blema S. Steinberg concluded she was decidedly non-ideological.[58] Only 7.4% (24) of the total 330 biographical extractions posit ideology as a reason for her policy choices.[58] Steinberg noted Gandhi's association with socialism was superficial; only having a general and traditional commitment to the ideology, by way of her political and family ties.[58] Gandhi personally had a fuzzy concept of socialism. In one of the early interviews she had given as Prime Minister, Gandhi had ruminated: "I suppose you could call me a socialist, but you have understand what we mean by that term...we used the word [socialism] because it came closest to what we wanted to do here – which is to eradicate poverty. You can call it socialism; but if by using that word we arouse controversy, I don't see why we should use it. I don't believe in words at all."[58] Regardless of the debate over her ideology or lack of thereof, Gandhi remains a left-wing icon. She has been described as the "arguably the greatest mass leader of the last century."[57] Her campaign slogan, Garibi Hatao (Eng: Remove Poverty), has become the iconic motto of the Indian National Congress. To the rural and urban poor, untouchables, minorities and women in India, Gandhi was "Indira Amma or Mother Indira."[59]
The period of 1967–75 was characterized by socialist ascendency in India which culminated in 1976 with the official declaration of state socialism.
Gandhi not only abandoned the short lived liberalization programme but
also aggressively expanded the public sector with new licensing
requirements and other restrictions for industry. She began a new course
by launching the Fourth Five-Year Plan in 1969. The government
targeted growth at 5.7% while stating as its goals, "growth with
stability and progressive achievement of self-reliance."[53][65] The rationale behind the overall plan was Gandhi's Ten Point Programme
of 1967. This had been her first economic policy formulation, six
months after coming to office. The programme emphasized greater state
control of the economy with the understanding that government control
assured greater welfare than private control.[53] Related to this point were a set of policies which were meant to regulate the private sector.[53]
By the end of the 1960s, the reversal of the liberalization process was
complete, and India's policies were characterised as "protectionist as
ever."[63]
To deal with India's food problems, Gandhi expanded the emphasis on production of inputs to agriculture that had already been initiated by her father, Jawaharlal Nehru.[50] The Green Revolution in India subsequently culminated under her government in the 1970s and transformed the country from a nation heavily reliant on imported grains and prone to famine to being largely able to feed itself, and become successful in achieving its goal of food security. Gandhi had a personal motive in pursuing agricultural self-sufficiency, having found India's dependency on the U.S. for shipments of grains humiliating.[66]
The economic period of 1967–75 became significant for its major wave of nationalisations amidst the increased regulation of the private sector.[50]
Some of the other objectives of the economic plan for the period was to provide for the minimum needs of the community through a rural works program and the removal of the privy purses of the nobility.[53] Both these, and many other goals of the 1967 program were accomplished by 1974–75. Nevertheless, the success of the overall economic plan was tempered by the fact that annual growth at 3.3–3.4% over 1969–74 fell short of the targeted figure.[53]
The measures of the emergency regime was able to halt the economic trouble of the early to mid-1970s, which had been marred by harvest failures, fiscal contraction, and the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchanged rate; the resulting turbulence in the foreign exchange markets being further accentuated by the oil shock of 1973.[61] The government was even able to exceed the targeted growth figure with an annual growth rate of 5.0–5.2% over the five-year period of the plan (1974–79).[49][53] The economy grew at the rate of 9% in 1975–76 alone, and the Fifth Plan, became the first plan during which the per capita income of the economy grew by over 5%.[67]
Although Gandhi continued professing socialist beliefs, the Sixth Five Year Plan was markedly different from the years of Garibi Hatao. Populist programs and policies were replaced by pragmatism.[53] There was an emphasis on tightening public expenditures, greater efficiency of the State Owned Enterprises (SOE), which Gandhi qualified as a "sad thing", and in stimulating the private sector through deregulation and liberation of the capital market.[70] The government subsequently launched Operation Forward in 1982, the first cautious attempt at reform.[71] The Sixth Plan went on to become the most successful of the Five Year plans yet; showing an average growth of 5.7% over 1980–85.[49]
The price of oil during the 1970s energy crisis. The graph shows sharp increases in 1973 and again in 1979.
During Lal Bahadur Shastri's last full year in office (1965),
inflation averaged 7.7%, compared to 5.2% at the end of Gandhi's first
stint in office (1977).[72] On average, inflation in India had remained below 7% through the 1950s and 1960s.[73] But, it then accelerated sharply in the 1970s, from 5.5% in 1970–71 to over 20% by 1973–74, due to the international oil crisis.[72]
Gandhi declared inflation the gravest of problems in 1974 (at 25.2%)
and devised a severe anti-inflation program. The government was
successful in bringing down inflation during the emergency; achieving
negative figures of −1.1% by the end of 1975–76.[68][72]
Gandhi inherited a tattered economy in her second term; harvest failures and a second oil shock in the late 1970s had again caused inflation to rise.[68] During Charan Singh's last year in office (1980), inflation averaged 18.2%, compared to 6.5% during Gandhi's last year in office (1984).[69][72] General economic recovery under Gandhi led to an average inflation at 6.5% from 1981–82 to 1985–86; the lowest since the beginning of India's inflation problems in the 1960s.[73]
Unemployment stayed constant at 9% over a nine-year period (1971–80) before declining to 8.3% in 1983.[53][74]
Having been re-elected in 1971 on a nationalisation platform, Gandhi proceeded to nationalise the coal, steel, copper, refining, cotton textiles, and insurance industries.[50] Most of these nationalisations were made to protect employment and the interest of the organised labour.[50] The remaining private sector industries were placed under strict regulatory control.[50]
During the 1971 war against Pakistan, foreign owned private oil companies had refused to supply fuel to the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. In response, Gandhi nationalised oil companies in 1973. After nationalisation the oil majors such as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) had to keep a minimum stock level of oil, to be supplied to the military when needed.[80]
Administrative divisions of India 1961–1975. Gandhi established six states, Haryana (1966), Himachal Pradesh (1971), Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (all 1972), and finally Sikkim (1975), bringing up the total of states to 22. She also established Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram (1972) as Union Territories.
In 1966, Gandhi accepted the demands of the Akali's to reorganize Punjab on linguistic lines. The Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana, while the Pahari speaking hilly areas in the north east were joined to Himachal Pradesh.[81] In doing so, she had hoped to ward off the growing political conflict between Hindu and Sikh groups in the region.[81] However, a contentious issue that was considered unresolved by the Akali's was the status of Chandigarh,
a prosperous city on the Punjab-Haryana border, which Gandhi declared a
union territory to be shared as a capital by both the states.[82]
Victory over Pakistan in 1971 consolidated Indian power in Kashmir. Gandhi indicated that she would make no major concessions on Kashmir. The most prominent of the Kashmiri separatists, Sheikh Abdullah, had to recognize India's control over Kashmir in light of the new order in South Asia. The situation was normalized in the years following the war after Abdullah agreed to an accord with Gandhi, by giving up the demand for a plebiscite in return for a special autonomous status for Kashmir. In 1975, Gandhi declared the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a constituent unit of India. The Kashmir conflict remained largely peaceful if frozen under Gandhi's premiership.[83]
In 1972, Gandhi granted statehood to Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, while the North-East Frontier Agency was declared a union territory and renamed Arunachal Pradesh. The transition to statehood for these territories was successfully overseen by her administration.[84] This was followed by the annexation of Sikkim in 1975.[26]
Gandhi questioned the continued existence of a privy purse for Indian monarchs. She argued the case for abolition based on equal rights for all citizens and the need to reduce the government's revenue deficit. The nobility responded by rallying around the Jana Sangh and other right-wing parties that stood in opposition to Gandhi's attempts to abolish royal privileges.[54] The motion to abolish privy purses, and the official recognition of the titles, was originally brought before the Parliament in 1970. It was passed in the Lok Sabha but felt short of the two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha by a single vote.[86] Gandhi responded by having a Presidential proclamation issued; de-recognizing the princes; with this withdrawal of recognition, their claims to privy purses were also legally lost.[86] However, the proclamation was struck down by the Supreme Court of India.[86] In 1971, Gandhi again motioned to abolish the privy purse. This time, it was successfully passed as the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.[54] Many royals tried to protest the abolition of the privy purse, primarily through campaigns to contest seats in elections. They, however, received a final setback when many of them were defeated by huge margins.
Gandhi claimed that only "clear vision, iron will and the strictest discipline" can remove poverty.[54] She justified the imposition of the state of emergency in 1975 in the name of the socialist mission of the Congress.[54] Armed with the power to rule by decree and without constitutional constraints, Gandhi embarked on a massive redistribution program.[54] The provisions included rapid enforcement of land ceilings, housing for landless labourers, the abolition of bonded labour and a moratorium on the debts of the poor.[54] North India was at the centre of the reforms; millions of acres of land were acquired and redistributed.[54] The government was also successful in procuring houses for landless labourers; according to Frankel, three-fourths of the targeted four million houses was achieved in 1975 alone.[54] Nevertheless, others have disputed the success of the program and criticized Gandhi for not doing enough to reform land ownership. The political economist, Jyotindra Das Gupta, cryptically questioned "...whether or not the real supporters of land-holders were in jail or in power?"[54] Critics also accused Gandhi of choosing to "talk left and act right", referring to her concurrent pro-business decisions and endeavours.[54] Rosser wrote that "some have even seen the declaration of emergency rule in 1975 as a move to suppress dissent against Gandhi's policy shift to the right."[50] Regardless of the controversy over the nature of the reforms, the long term effects of the social changes gave rise to prominence of middle-ranking farmers from intermediate and lower castes in North India.[54] The rise of these newly empowered social classes challenged the political establishment of the Hindi Belt in the years to come.[54]
Gandhi considered the north-eastern regions important, because of its strategic situation.[92] In 1966, the Mizo uprising took place against the government of India and overran almost the whole of the Mizoram region. Gandhi ordered the Indian army to launch massive retaliatory strikes in response. The rebellion was suppressed with the Indian Air Force even carrying out airstrikes in Aizawl; this remains the only instance of India carrying out an airstrike in its own civilian territory.[84][93] The defeat of Pakistan in 1971 and the secession of East Pakistan as pro-India Bangladesh led to the collapse of the Mizo separatist movement. In 1972, after the less extremist Mizo leaders came to the negotiating table, Gandhi upgraded Mizoram to the status of a union territory. A small-scale insurgency by some militants continued into the late 1970s but was successfully dealt with by the government.[84] The Mizo conflict was definitively resolved during the administration of Indira's son Rajiv Gandhi. Today, Mizoram is considered as one of the most peaceful states in the north-east.[94]
Responding to the insurgency in Nagaland, Gandhi "unleashed a powerful military offensive" in the 1970s.[95] Finally, a massive crackdown on the insurgents took place during the state of emergency ordered by Gandhi. The insurgents soon agreed to surrender and signed the Shillong Accord in 1975.[96] While the agreement was considered a victory for the Indian government and ended large-scale conflicts,[97] there has since been spurts of violence by rebel holdouts and ethnic conflict amongst the tribes.[97]
The program became fully mature in 1974, when Dr. Raja Ramanna reported to Gandhi that India had the ability to test its first nuclear weapon. Gandhi gave verbal authorisation 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 Zulfi Ali Bhutto described this test as "Indian hegemony" to intimidate Pakistan. Gandhi directed a letter to Bhutto and, later to the world, describing the test for peaceful purposes and India's commitment to develop its programme for industrial and scientific use.
The programs created through Garibi Hatao, though carried out locally, were funded, developed, supervised, and staffed by New Delhi and the Indian National Congress party. "These programs also provided the central political leadership with new and vast patronage resources to be disbursed... throughout the country."[98]
But Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The verdict was delivered by Mr Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha at Allahabad High Court. It came almost four years after the case was brought by Raj Narain, the premier's defeated opponent in the 1971 parliamentary election. 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.[99] The judge rejected more serious charges of bribery against her.
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 BK Nehru said Gandhi's conviction
would not harm her political career. "Mrs 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".
Indira Gandhi used the emergency provisions to change conflicting party members.
The Congress Party split during the election campaign of 1977: veteran Gandhi supporters like Jagjivan Ram and her most loyal Hemwati Nandan 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
and also due to circumstances created by Sanjay Gandhi. The prevailing
rumour was that Sanjay had intentions of dislodging Gandhi and the trio
stood between that.
A coalition of opposition, under the leadership of Morarji Desai, came into power after the State of Emergency was lifted. The coalition parties later merged to form the Janata Party under the guidance of Gandhian leader, Jayaprakash Narayan. The other leaders of the Janata Party Charan Singh, Raj Narain, George Fernandes and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Janata government's Home Minister, Choudhary Charan Singh, ordered the arrest of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi on several charges, none of which would be easy to prove in an Indian court. The arrest meant that Indira Gandhi was automatically expelled from Parliament. These allegations included that she “‘had planned or thought of killing all opposition leaders in jail during the Emergency’”.[102] However, this strategy backfired disastrously. Her arrest and long-running trial, however, gained her great sympathy from many people. The Janata coalition was only united by its hatred of Gandhi (or "that woman" as some called her). With so little in common, the Morarji Desai government was bogged down by infighting. Desai resigned in June 1979 after Charan Singh and Raj Narain formed their own breakaway party. Charan Singh was appointed Prime Minister, by President Reddy, after Gandhi promised Singh that Congress would support his government from outside. After a short interval, Congress withdrew support and President Reddy dissolved Parliament in the winter of 1979.
Before the 1980 elections Gandhi approached the then Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Abdullah Bukhari and entered into an agreement with him on the basis of 10-point programme to secure the support of the Muslim votes.[103] In the elections held in January, Congress was returned to power with a landslide majority.
In 1979, when she visited Madurai, some hooligans attacked her. Nedumaran saved her from the attacks.[104][105]
Indira Gandhi delivered her last speech at the then Parade Ground in
front of the Secretariat of Orissa. After her death, the Parade Ground
was converted to the Indira Gandhi Park which was inaugurated by her
son, Rajiv Gandhi.
On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's 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. Beant Singh shot
her three times using his side-arm, and Satwant Singh fired 30 rounds.[citation needed]
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.
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 post-mortem 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 Indira Gandhi, from two sources, a Sten gun[112][113] 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 extracted 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 (PW-5), and his testimony lasted several sessions. The cross examination was conducted by Shri P. N. Lekhi, the defence counsel.[114]
Gandhi was cremated on 3 November near Raj Ghat. The site where she was cremated is today known as Shakti Sthala. 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.[115] Rajiv Gandhi on a live TV show said of the carnage, "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."
She was married to Feroze Gandhi. Firstly, her younger son Sanjay had been her chosen heir; but after his death in a flying accident in June 1980, his mother persuaded a reluctant elder son Rajiv Gandhi to quit his job as a pilot and enter politics in February 1981. Over a decade later, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated.
Gandhi's yoga guru, Dhirendra Brahmachari, helped her in making certain decisions and also executed certain top level political tasks on her behalf, especially from 1975 to 1977 when Gandhi "dissolved Parliament, declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties."[116][117]
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. Indian National Congress established the annual Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1985, given in her memory on her death anniversary. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust also constituted the annual Indira Gandhi Prize.
Indira Gandhi, in full Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (born November 19, 1917, Allahabad, India—died October 31, 1984, New Delhi), politician who served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984.
She was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. She attended Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal, and the University of Oxford, and in 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (died 1960), a fellow member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). She was a member of the working committee of the ruling Congress Party from 1955, and in 1959 she was elected to the largely honorary post of party president. Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru as prime minister in 1964, named her minister of information and broadcasting in his government.
On Shastri’s sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi became leader of the Congress Party—and thus also prime minister—in a compromise between the right and left wings of the party. Her leadership, however, came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party, led by a former minister of finance, Morarji Desai. In the election of 1967 she won a slim majority and had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister. In 1971, however, she won a sweeping electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties. Gandhi strongly supported East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in its secessionist conflict with Pakistan in late 1971, and India’s armed forces achieved a swift and decisive victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
In March 1972, buoyed by the country’s success against Pakistan, Gandhi again led her new Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections. Shortly afterward her defeated Socialist Party opponent charged that she had violated the election laws. In June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her, which meant that she would be deprived of her seat in Parliament and would have to stay out of politics for six years. In response, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned her political opponents, and assumed emergency powers, passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. During this period she implemented several unpopular policies, including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth control. When long-postponed national elections were held in 1977, Gandhi and her party were soundly defeated, whereupon she left office. The Janata Party took over the reins of government.
Early in 1978 Gandhi’s supporters split from the Congress Party and formed the Congress (I) Party—the “I” signifying Indira. She was briefly imprisoned (October 1977 and December 1978) on charges of official corruption. Despite these setbacks, she won a new seat in Parliament in November 1978, and her Congress (I) Party began to gather strength. Dissension within the ruling Janata Party led to the fall of its government in August 1979. When new elections for the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) were held in January 1980, Gandhi and her Congress (I) Party were swept back into power in a landslide victory. Her son Sanjay Gandhi, who had become her chief political adviser, also won a seat in the Lok Sabha. All legal cases against Indira, as well as against her son, were withdrawn.
Sanjay Gandhi’s death in an airplane crash in June 1980 eliminated Indira’s chosen successor from the political leadership of India. After Sanjay’s death, Indira groomed her other son, Rajiv, for the leadership of her party. Gandhi adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that had been begun by her father. She established closer relations with the Soviet Union, depending on that nation for support in India’s long-standing conflict with Pakistan.
During the early 1980s Indira Gandhi was faced with threats to the political integrity of India. Several states sought a larger measure of independence from the central government, and Sikh separatists in Punjab state used violence to assert their demands for an autonomous state. In response, Gandhi ordered an army attack in June 1984 on the Harimandir (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, the Sikhs’ holiest shrine, which led to the deaths of more than 450 Sikhs. Five months later Gandhi was killed in her garden by a fusillade of bullets fired by two of her own Sikh bodyguards in revenge for the attack on the Golden Temple.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225198/Indira-Gandhi
Aung San Suu Kyi MP AC (Burmese: အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်; MLCTS: aung hcan: cu. krany, /aʊŋˌsæn.suːˈtʃiː/,[2] Burmese pronunciation: [àʊɴ sʰáɴ sṵ tɕì]; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese opposition politician and chairperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma. In the 1990 general election, the NLD won 59% of the national votes and 81% (392 of 485) of the seats in Parliament.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] She had, however, already been detained under house arrest
before the elections. She remained under house arrest in Burma for
almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 until her most recent
release on 13 November 2010,[10] becoming one of the world's most prominent political prisoners.[11]
Suu Kyi received the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the government of India and the International Simón Bolívar Prize from the government of Venezuela. In 2007, the Government of Canada made her an honorary citizen of that country,[12] the fourth person ever to receive the honour.[13] In 2011, she was awarded the Wallenberg Medal.[14] On 19 September 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was also presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States.[15]
On 1 April 2012, her party, the National League for Democracy, announced that she was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Burmese parliament, representing the constituency of Kawhmu;[16] her party also won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the lower house.[17] The election results were confirmed by the official electoral commission the following day.[18]
On 6 June 2013, Suu Kyi announced on the World Economic Forum’s website that she wants to run for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections.[19]
A family portrait, with Aung San Suu Kyi (in white) as a toddler, taken in 1947, shortly before her father's assassination.
Aung San Suu Kyi derives her name from three relatives: "Aung San" from her father, "Suu" from her paternal grandmother, and "Kyi" from her mother Khin Kyi.[20] She is frequently called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Daw is not part of her name, but is an honorific, similar to madame, for older, revered women, literally meaning "aunt."[21] She is also often referred to as Daw Suu by the Burmese (or Amay Suu, lit. "Mother Suu," by some followers),[22][23] or "Aunty Suu", and as Dr. Suu Kyi,[24] Ms. Suu Kyi, or Miss Suu Kyi by the foreign media. However, like other Burmese, she has no surname (see Burmese names).
A portrait of Khin Kyi and her family in 1948. Aung San Suu Kyi is seated on the floor.
Aung San Suu Kyi was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon (now named Yangon).[25] Her father, Aung San, founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1947; he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. She grew up with her mother, Khin Kyi, and two brothers, Aung San Lin and Aung San Oo, in Rangoon. Aung San Lin died at the age of eight, when he drowned in an ornamental lake on the grounds of the house.[20] Her elder brother emigrated to San Diego, California, becoming a United States citizen.[20] After Aung San Lin's death, the family moved to a house by Inya Lake where Suu Kyi met people of very different backgrounds, political views and religions.[26] She was educated in Methodist English High School
(now Basic Education High School No. 1 Dagon) for much of her childhood
in Burma, where she was noted as having a talent for learning
languages.[27] She is a Theravada Buddhist.
Aung San Suu Kyi at the age of six.
Suu Kyi's mother, Khin Kyi, gained prominence as a political figure in the newly formed Burmese government. She was appointed Burmese ambassador to India and Nepal
in 1960, and Aung San Suu Kyi followed her there. She studied in the
Convent of Jesus and Mary School in New Delhi, and graduated from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi with a degree in politics in 1964.[25][28] Suu Kyi continued her education at St Hugh's College, Oxford, obtaining a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 1969. After graduating, she lived in New York City with a family friend Ma Than E, who was once a popular Burmese pop singer.[29] She worked at the United Nations for three years, primarily on budget matters, writing daily to her future husband, Dr. Michael Aris.[30] In late 1971, Aung San Suu Kyi married Aris, a scholar of Tibetan culture, living abroad in Bhutan.[25] The following year she gave birth to their first son, Alexander Aris,
in London; their second son, Kim, was born in 1977. Between 1985 and
1987, Suu Kyi was working toward an M.Phil in Burmese literature as a
research student at the School of Oriental and African Studies in
London.[31][32] She was elected as an Honorary Fellow in 1990.[25] For two years she was a Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies (IIAS) in Shimla, India. She also worked for the government of the Union of Burma.
In 1988 Suu Kyi returned to Burma, at first to tend for her ailing mother but later to lead the pro-democracy movement. Aris' visit in Christmas 1995 turned out to be the last time that he and Suu Kyi met, as Suu Kyi remained in Burma and the Burmese dictatorship denied him any further entry visas.[25] Aris was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997 which was later found to be terminal. Despite appeals from prominent figures and organisations, including the United States, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II, the Burmese government would not grant Aris a visa, saying that they did not have the facilities to care for him, and instead urged Aung San Suu Kyi to leave the country to visit him. She was at that time temporarily free from house arrest but was unwilling to depart, fearing that she would be refused re-entry if she left, as she did not trust the military junta's assurance that she could return.[33]
Aris died on his 53rd birthday on 27 March 1999. Since 1989, when his wife was first placed under house arrest, he had seen her only five times, the last of which was for Christmas in 1995. She was also separated from her children, who live in the United Kingdom, but starting in 2011, they have visited her in Burma.[34]
On 2 May 2008, after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, Suu Kyi lost the roof of her house and lived in virtual darkness after losing electricity in her dilapidated lakeside residence. She used candles at night as she was not provided any generator set.[35] Plans to renovate and repair the house were announced in August 2009.[36] Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010.[37]
Aung San Suu Kyi arrives to give a speech to the supporters during the
2012 by-election campaign at her constituency Kawhmu township, Myanmar
on 22 March 2012.
Influenced[38] by both Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence[39][40] and more specifically by Buddhist concepts,[41] Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratisation, helped found the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988,[42] but was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. Offered freedom if she left the country, she refused.
One of her most famous speeches was Freedom From Fear, which began: "It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."[43]
She also believes fear spurs many world leaders to lose sight of their purpose. "Government leaders are amazing", she once said. "So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want."[44]
Suu Kyi meets with Edgardo Boeninger of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in 1995.
The media were also prevented from visiting Suu Kyi, as occurred in 1998 when journalist Maurizio Giuliano, after photographing her, was stopped by customs officials who then confiscated all his films, tapes and some notes.[52] In contrast, Suu Kyi did have visits from government representatives, such as during her autumn 1994 house arrest when she met the leader of Burma, General Than Shwe and General Khin Nyunt on 20 September in the first meeting since she had been placed in detention.[25] On several occasions during Suu Kyi's house arrest, she had periods of poor health and as a result was hospitalized.[53]
The Burmese government detained and kept Suu Kyi imprisoned because it viewed her as someone "likely to undermine the community peace and stability" of the country, and used both Article 10(a) and 10(b) of the 1975 State Protection Act (granting the government the power to imprison people for up to five years without a trial),[54] and Section 22 of the "Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts" as legal tools against her.[55] She continuously appealed her detention,[56] and many nations and figures continued to call for her release and that of 2,100 other political prisoners in the country.[57][58] On 12 November 2010, days after the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won elections conducted after a gap of 20 years, the junta finally agreed to sign orders allowing Suu Kyi's release,[59] and Suu Kyi's house arrest term came to an end on 13 November 2010.
The results from the UN facilitation have been mixed; Razali Ismail, UN special envoy to Burma, met with Aung San Suu Kyi. Ismail resigned from his post the following year, partly because he was denied re-entry to Burma on several occasions.[62] Several years later in 2006, Ibrahim Gambari, UN Undersecretary-General (USG) of Department of Political Affairs, met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first visit by a foreign official since 2004.[63] He also met with Suu Kyi later the same year.[64] On 2 October 2007 Gambari returned to talk to her again after seeing Than Shwe and other members of the senior leadership in Naypyidaw.[65] State television broadcast Suu Kyi with Gambari, stating that they had met twice. This was Suu Kyi's first appearance in state media in the four years since her current detention began.[66]
The United Nations Working Group for Arbitrary Detention published an Opinion that Aung San Suu Kyi's deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and in contravention of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, and requested that the authorities in Burma set her free, but the authorities ignored the request at that time.[67] The U.N. report said that according to the Burmese Government’s reply, "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not been arrested, but has only been taken into protective custody, for her own safety", and while "it could have instituted legal action against her under the country’s domestic legislation ... it has preferred to adopt a magnanimous attitude, and is providing her with protection in her own interests."[67]
Such claims were rejected by Brig-General Khin Yi, Chief of Myanmar Police Force (MPF). On 18 January 2007, the state-run paper New Light of Myanmar accused Suu Kyi of tax evasion for spending her Nobel Prize money outside of the country. The accusation followed the defeat of a US-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Burma as a threat to international security; the resolution was defeated because of strong opposition from China, which has strong ties with the military junta (China later voted against the resolution, along with Russia and South Africa).[68]
In November 2007, it was reported that Suu Kyi would meet her political allies National League for Democracy along with a government minister. The ruling junta made the official announcement on state TV and radio just hours after UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari ended his second visit to Burma. The NLD confirmed that it had received the invitation to hold talks with Suu Kyi.[69] However, the process delivered few concrete results.
On 3 July 2009, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon went to Burma to pressure the junta into releasing Suu Kyi and to institute democratic reform. However, on departing from Burma, Ban Ki-moon said he was "disappointed" with the visit after junta leader Than Shwe refused permission for him to visit Suu Kyi, citing her ongoing trial. Ban said he was "deeply disappointed that they have missed a very important opportunity."[70]
On 22 September 2007, although still under house arrest, Suu Kyi made a brief public appearance at the gate of her residence in Yangon to accept the blessings of Buddhist monks who were marching in support of human rights.[77] It was reported that she had been moved the following day to Insein Prison (where she had been detained in 2003),[78][79][80][81] but meetings with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari near her Rangoon home on 30 September and 2 October established that she remained under house arrest.[82][83]
U.S. Senator Jim Webb
visiting Suu Kyi in 2009. Webb negotiated the release of John Yettaw,
the man who trespassed in Suu Kyi's home, resulting in her arrest and
conviction with three years' hard labour.
On 3 May 2009, an American man, identified as John Yettaw, swam across Inya Lake to her house uninvited and was arrested when he made his return trip three days later.[84] He had attempted to make a similar trip two years earlier, but for unknown reasons was turned away.[85]
He later claimed at trial that he was motivated by a divine vision
requiring him to notify her of an impending terrorist assassination
attempt.[86]
On 13 May, Suu Kyi was arrested for violating the terms of her house
arrest because the swimmer, who pleaded exhaustion, was allowed to stay
in her house for two days before he attempted the swim back. Suu Kyi was
later taken to Insein Prison, where she could have faced up to five years confinement for the intrusion.[87] The trial of Suu Kyi and her two maids began on 18 May and a small number of protesters gathered outside.[88][89] Diplomats and journalists were barred from attending the trial; however, on one occasion, several diplomats from Russia, Thailand and Singapore and journalists were allowed to meet Suu Kyi.[90] The prosecution had originally planned to call 22 witnesses.[91] It also accused John Yettaw of embarrassing the country.[92]
During the ongoing defence case, Suu Kyi said she was innocent. The
defence was allowed to call only one witness (out of four), while the
prosecution was permitted to call 14 witnesses. The court rejected two
character witnesses, NLD members Tin Oo and Win Tin, and permitted the defence to call only a legal expert.[93]
According to one unconfirmed report, the junta was planning to, once
again, place her in detention, this time in a military base outside the
city.[94] In a separate trial, Yettaw said he swam to Suu Kyi's house to warn her that her life was "in danger".[95] The national police chief later confirmed that Yettaw was the "main culprit" in the case filed against Suu Kyi.[96] According to aides, Suu Kyi spent her 64th birthday in jail sharing biryani rice and chocolate cake with her guards.[97]
Her arrest and subsequent trial received worldwide condemnation by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Security Council,[98] Western governments,[99] South Africa,[100] Japan[101] and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.[102] The Burmese government strongly condemned the statement, as it created an "unsound tradition"[103] and criticised Thailand for meddling in its internal affairs.[104] The Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar as saying that the incident "was trumped up to intensify international pressure on Burma by internal and external anti-government elements who do not wish to see the positive changes in those countries' policies toward Burma".[92] Ban responded to an international campaign[105] by flying to Burma to negotiate, but Than Shwe rejected all of his requests.[106]
On 11 August 2009 the trial concluded with Suu Kyi being sentenced to imprisonment for three years with hard labour. This sentence was commuted by the military rulers to further house arrest of 18 months.[107] On 14 August, U.S. Senator Jim Webb visited Burma, visiting with junta leader Gen. Than Shwe and later with Suu Kyi. During the visit, Webb negotiated Yettaw's release and deportation from Burma.[108] Following the verdict of the trial, lawyers of Suu Kyi said they would appeal against the 18-month sentence.[109] On 18 August, United States President Barack Obama asked the country's military leadership to set free all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.[110] In her appeal, Aung San Suu Kyi had argued that the conviction was unwarranted. However, her appeal against the August sentence was rejected by a Burmese court on 2 October 2009. Although the court accepted the argument that the 1974 constitution, under which she had been charged, was null and void, it also said the provisions of the 1975 security law, under which she has been kept under house arrest, remained in force. The verdict effectively meant that she would be unable to participate in the elections scheduled to take place in 2010 – the first in Burma in two decades. Her lawyer stated that her legal team would pursue a new appeal within 60 days.[111]
Burma's relaxing stance, such as releasing political prisoners, was influenced in the wake of successful recent diplomatic visits by the US and other democratic governments, urging or encouraging the Burmese towards democratic reform. U.S. President Barack Obama personally advocated the release of all political prisoners, especially Aung San Suu Kyi, during the US-ASEAN Summit of 2009.[115]
Democratic governments[which?] hoped that successful general elections would be an optimistic indicator of the Burmese government's sincerity towards eventual democracy.[116] The Hatoyama government which spent 2.82 billion yen in 2008, has promised more Japanese foreign aid to encourage Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi in time for the elections; and to continue moving towards democracy and the rule of law.[116][117]
In a personal letter to Suu Kyi, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown cautioned the Burmese government of the potential consequences of rigging elections as "condemning Burma to more years of diplomatic isolation and economic stagnation".[118]
The Burmese government has been granting Suu Kyi varying degrees of freedom throughout late 2009, in response to international pressure. She has met with many heads of state, and opened a dialog with the Minister of Labor Aung Kyi (not to be confused with Aung San Suu Kyi).[119]
Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with senior members of her NLD party at the State House,[120] however these meetings took place under close supervision.
Aung San Suu Kyi addresses crowds at the NLD headquarters shortly after her release.
Aung San Suu Kyi meets with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Yangon (1 December 2011)
On the evening of 13 November 2010, Suu Kyi was released from house arrest.[121] This was the date her detention had been set to expire according to a court ruling in August 2009[122] and came six days after a widely criticised general election.
She appeared in front of a crowd of her supporters, who rushed to her
house in Rangoon when nearby barricades were removed by the security
forces. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate had been detained for 15 of the
past 21 years.[123] The government newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported the release positively,[124] saying she had been granted a pardon after serving her sentence "in good conduct".[125] The New York Times
suggested that the military government may have released Suu Kyi
because it felt it was in a confident position to control her supporters
after the election.[124] The role that Suu Kyi will play in the future of democracy in Burma remains a subject of much debate.
Her son Kim Aris was granted a visa in November 2010 to see his mother shortly after her release, for the first time in 10 years.[126] He visited again in 5 July 2011, to accompany her on a trip to Bagan, her first trip outside Yangon since 2003.[127] Her son visited again in 8 August 2011, to accompany her on a trip to Pegu, her second trip.[128]
Discussions were held between Suu Kyi and the Burmese government during 2011, which led to a number of official gestures to meet her demands. In October, around a tenth of Burma's political prisoners were freed in an amnesty and trade unions were legalised.[129][130]
In November 2011, following a meeting of its leaders, the NLD announced its intention to re-register as a political party in order to contend 48 by-elections necessitated by the promotion of parliamentarians to ministerial rank.[131] Following the decision, Suu Kyi held a telephone conference with U.S. President Barack Obama, in which it was agreed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would make a visit to Burma, a move received with caution by Burma's ally China.[132] On 1 December 2011, Suu Kyi met with Hillary Clinton at the residence of the top-ranking US diplomat in Yangon.[133]
On 21 December 2011, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met Suu Kyi in Yangoon, becoming Suu Kyi's "first-ever meeting with the leader of a foreign country".[134]
On 5 January 2012, British Foreign Minister William Hague met Aung San Suu Kyi and his Burmese counterpart. This represented a significant visit for Suu Kyi and Burma. Suu Kyi studied in the UK and maintains many ties there, whilst Britain is Burma's largest bilateral donor. Aung San Suu Kyi is on her visit to Europe and is due to visit the Swiss parliament and collect her 1991 Nobel Prize in Oslo.[135]
Aung San Suu Kyi (Center) gives a speech to the supporters during the
2012 by-election campaign at her constituency Kawhmu township, Myanmar
on 22 March 2012.
On 3 March 2012, at a large campaign rally in Mandalay, Suu Kyi unexpectedly left after 15 minutes, because of exhaustion and airsickness.[141]
In an official campaign speech broadcast on Burmese state television's MRTV on 14 March 2012, Suu Kyi publicly campaigned for reform of the 2008 Constitution, removal of restrictive laws, more adequate protections for people's democratic rights, and establishment of an independent judiciary.[142] The speech was leaked online a day before it was broadcast.[143] A paragraph in the speech, focusing on the Tatmadaw's repression by means of law, was censored by authorities.[144]
Suu Kyi has also called for international media to monitor the upcoming by-elections, while publicly pointing out irregularities in official voter lists, which include deceased individuals and exclude other eligible voters in the contested constituencies.[145][146] On 21 March 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying "Fraud and rule violations are continuing and we can even say they are increasing."[147]
When asked whether she would assume a ministerial post if given the opportunity, she said the following:[148]
On 1 April 2012, the NLD announced that Suu Kyi had won the vote for a seat in Parliament.[150] A news broadcast on state-run MRTV, reading the announcements of the Union Election Commission, confirmed her victory, as well as her party's victory in 43 of the 45 contested seats, officially making Suu Kyi the Leader of the Opposition in the lower house.[151]
Although she and other MP-elects were expected to take office on 23 April when the Hluttaws resume session, National League for Democracy MP-elects, including Suu Kyi, said they might not take their oaths because of its wording; in its present form, parliamentarians must vow to "safeguard" the constitution.[152][153] In an address on Radio Free Asia, she said "We don't mean we will not attend the parliament, we mean we will attend only after taking the oath... Changing that wording in the oath is also in conformity with the Constitution. I don't expect there will be any difficulty in doing it."[154]
On 2 May 2012, National League for Democracy MP-elects, including Aung San Suu Kyi, took their oaths and took office, though the wording of the oath was not changed.[155] According to the Los Angeles Times, "Suu Kyi and her colleagues decided they could do more by joining as lawmakers than maintaining their boycott on principle."[155] On 9 July 2012, she attended the Parliament for the first time as a lawmaker.[156]
On 6 July 2012, Suu Kyi announced on the World Economic Forum’s website that she wants to run for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections.[19] The current Constitution, which came into effect in 2008, bars her from the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners. These measures seem to have been written in part to prevent her ever getting there. [157]
However, she has spoken out "against a ban on Rohingya families near the Bangladeshi border having more than two children."[161]
In a nod to the current deep US political divide between Republicans led by Mitt Romney and the Democrats of Obama—battling to win the Presidential election on 6 November—she stressed with a smile "Those of you who are familiar with American politics I'm sure understand the need for negotiated compromise."[162]
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at a conference in London, during 5 countries tour of Europe, 2012
May 2009 demonstration for Aung San Suu Kyi in Rome, Italy
The 2009 celebration of Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday in Dublin, Ireland
Aung San Suu Kyi has received vocal support from Western nations in Europe,[163] Australia[163] and North[164] and South America, as well as India,[5] Israel,[165] Japan[166] the Philippines and South Korea.[167] In December 2007, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously 400–0 to award Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal; the Senate concurred on 25 April 2008.[168] On 6 May 2008, President George Bush signed legislation awarding Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal.[169]
She is the first recipient in American history to receive the prize
while imprisoned. More recently, there has been growing criticism of her
detention by Burma's neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, particularly from Indonesia,[170] Thailand,[171] the Philippines[172][173] and Singapore.[174] At one point Malaysia warned Burma that it faced expulsion from ASEAN as a result of the detention of Suu Kyi.[175] Other nations including South Africa,[176] Bangladesh[177] and the Maldives[178]
also called for her release. The United Nations has urged the country
to move towards inclusive national reconciliation, the restoration of
democracy, and full respect for human rights.[179] In December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Burma and calling for Suu Kyi's release—80 countries voting for the resolution, 25 against and 45 abstentions.[180] Other nations, such as China and Russia, are less critical of the regime and prefer to cooperate only on economic matters.[181] Indonesia has urged China to push Burma for reforms.[182] However, Samak Sundaravej, former Prime Minister of Thailand,
criticised the amount of support for Suu Kyi, saying that "Europe uses
Aung San Suu Kyi as a tool. If it's not related to Aung San Suu Kyi, you
can have deeper discussions with Myanmar."[183]
Aung San Suu Kyi greeting supporters from Bago State in 2011.
Vietnam,
however, did not support calls by other ASEAN member states for Myanmar
to free Aung San Suu Kyi, state media reported Friday, 14 August 2009.[184] The state-run Việt Nam News
said Vietnam had no criticism of Myanmar's decision 11 August 2009 to
place Suu Kyi under house arrest for the next 18 months, effectively
barring her from elections scheduled for 2010. "It is our view that the
Aung San Suu Kyi trial is an internal affair of Myanmar", Vietnamese
government spokesman Le Dung stated on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In contrast with other ASEAN member states, Dung said Vietnam has
always supported Myanmar and hopes it will continue to implement the "roadmap to democracy" outlined by its government.[185]
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:[186]
Nobel Peace Prize winners (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Shirin Ebadi, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan, Rigoberta Menchú, Prof. Elie Wiesel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Betty Williams, Jody Williams and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter) called for the rulers of Burma to release Suu Kyi in order to "create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."[25] Some of the money she received as part of the award helps fund London-based charity Prospect Burma, which provides higher education grants to Burmese students.[188]
On 16 June 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was finally able to deliver her Nobel acceptance speech (Nobel lecture) at Oslo's City Hall, two decades after being awarded the peace prize.[189][190]
Suu Kyi meeting Barack Obama at the White House in September 2012
In September 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi received in person the United States Congressional Gold Medal,
which is the highest Congressional award. Although she was awarded this
medal in 2008, at the time she was under house arrest, and was unable
to receive the medal. Aun San Suu Kyi was greeted with bipartisan
support at Congress, as part of a coast-to-coast tour in the United
States. In addition, Aung San Suu Kyi met President Barack Obama at the White House. The experience was described by Aung San Suu Kyi as "one of the most moving days of my life."[191][192]
Comparing between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Indira Gandhi | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 3rd Prime Minister of India | |
| In office 14 January 1980 – 31 October 1984 |
|
| President | Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Zail Singh |
| Preceded by | Charan Singh |
| Succeeded by | Rajiv Gandhi |
| In office 24 January 1966 – 24 March 1977 |
|
| President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Zakir Hussain V. V. Giri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
| Deputy | Morarji Desai |
| Preceded by | Gulzarilal Nanda (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Morarji Desai |
| Minister of External Affairs | |
| In office 9 March 1984 – 31 October 1984 |
|
| Preceded by | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Succeeded by | Rajiv Gandhi |
| In office 22 August 1967 – 14 March 1969 |
|
| Preceded by | M. C. Chagla |
| Succeeded by | Dinesh Singh |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 14 January 1980 – 15 January 1982 |
|
| Preceded by | Chidambaram Subramaniam |
| Succeeded by | R. Venkataraman |
| In office 30 November 1975 – 20 December 1975 |
|
| Preceded by | Sardar Swaran Singh |
| Succeeded by | Bansi Lal |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 27 June 1970 – 4 February 1973 |
|
| Preceded by | Yashwantrao Chavan |
| Succeeded by | Uma Shankar Dikshit |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 16 July 1969 – 27 June 1970 |
|
| Preceded by | Morarji Desai |
| Succeeded by | Yashwantrao Chavan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Indira Priyadarshini Nehru 19 November 1917 Allahabad, United Provinces, British India |
| Died | 31 October 1984 (aged 66) New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Feroze Gandhi |
| Relations | Jawaharlal Nehru (father) |
| Children | Rajiv Sanjay |
| Alma mater | Somerville College, Oxford |
| Religion | Hinduism |
listen); née Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the third Prime Minister of India and a central figure of the Indian National Congress party. Gandhi, who served from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, is the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office.Indira Gandhi was the only child of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. She served as the Chief of Staff of her father's highly centralized administration between 1947 and 1964 and came to wield considerable unofficial influence in government. Elected Congress President in 1959, she was offered the premiership in succession to her father. Gandhi refused and instead chose to become a cabinet minister in the government. She finally consented to become Prime Minister in succession to Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966.
As Prime Minister, Gandhi became known for her political ruthlessness and unprecedented centralisation of power. She presided over a period where India emerged with greater power than before to become the regional hegemon of South Asia with considerable political, economic, and military developments. Gandhi also presided over a state of emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which she ruled by decree and made lasting changes to the constitution of India. She was assassinated in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.
In 2001, Gandhi was voted the greatest Indian Prime Minister in a poll organised by India Today. She was also named "Woman of the Millennium" in a poll organised by the BBC in 1999.[1]
Contents
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Early life and career
Indira Nehru was born on 19 November 1917 in Allahabad.[2] Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, led India's political struggle for independence from British rule, and became the first Prime Minister of the Union (and later Republic) of India.[3] She was an only child (a younger brother was born, but died young),[4] and grew up with her mother, Kamala Nehru, at the Anand Bhavan; a large family estate in Allahabad.[5] Indira had a lonely and unhappy childhood.[6] Her father was often away, directing political activities or being incarcerated in prison, while her mother was frequently bed-ridden with illness, and later suffered an early death from tuberculosis.[7] She had limited contact with her father, mostly through letters.[8]Indira was mostly taught at home by tutors, and intermittently attended school until matriculation in 1934.[nb 1] She went on to study at the Viswa Bharati University in Calcutta.[12] A year later, however, she had to leave university to attend to her ailing mother in Europe.[13] While there, it was decided that Indira would continue her education at the University of Oxford in Britain.[14] After her mother passed away, she briefly attended the Badminton School before enrolling at Somerville College in 1937 to read history.[15] Indira had to take the entrance examination twice; having failed at her first attempt, with a poor performance in Latin.[15] At Oxford, she did well in history, political science and economics, but her grades in Latin—a compulsory subject—remained poor.[16][17]
During her stay in the UK, young Indira 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 Adi Dharm rituals though Feroze belonged to a Parsi family of Gujarat.[19]
In the 1950s, Indira, now Mrs. Indira Gandhi after her marriage, 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.[20]
Prime Minister
When Indira became Prime Minister in 1966, the Congress was split in two factions, the socialists led by Gandhi, and the conservatives led by Morarji Desai. Rammanohar Lohia called her Gungi Gudiya, which means 'Mute Doll'.[citation needed] 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 Desai as Deputy Prime Minister of India and Minister of Finance. In 1969, after many disagreements with 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 nationalised banks.Foreign policy
South Asia
India's new hegemonic position as articulated under the "Indira Doctrine" led to attempts to bring the Himalayan states under the Indian sphere of influence.[25] Nepal and Bhutan remained aligned with India, while in 1975, after years of building up support, Gandhi annexed Sikkim to India.[26] This was denounced as a "despicable act" by China.[27]
India maintained close ties with neighbouring Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) following the Liberation War. Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman recognized Gandhi's contributions to the independence of Bangladesh. However, Mujibur Rahman's pro-India policies antagonised many in Bangladeshi politics and the military, who feared that Bangladesh had become a client state of India.[28][29] The Assassination of Mujibur Rahman in 1975 led to the establishment of Islamist military regimes that sought to distance the country from India.[30] Gandhi's relationship with the military regimes was strained, due to her alleged support of anti-Islamist leftist guerrilla forces in Bangladesh.[30] Generally, however, there was a rapprochement between Gandhi and the Bangladeshi regimes, although issues such as border disputes and the Farakka Dam remained an irritant in bilateral ties.[31] In 2011, the Government of Bangladesh conferred its highest state award posthumously on Gandhi for her "outstanding contribution" to the country's independence.[32]
India's relationship with Pakistan remained strained following the Shimla Accord in 1972. Gandhi's authorization of the detonation of a nuclear device at Pokhran in 1974 was viewed by Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as an attempt to intimidate Pakistan into accepting India's hegemony in the subcontinent. However, in May 1976, Gandhi and Bhutto both agreed to reopen diplomatic establishments and normalize relations.[38] Following the rise to power of General Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan in 1978, India's relations with its neighbour reached a nadir. Gandhi accused General Zia of supporting Khalistani militants in Punjab.[38] Military hostilities recommenced in 1984 following Gandhi's authorization of Operation Meghdoot.[39] India was victorious in the resulting Siachen conflict against Pakistan.[39]
Middle East
India's pro-Arab policy had mixed success. Establishment of close ties with the socialist and secular Baathist regimes to some extent neutralized Pakistani propaganda against India.[41] However, the Indo-Pakistani war in 1971 put the Arab and Muslim states of the Middle East in a dilemma as the war was fought by two states both friendly to the Arabs.[42] The progressive Arab regimes in Egypt, Syria, and Algeria chose to remain neutral, while the conservative pro-American Arab monarchies in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates openly supported Pakistan.[42] Egypt's stance was met with dismay by the Indians, who had come to expect close co-operation with the Baathist regimes.[41] But, the death of Nasser in 1970 and Sadat's growing friendship with Riyadh, and his mounting differences with Moscow, constrained Egypt to a policy of neutrality.[41] Gandhi's overtures to Muammar Gaddafi were rebuffed.[42] Libya agreed with the Arab monarchies in believing that Gandhi's intervention in East Pakistan was an attack against Islam.[42]
The 1971 war temporarily became a stumbling block in growing Indo-Iranian ties.[41] Although Iran had earlier characterized the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965 as Indian aggression, the Shah had launched an effort at rapprochement with India in 1969 as part of his effort to secure support for a larger Iranian role in the Persian Gulf.[41] Gandhi's tilt towards Moscow and her dismemberment of Pakistan was perceived by the Shah as part of a larger anti-Iran conspiracy involving India, Iraq, and the Soviet Union.[41] Nevertheless, Iran had resisted Pakistani pressure to activate the Baghdad Pact and draw in the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) into the conflict.[41] Gradually, Indian and Iranian disillusionment with their respective regional allies led to a renewed partnership between the nations.[43] Gandhi was unhappy with the lack of support from India's Arab allies during the war with Pakistan, while the Shah was apprehensive at the growing friendship between Pakistan and the Gulf states, specially Saudi Arabia, and the growing influence of Islam in Pakistani society.[43] There was an increase in Indian economic and military co-operation with Iran during the 1970s.[43] The 1974 India-Iranian agreement led to Iran supplying nearly 75 percent of India's crude oil demands.[44] Gandhi appreciated the Shah's disregard of Pan-Islamism in diplomacy.[43]
Asia-Pacific
One of the major developments in Southeast Asia during Gandhi's premiership was the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. Relations between ASEAN and India was mutually antagonistic. ASEAN in the Indian perception was linked to the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), and it was therefore, seen as a pro-American organisation. On their part, the ASEAN nations were unhappy with Gandhi's support of the Viet Cong and India's strong links with the USSR. Furthermore, they were also apprehensions in the region about Gandhi's future plans, particularly after India played a big role in breaking up Pakistan and facilitating in the emergence of Bangladesh as a sovereign country in 1971. India's entry into the nuclear weapons club in 1974 contributed to tensions in Southeast Asia.[45] Relations only began to improve following Gandhi's endorsement of the ZOPFAN declaration and the disintegration of the SEATO alliance in the aftermath of Pakistani and American defeats in the region. Nevertheless, Gandhi's close relations with Vietnam and her decision to recognize the People's Republic of Kampuchea in 1980 meant that India and ASEAN were not able to develop a viable partnership.[45]Africa
Although independent India was initially viewed as a champion of anti-colonialism, its cordial relationship with the Commonwealth of Nations and liberal views of British colonial policies in East Africa had harmed its image as a staunch supporter of the anti-colonial movements.[46] Indian condemnation of militant struggles in Kenya and Algeria was in sharp contrast to China, who had supported armed struggle to win African independence.[46] After reaching a high diplomatic point in the aftermath of Nehru's role in the Suez Crisis, India's isolation from Africa was complete when only four nations; Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Libya supported her during the Sino-Indian War in 1962.[46] After Gandhi became Prime Minister, diplomatic and economic relations with the states which had sided with India during the Sino-Indian War were expanded.[46] Gandhi began negotiations with the Kenyan government to establish the Africa-India Development Cooperation. The Indian government also started considering the possibility of bringing Indians settled in Africa within the framework of its policy goals to help recover its declining geo-strategic influence. Gandhi declared the people of Indian origin settled in Africa as "Ambassors of India."[46] Efforts to rope in the Asian community to join Indian diplomacy, however, came to naught, partly because of the unwilligness of Indians to remain in politically insecure surroundings and partly due to the exodus of African Indians to Britain with the passing of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in 1968.[46] In Uganda, the African Indian community even suffered presecution and eventually expulsion under the government of Idi Amin.[47]Foreign and domestic policy successes in the 1970s enabled Gandhi to rebuild India's image in the eyes of African states.[46] Victory over Pakistan and India's possession of nuclear weapons showed the degree of India's progress.[46] Furthermore, the conclusion of the Indo-Soviet treaty in 1971 and threatening gestures by the major western power, the United States, to send its nuclear armed Task Force 74 into the Bay of Bengal at the height of the East Pakistan crisis had enabled India to regain its anti-imperialist image.[46] Gandhi firmly tied Indian anti-imperialist interests in Africa to those of the Soviet Union.[48] Unlike Nehru, she openly and enthusiastically supported liberation struggles in Africa.[48] At the same time, Chinese influence in Africa had declined owing to its incessant quarrels with the Soviet Union.[46] These developments permanently halted India's decline in Africa and helped reestablish its geo-strategic presence.[46]
Economic policy
Gandhi presided over three Five-Year plans as Prime Minister.[49] All but one of them succeeding in meeting the targeted growth.[49]There is considerable debate regarding whether Gandhi was a socialist on principle or out of political expediency.[50] S. K. Datta-Ray described her as "a master of rhetoric...often more posture than policy", while the The Times journalist, Peter Hazelhurst, famously quipped that Gandhi's socialism was "slightly left of self-interest."[51] Critics have focused on the contradictions in the evolution of her stance towards communism; Gandhi being known for her anti-communist stance in the 1950s with Meghnad Desai even describing her as "the scourge of [India's] Communist Party."[52] Yet, she later forged close relations with Indian communists even while using the army to break the Naxalites. In this context, Gandhi was accused of formulating populist policies to suit her political needs; being seemingly against the rich and big business while preserving the status quo in order to manipulate the support of the left at times of political insecurity, such as the late 1960s.[53][54] Although Gandhi came to be viewed in time as the scourge of the right-wing and reactionary political elements of India, leftist opposition to her policies emerged. As early as 1969, critics had began accusing her of insincerity and machiavellism. The Indian Libertarian wrote that: "it would be difficult to find a more machiavellian leftist than Mrs Indira Gandhi...for here is Machiavelli at its best in the person of a suave, charming and astute politician."[55] Rosser wrote that "some have even seen the declaration of emergency rule in 1975 as a move to suppress [leftist] dissent against Gandhi's policy shift to the right."[50] In the 1980s, Gandhi was accused of "betraying socialism" after the beginning of Operation Forward, an attempt at economic reform.[56] Nevertheless, others were more convinced of Gandhi's sincerity and devotion to socialism. Pankaj Vohra noted that "even the late prime minister’s critics would concede that the maximum number of legislations of social significance was brought about during her tenure...[and that] she lives in the hearts of millions of Indians who shared her concern for the poor and weaker sections and who supported her politics."[57]
In summarizing the biographical works on Gandhi, Blema S. Steinberg concluded she was decidedly non-ideological.[58] Only 7.4% (24) of the total 330 biographical extractions posit ideology as a reason for her policy choices.[58] Steinberg noted Gandhi's association with socialism was superficial; only having a general and traditional commitment to the ideology, by way of her political and family ties.[58] Gandhi personally had a fuzzy concept of socialism. In one of the early interviews she had given as Prime Minister, Gandhi had ruminated: "I suppose you could call me a socialist, but you have understand what we mean by that term...we used the word [socialism] because it came closest to what we wanted to do here – which is to eradicate poverty. You can call it socialism; but if by using that word we arouse controversy, I don't see why we should use it. I don't believe in words at all."[58] Regardless of the debate over her ideology or lack of thereof, Gandhi remains a left-wing icon. She has been described as the "arguably the greatest mass leader of the last century."[57] Her campaign slogan, Garibi Hatao (Eng: Remove Poverty), has become the iconic motto of the Indian National Congress. To the rural and urban poor, untouchables, minorities and women in India, Gandhi was "Indira Amma or Mother Indira."[59]
Green Revolution and the Fourth Five Year Plan
Gandhi inherited a weak and troubled economy. Fiscal problems associated with the war with Pakistan in 1965, along with a drought-induced food crisis that spawned famines, had plunged India into the sharpest recession since independence.[50][60] The government responded by taking steps to liberalize the economy, and by agreeing to the devaluation of the currency in return for the restoration of foreign aid.[60] The economy managed to recover in 1966 and ended up growing at 4.1% over 1966–1969.[53][61] But, much of that growth was offset by the fact that the external aid promised by the United States government and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), meant to ease the short-run costs of adjustment to a liberalized economy, never materialized.[60] American policy makers had complained of continued restrictions imposed on the economy.[62] At the same time, Indo-US relations were straining due to Gandhi's criticism of the American bombing campaign in Vietnam, and because of President Johnson's policy of withholding food grain shipments to coerce Indian support for the war.[62] In light of the circumstances, liberalization became politically suspect and was soon abandoned.[60] Grain diplomacy and currency devaluation became matters of intense national pride in India. After the bitter experience with Johnson, Gandhi decided not to request food aid in the future. Moreover, Gandhi's government resolved never again to become "so vulnerably dependent" on aid, and painstakingly began building up substantial foreign exchange reserves.[63] When food stocks slumped after poor harvests in 1972, the government made it a point to use foreign exchange to buy US wheat commercially rather than seek resumption of food aid.[64]
To deal with India's food problems, Gandhi expanded the emphasis on production of inputs to agriculture that had already been initiated by her father, Jawaharlal Nehru.[50] The Green Revolution in India subsequently culminated under her government in the 1970s and transformed the country from a nation heavily reliant on imported grains and prone to famine to being largely able to feed itself, and become successful in achieving its goal of food security. Gandhi had a personal motive in pursuing agricultural self-sufficiency, having found India's dependency on the U.S. for shipments of grains humiliating.[66]
The economic period of 1967–75 became significant for its major wave of nationalisations amidst the increased regulation of the private sector.[50]
Some of the other objectives of the economic plan for the period was to provide for the minimum needs of the community through a rural works program and the removal of the privy purses of the nobility.[53] Both these, and many other goals of the 1967 program were accomplished by 1974–75. Nevertheless, the success of the overall economic plan was tempered by the fact that annual growth at 3.3–3.4% over 1969–74 fell short of the targeted figure.[53]
State of Emergency and the Fifth Five Year Plan
The Fifth Five Year Plan (1974–79) was enacted in the backdrop of the state of emergency and the Twenty Point Program of 1975.[53] The latter was the economic rationale of the emergency, a political act which has often been justified on economic grounds.[53] In contrast to the reception of Gandhi's earlier economic plan, this one was criticized for being a "hastily thrown together wish list."[53] Gandhi promised to reduce poverty by targeting the consumption levels of the poor and enact wide ranging social and economic reforms. The government additionally targeted an annual growth of 4.4% over the period of the plan.[49]The measures of the emergency regime was able to halt the economic trouble of the early to mid-1970s, which had been marred by harvest failures, fiscal contraction, and the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchanged rate; the resulting turbulence in the foreign exchange markets being further accentuated by the oil shock of 1973.[61] The government was even able to exceed the targeted growth figure with an annual growth rate of 5.0–5.2% over the five-year period of the plan (1974–79).[49][53] The economy grew at the rate of 9% in 1975–76 alone, and the Fifth Plan, became the first plan during which the per capita income of the economy grew by over 5%.[67]
Operation Forward and the Sixth Five Year Plan
Gandhi inherited a weak economy when she again became Prime Minister in 1980.[68] The preceding year in 1979–80 under the Janata Party government had led to the strongest recession (−5.2%) in the history of modern India with inflation rampant at 18.2%.[50][67][69] Gandhi proceeded to abrogate the Janata Party government's Five Year Plan in 1980 and launched the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980–85). The government targeted an average growth of 5.2% over the period of the plan.[49] Measures to check the inflation were also taken; by the early 1980s inflation was under control at an annual rate of about 5%.[69]Although Gandhi continued professing socialist beliefs, the Sixth Five Year Plan was markedly different from the years of Garibi Hatao. Populist programs and policies were replaced by pragmatism.[53] There was an emphasis on tightening public expenditures, greater efficiency of the State Owned Enterprises (SOE), which Gandhi qualified as a "sad thing", and in stimulating the private sector through deregulation and liberation of the capital market.[70] The government subsequently launched Operation Forward in 1982, the first cautious attempt at reform.[71] The Sixth Plan went on to become the most successful of the Five Year plans yet; showing an average growth of 5.7% over 1980–85.[49]
Inflation and unemployment
Gandhi inherited a tattered economy in her second term; harvest failures and a second oil shock in the late 1970s had again caused inflation to rise.[68] During Charan Singh's last year in office (1980), inflation averaged 18.2%, compared to 6.5% during Gandhi's last year in office (1984).[69][72] General economic recovery under Gandhi led to an average inflation at 6.5% from 1981–82 to 1985–86; the lowest since the beginning of India's inflation problems in the 1960s.[73]
Unemployment stayed constant at 9% over a nine-year period (1971–80) before declining to 8.3% in 1983.[53][74]
Domestic policy
Nationalisation
Despite the provisions, control and regulations of Reserve Bank of India, most banks in India had continued to be owned and operated by private persons.[75] Businessmen who owned the banks were often accused of channeling the deposits into their own companies, and ignoring the priority sector. Furthermore, there was a great resentment against class banking in India, which had left the poor (the majority population) unbanked.[76] After becoming Prime Minister, Gandhi expressed the intention of nationalising the banks in a paper titled, "Stray thoughts on Bank Nationalisation" in order to alleviate poverty.[77] The paper received the overwhelming support of the public.[77] In 1969, Gandhi moved to nationalise fourteen major commercial banks. After the nationalisation of banks, the branches of the public sector banks in India rose to approximate 800 percent in deposits, and advances took a huge jump by 11,000 percent.[78] Nationalisation also resulted in a significant growth in the geographical coverage of banks; 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.[79] Jayaprakash Narayan, who became famous for leading the opposition to Gandhi in the 1970s, was solid in his praise for her bank nationalisations.[76]Having been re-elected in 1971 on a nationalisation platform, Gandhi proceeded to nationalise the coal, steel, copper, refining, cotton textiles, and insurance industries.[50] Most of these nationalisations were made to protect employment and the interest of the organised labour.[50] The remaining private sector industries were placed under strict regulatory control.[50]
During the 1971 war against Pakistan, foreign owned private oil companies had refused to supply fuel to the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. In response, Gandhi nationalised oil companies in 1973. After nationalisation the oil majors such as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) had to keep a minimum stock level of oil, to be supplied to the military when needed.[80]
Administration
Victory over Pakistan in 1971 consolidated Indian power in Kashmir. Gandhi indicated that she would make no major concessions on Kashmir. The most prominent of the Kashmiri separatists, Sheikh Abdullah, had to recognize India's control over Kashmir in light of the new order in South Asia. The situation was normalized in the years following the war after Abdullah agreed to an accord with Gandhi, by giving up the demand for a plebiscite in return for a special autonomous status for Kashmir. In 1975, Gandhi declared the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a constituent unit of India. The Kashmir conflict remained largely peaceful if frozen under Gandhi's premiership.[83]
In 1972, Gandhi granted statehood to Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura, while the North-East Frontier Agency was declared a union territory and renamed Arunachal Pradesh. The transition to statehood for these territories was successfully overseen by her administration.[84] This was followed by the annexation of Sikkim in 1975.[26]
Social reform
The principle of equal pay for equal work for both men and women was enshrined in the Indian Constitution under the Gandhi administration.[85]Gandhi questioned the continued existence of a privy purse for Indian monarchs. She argued the case for abolition based on equal rights for all citizens and the need to reduce the government's revenue deficit. The nobility responded by rallying around the Jana Sangh and other right-wing parties that stood in opposition to Gandhi's attempts to abolish royal privileges.[54] The motion to abolish privy purses, and the official recognition of the titles, was originally brought before the Parliament in 1970. It was passed in the Lok Sabha but felt short of the two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha by a single vote.[86] Gandhi responded by having a Presidential proclamation issued; de-recognizing the princes; with this withdrawal of recognition, their claims to privy purses were also legally lost.[86] However, the proclamation was struck down by the Supreme Court of India.[86] In 1971, Gandhi again motioned to abolish the privy purse. This time, it was successfully passed as the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.[54] Many royals tried to protest the abolition of the privy purse, primarily through campaigns to contest seats in elections. They, however, received a final setback when many of them were defeated by huge margins.
Gandhi claimed that only "clear vision, iron will and the strictest discipline" can remove poverty.[54] She justified the imposition of the state of emergency in 1975 in the name of the socialist mission of the Congress.[54] Armed with the power to rule by decree and without constitutional constraints, Gandhi embarked on a massive redistribution program.[54] The provisions included rapid enforcement of land ceilings, housing for landless labourers, the abolition of bonded labour and a moratorium on the debts of the poor.[54] North India was at the centre of the reforms; millions of acres of land were acquired and redistributed.[54] The government was also successful in procuring houses for landless labourers; according to Frankel, three-fourths of the targeted four million houses was achieved in 1975 alone.[54] Nevertheless, others have disputed the success of the program and criticized Gandhi for not doing enough to reform land ownership. The political economist, Jyotindra Das Gupta, cryptically questioned "...whether or not the real supporters of land-holders were in jail or in power?"[54] Critics also accused Gandhi of choosing to "talk left and act right", referring to her concurrent pro-business decisions and endeavours.[54] Rosser wrote that "some have even seen the declaration of emergency rule in 1975 as a move to suppress dissent against Gandhi's policy shift to the right."[50] Regardless of the controversy over the nature of the reforms, the long term effects of the social changes gave rise to prominence of middle-ranking farmers from intermediate and lower castes in North India.[54] The rise of these newly empowered social classes challenged the political establishment of the Hindi Belt in the years to come.[54]
Language policy
Under the Indian Constitution of 1950, Hindi was to have become the official national language by 1965. This was not acceptable to many non-Hindi speaking states, who wanted the continued use of English in government. In 1967, Gandhi made a constitutional amendment that guaranteed the de facto use of both Hindi and English as official languages. This established the official government policy of bilingualism in India and satisfied the non-Hindi speaking Indian states.[58] Gandhi thus put herself forward as a leader with a pan-Indian vision.[87] Nevertheless, critics alleged that her stance was actually meant to weaken the position of rival Congress leaders from the northern states such as Uttar Pradesh, where there had been strong, sometimes violent, pro-Hindi agitations.[58] Gandhi came out of the language conflicts with the strong support of the south Indian populace.[87]National security
In the late 1960s and 1970s, Gandhi had the Indian army crush militant Communist uprisings in the Indian state of West Bengal. The communist insurgency in India was completely suppressed during the state of emergency.[88][89][90][91]Gandhi considered the north-eastern regions important, because of its strategic situation.[92] In 1966, the Mizo uprising took place against the government of India and overran almost the whole of the Mizoram region. Gandhi ordered the Indian army to launch massive retaliatory strikes in response. The rebellion was suppressed with the Indian Air Force even carrying out airstrikes in Aizawl; this remains the only instance of India carrying out an airstrike in its own civilian territory.[84][93] The defeat of Pakistan in 1971 and the secession of East Pakistan as pro-India Bangladesh led to the collapse of the Mizo separatist movement. In 1972, after the less extremist Mizo leaders came to the negotiating table, Gandhi upgraded Mizoram to the status of a union territory. A small-scale insurgency by some militants continued into the late 1970s but was successfully dealt with by the government.[84] The Mizo conflict was definitively resolved during the administration of Indira's son Rajiv Gandhi. Today, Mizoram is considered as one of the most peaceful states in the north-east.[94]
Responding to the insurgency in Nagaland, Gandhi "unleashed a powerful military offensive" in the 1970s.[95] Finally, a massive crackdown on the insurgents took place during the state of emergency ordered by Gandhi. The insurgents soon agreed to surrender and signed the Shillong Accord in 1975.[96] While the agreement was considered a victory for the Indian government and ended large-scale conflicts,[97] there has since been spurts of violence by rebel holdouts and ethnic conflict amongst the tribes.[97]
Nuclear Program of India
Main articles: Indian nuclear programme and Smiling Buddha
Gandhi contributed and further carried out the vision of Jawarharalal Nehru,
former Premier of India to develop the program. Gandhi authorised the
development of nuclear weapons in 1967, in response to the Test No. 6
by People's Republic of China. Gandhi saw this test as Chinese nuclear
intimidation, therefore, Gandhi promoted the views of Nehru to establish
India's stability and security interests as independent from those of
the nuclear superpowers.The program became fully mature in 1974, when Dr. Raja Ramanna reported to Gandhi that India had the ability to test its first nuclear weapon. Gandhi gave verbal authorisation 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 Zulfi Ali Bhutto described this test as "Indian hegemony" to intimidate Pakistan. Gandhi directed a letter to Bhutto and, later to the world, describing the test for peaceful purposes and India's commitment to develop its programme for industrial and scientific use.
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 Gandhi's 1971 bid. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were designed to give 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 state and 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 programs created through Garibi Hatao, though carried out locally, were funded, developed, supervised, and staffed by New Delhi and the Indian National Congress party. "These programs also provided the central political leadership with new and vast patronage resources to be disbursed... throughout the country."[98]
Verdict on electoral malpractice
On 12 June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha void on grounds of electoral malpractice. In an election petition filed by 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.[citation needed] 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 Higher house of the Parliament). Thus, this decision effectively removed her from office. Mrs Gandhi had asked one of her colleagues in government, Mr Ashoke Kumar Sen to defend her in court.But Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court. The verdict was delivered by Mr Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha at Allahabad High Court. It came almost four years after the case was brought by Raj Narain, the premier's defeated opponent in the 1971 parliamentary election. 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.[99] The judge rejected more serious charges of bribery against her.
State of Emergency (1975–1977)
Main article: Indian Emergency (1975-1977)
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, Ahmed 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.[100] Police were granted powers to impose curfews and indefinitely detain citizens and all publications were subjected to substantial censorship by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Finally, impending legislative assembly elections were indefinitely postponed, with all opposition-controlled state governments being removed by virtue of the constitutional provision allowing for a dismissal of a state government on recommendation of the state's governor.Indira Gandhi used the emergency provisions to change conflicting party members.
"Unlike her father Jawaharlal Nehru, who preferred to deal with strong chief ministers in control of their legislative parties and state party organizations, Mrs. Gandhi set out to remove every Congress chief minister who had an independent base and to replace each of them with ministers personally loyal to her...Even so, stability could not be maintained in the states..."[101]President Ahmed issued ordinances that did not require debate in the Parliament, allowing Gandhi to rule by decree.
Elections
In 1977, after extending the state of emergency twice, Indira Gandhi called elections, to give the electorate a chance to vindicate her rule. Gandhi may have grossly misjudged her popularity[citation needed] 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, Desai and with Jai Prakash Narayan as its spiritual guide, claimed the elections were the last chance for India to choose between "democracy and dictatorship." Gandhi's Congress party was crushed soundly in the elections which followed. Indira and 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
A coalition of opposition, under the leadership of Morarji Desai, came into power after the State of Emergency was lifted. The coalition parties later merged to form the Janata Party under the guidance of Gandhian leader, Jayaprakash Narayan. The other leaders of the Janata Party Charan Singh, Raj Narain, George Fernandes and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Janata government's Home Minister, Choudhary Charan Singh, ordered the arrest of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi on several charges, none of which would be easy to prove in an Indian court. The arrest meant that Indira Gandhi was automatically expelled from Parliament. These allegations included that she “‘had planned or thought of killing all opposition leaders in jail during the Emergency’”.[102] However, this strategy backfired disastrously. Her arrest and long-running trial, however, gained her great sympathy from many people. The Janata coalition was only united by its hatred of Gandhi (or "that woman" as some called her). With so little in common, the Morarji Desai government was bogged down by infighting. Desai resigned in June 1979 after Charan Singh and Raj Narain formed their own breakaway party. Charan Singh was appointed Prime Minister, by President Reddy, after Gandhi promised Singh that Congress would support his government from outside. After a short interval, Congress withdrew support and President Reddy dissolved Parliament in the winter of 1979.
Before the 1980 elections Gandhi approached the then Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Abdullah Bukhari and entered into an agreement with him on the basis of 10-point programme to secure the support of the Muslim votes.[103] In the elections held in January, Congress was returned to power with a landslide majority.
In 1979, when she visited Madurai, some hooligans attacked her. Nedumaran saved her from the attacks.[104][105]
Operation Blue Star
Main article: Operation Blue Star
In the 1977 elections, a coalition led by the Sikh-majority Akali Dal
came to power in the northern Indian state of Punjab. In an effort to
split the Akali Dal and gain popular support among the Sikhs, Indira
Gandhi's Congress helped bring the orthodox religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to prominence in the Punjab politics.[106][107] Later, Bhindranwale's organisation Damdami Taksal became embroiled in violence with another religious sect called the Sant Nirankari Mission, and he was accused of instigating the murder of the Congress leader Jagat Narain.[108] After being arrested in this matter, Bhindranwale disassociated himself from Congress and joined hands with the Akali Dal.[109] In July 1982, he led the campaign for the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution,
which demanded greater autonomy for the Sikh-majority state. Meanwhile,
a small section of the Sikhs including some of Bhindranwale's
followers, turned to militancy in support of the Khalistan movement, which aimed to create a separate sovereign state for the Sikhs.[110] In 1983, Bhindranwale and his militant followers headquartered themselves in the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, and started accumulating weapons.[110]
After several futile negotiations, Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian
army to enter the Golden temple in order to subdue Bhindranwale and his
followers. In the resulting Operation Blue Star,
the shrine was damaged and many civilians were killed. The State of
Punjab was closed to international media, its phone and communication
lines shut. To this day the events remain controversial with a disputed
number of victims; Sikhs seeing the attack as unjustified and
Bhindrawale being declared the greatest Sikh martyr of the 21st century
by Akal Takht (Sikh Political Authority) in 2003.Assassination
Main articles: Assassination of Indira Gandhi and 1984 anti-Sikh riots
The day before her death Indira Gandhi visited Orissa on 30 October 1984 where she gave her last speech:| “ | "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."[111] | ” |
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 post-mortem 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 Indira Gandhi, from two sources, a Sten gun[112][113] 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 extracted 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 (PW-5), and his testimony lasted several sessions. The cross examination was conducted by Shri P. N. Lekhi, the defence counsel.[114]
Gandhi was cremated on 3 November near Raj Ghat. The site where she was cremated is today known as Shakti Sthala. 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.[115] Rajiv Gandhi on a live TV show said of the carnage, "When a big tree falls, the earth shakes."
Family and personal life
Gandhi's yoga guru, Dhirendra Brahmachari, helped her in making certain decisions and also executed certain top level political tasks on her behalf, especially from 1975 to 1977 when Gandhi "dissolved Parliament, declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties."[116][117]
Legacy
Indira Gandhi is associated with fostering a culture of nepotism in Indian politics and in India's institutions.[118]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. Indian National Congress established the annual Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1985, given in her memory on her death anniversary. The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust also constituted the annual Indira Gandhi Prize.
See also
References
Notes
Footnotes
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- ^ Frank 2010, p. 13.
- ^ Gupte 2012, p. 3.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 31.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 16.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 25.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 32.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 55.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 29.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 75.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 83.
- ^ Frank 2010, p. 90.
- ^ Gupte 2012, p. 170.
- ^ Gupte 2012, p. 181.
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- ^ Somervill 2007, p. 36.
- ^ Gupte 2012, p. 184.
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- ^ Racioppi, Linda (1994). Soviet Policy towards South Asia since 1970. Cambridge University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0521414579.
- ^ This woman suckered us, said Nixon of Indira Gandhi
- ^ Kapur, Harish (2009). Foreign Policies Of India's Prime Ministers. Lancer Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 978-0979617485.
- ^ a b Malik 1988, p. 120-121.
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- ^ Indira – terror personified or goddess?
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Malik 1988, p. 60-72.
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- ^ The Indian Libertarian, Volume 15–17. 1969. University of Virginia.
- ^ Sunanda K. Datta-Ray; Indira Gandhi: Enigma, Mother-Goddess and Terror Incernate. November 3, 1994. The Straits Times (Singapore).
- ^ a b The original aam aadmi leader
- ^ a b c d e f Steinberg, Blema (2008). Women in Power: The Personalities and Leadership Styles of Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, and Margaret Thatcher. McGill-Queen's Press. pp. 79–95. ISBN 9780-773533561.
- ^ Chandra, Bipan; Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee (2008). India Since Independence. Penguin Books India. p. 335. ISBN 978-0143104094.
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- ^ a b Oliver, Robert W. (1995). George Woods and the World Bank. p. 144. ISBN 978-1555875039.
- ^ a b Kirk, Jason A. (2011). India and the World Bank: The Politics of Aid and Influence. Anthem Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0857284129.
- ^ Kux, Dennis (1992). India and the United States: Estranged Democracies, 1941-1991. DIANE Publishing. p. 311. ISBN 978-0788102790.
- ^ Gupta, K. L.; Harvinder Kaur (2004). New Indian Economy and Reforms. Deep and Deep Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-8176295598.
- ^ Chadda, Maya (2000). Building Democracy in South Asia. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 150. ISBN 978-1555878597.
- ^ a b Kelly, D. David A.; Ramkishen S. Raj, Gillian H. L. Goh (2010). Managing Globalisation: Lessons from China And India. World Scientific. p. 62. ISBN 9789812564948.
- ^ a b c Harley, Keith; Todd Sandler (1990). The Economics of Defence Spending: An International Survey. Routledge. p. 192. ISBN 978-0415001618.
- ^ a b c Lal, Deepak (2004). The Hindu Equilibrium: India c.1500 B.C. – 2000 A.D. Oxford University Press. p. 314. ISBN 978-0199275793.
- ^ Waterbury, John (1993). Exposed to Innumerable Delusions: Public Enterprise and State Power in Egypt, India, Mexico, and Turkey. Cambridge University Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0521434973.
- ^ Sunanda K Datta Ray: Rendezvous with Ronniel
- ^ a b c d Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy; Basic Statistics Relating to the Indian Economy. Economic Intelligence Service. August 1993.
- ^ a b Kapila, Uma (2009). Indian Economy Since Independence. Academic Foundation. p. 838. ISBN 978-8171887088.
- ^ Chandhoke, Neera; Praveen Priyadarshi (2009). Contemporary India: Economy, Society, Politics. Pearson. p. 60. ISBN 978-8131719299.
- ^ Gomez, Clifford (2008). Financial Markets Institutions And Financial Services. PHI. p. 283. ISBN 978-8120335370.
- ^ a b Off the record
- ^ a b Muralidharan (2009). Modern Banking: Theory And Practice. PHI. p. 364. ISBN 978-8120336551.
- ^ Muralidharan (2009). Modern Banking: Theory And Practice. PHI. p. 4. ISBN 978-8120336551.
- ^ Singh, Kavaljit (2005). Questioning Globalization. Zed Books. p. 45. ISBN 978-1842772799.
- ^ Luthra, Ved (2005). Poverty And Economic Reforms. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. p. 293. ISBN 978-8178901367.
- ^ a b Gupte 2012, p. 302.
- ^ Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 315. ISBN 978-1615302017.
- ^ Kumar Ray, Jayanta (2007). Aspects of India's International Relations, 1700 to 2000: South Asia and the World. Pearson. p. 493. ISBN 978-8131708347.
- ^ a b c Chandra, Bipan; Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee (2008). India Since Independence. Penguin Books India. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0143104094.
- ^ Sarkar, Sumit; Tanika Sarkar (2008). Women and Social Reform in Modern India: A Reader. Indiana University Press. p. 490. ISBN 978-0253352699.
- ^ a b c Jayakar 1997, p. 214.
- ^ a b Chandra, Bipan; Aditya Mukherjee, Mridula Mukherjee (2008). India Since Independence. Penguin Books India. p. 122. ISBN 978-0143104094.
- ^ Hamlet and the Naxals
- ^ Naxalites: who are they and what are their demands?
- ^ History of Naxalism
- ^ Indira Gandhi used Army to break Naxals: Retired General
- ^ Gandhi, Indira (1985). Selected Thoughts of Indira Gandhi: A Book of Quotes. Mittal Publications. p. 224.
- ^ "Don't bomb the Naxals!: IAF last strafed Indian territory in 1966". Rediff.com. 5 August 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
- ^ Stepan, Alfred; Juan J. Linz, Yogendra Yadav (2011). Crafting State-Nations: India and Other Multinational Democracies. JHU Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0801897238.
- ^ Das, Samir (2005). Peace Processes and Peace Accords. Sage. p. 207. ISBN 978-0761933915.
- ^ "Nagaland Accord – The Shillong Agreement of November 11, 1975". satp.org/. Retrieved 27 December 2012. "representatives of the underground organisations met the Governor of Nagaland, Shri L.P. Singh representing the Government of India, at Shillong on 10th and 11th November, 1975."
- ^ a b "Dawn of Peace in Nagaland – SHILLONG ACCORD". nagaland.nic.in. Retrieved April 27, 2012. "the historic "Shillong" signed at Shillong on November 11, 1975, by the Governor of Nagaland Mr. L.P Singh representing the Government of India and the underground leadership represented by Mr. Assa and Mr. Kevi Yalley"
- ^ Rath, Nilakantha (1985). "'Garibi Hatao': Can IRDP Do It?". Economic and Political Weekly 20 (6): 238–246. JSTOR 4374060.
- ^ "1975: Gandhi found guilty of corruption". BBC News. 12 June 1975.
- ^ Kochanek, Stanely, Mrs. Gandhi's Pyramid: The New Congress, (Westview Press, Boulder, CO 1976) p. 98
- ^ Brass, Paul R., The Politics of India Since Independence, (Cambridge University Press, England 1995) p. 40
- ^ Malhotra, Inder. Indira Gandhi. New York: Coronet Books, 1991.
- ^ S. K. Agnihotri; B. Datta Ray (2002). Perspective Of Security And Development In North East India. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-81-8069-165-2. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- ^ "A voice for Nedumaran". Tehelka (India). 14 May 2005.
- ^ "Veerappan has promised to give up violence". The Hindu (Bangalore, India). 19 November 2000.
- ^ Gus Martin (15 June 2011). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition. SAGE. pp. 543–545. ISBN 978-1-4129-8016-6. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ C. Christine Fair; Sumit Ganguly (29 September 2008). Treading on Hallowed Ground: Counterinsurgency Operations in Sacred Spaces. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-19-534204-8. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ William Gould (30 November 2011). Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-521-87949-1. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ Harnik Deol (2 October 2012). Religion and Nationalism in India: The Case of the Punjab. Psychology Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-415-20108-7. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ a b Martin E. Marty; R. Scott Appleby (1 May 2004). Fundamentalisms Comprehended. University of Chicago Press. p. 454. ISBN 978-0-226-50888-7. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
- ^ "Last speech of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi prior to her assassination". India Study Channel. 21 Jun 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- ^ Indira Gandhi: Death in the Garden – TIME
- ^ Fighting for Faith and Nation: Dialogues With Sikh Militants – Cynthia Keppley Mahmood – Google Books
- ^ Dr. T D Dogra's Expert Evidence in trial of assassination of Late Mrs Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (Witness No. PW 5) Raina Anupuma, Lalwani Sanjeev, Dogra TD, Dept. of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, AIIMS, N. Delhi. Indian Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Year : 2009, Volume : 7, Issue : 4
- ^ "Indira Gandhi's death remembered". BBC News. 1 November 2009.
- ^ Dhirendra Brahmachari, Yoga Master, 7, The New York Times, 10 June 1994
- ^ Mrs G's String of Beaus, Outlook India, 26 March 2001
- ^ Adina Campu (2009). "History as a marker of otherness in Rohinton Mistry's "A fine balance"". Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov. Series IV: Philology and Cultural Studies 2 (51): 47.
Bibliography
- Barbara Somervill (2007). Indira Gandhi: Political Leader in India. Capstone Publishers. ISBN 978-0756518851.
- Katherine Frank (2010). Indira: the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0007372508.
- Meena Agrawal (2005). Indira Gandhi. Diamond Pocket Books. ISBN 81-288-0901-6.
- Pranay Gupte (2012). Mother India: A Political Biography of Indira Gandhi. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0143068266.
- Pupul Jayakar (1997). Indira Gandhi: A Biography. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140114621.
- Yogendra Kumar Malik (1988). India: The Years of Indira Gandhi. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9004086814.
Further reading
- Ved Mehta, A Family Affair: India Under Three Prime Ministers (1982) ISBN 0-19-503118-0
- Pupul Jayakar, Indira Gandhi: An Intimate Biography (1992) ISBN 978-0-679-42479-6
- Katherine Frank, Indira: the life of Indira Nehru Gandhi (2002) ISBN 0-395-73097-X
- Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy (2007) ISBN 978-0-06-019881-7
- Inder Malhotra, Indira Gandhi: A personal and political biography (1991) ISBN 0-340-53548-2
- Indira Gandhi – Iron Lady of India by Dr Sulakshi Thelikorala
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Indira Gandhi
She was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. She attended Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal, and the University of Oxford, and in 1942 she married Feroze Gandhi (died 1960), a fellow member of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party). She was a member of the working committee of the ruling Congress Party from 1955, and in 1959 she was elected to the largely honorary post of party president. Lal Bahadur Shastri, who succeeded Nehru as prime minister in 1964, named her minister of information and broadcasting in his government.
On Shastri’s sudden death in January 1966, Gandhi became leader of the Congress Party—and thus also prime minister—in a compromise between the right and left wings of the party. Her leadership, however, came under continual challenge from the right wing of the party, led by a former minister of finance, Morarji Desai. In the election of 1967 she won a slim majority and had to accept Desai as deputy prime minister. In 1971, however, she won a sweeping electoral victory over a coalition of conservative parties. Gandhi strongly supported East Bengal (now Bangladesh) in its secessionist conflict with Pakistan in late 1971, and India’s armed forces achieved a swift and decisive victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
In March 1972, buoyed by the country’s success against Pakistan, Gandhi again led her new Congress Party to a landslide victory in national elections. Shortly afterward her defeated Socialist Party opponent charged that she had violated the election laws. In June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad ruled against her, which meant that she would be deprived of her seat in Parliament and would have to stay out of politics for six years. In response, she declared a state of emergency throughout India, imprisoned her political opponents, and assumed emergency powers, passing many laws limiting personal freedoms. During this period she implemented several unpopular policies, including large-scale sterilization as a form of birth control. When long-postponed national elections were held in 1977, Gandhi and her party were soundly defeated, whereupon she left office. The Janata Party took over the reins of government.
Early in 1978 Gandhi’s supporters split from the Congress Party and formed the Congress (I) Party—the “I” signifying Indira. She was briefly imprisoned (October 1977 and December 1978) on charges of official corruption. Despite these setbacks, she won a new seat in Parliament in November 1978, and her Congress (I) Party began to gather strength. Dissension within the ruling Janata Party led to the fall of its government in August 1979. When new elections for the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) were held in January 1980, Gandhi and her Congress (I) Party were swept back into power in a landslide victory. Her son Sanjay Gandhi, who had become her chief political adviser, also won a seat in the Lok Sabha. All legal cases against Indira, as well as against her son, were withdrawn.
Sanjay Gandhi’s death in an airplane crash in June 1980 eliminated Indira’s chosen successor from the political leadership of India. After Sanjay’s death, Indira groomed her other son, Rajiv, for the leadership of her party. Gandhi adhered to the quasi-socialist policies of industrial development that had been begun by her father. She established closer relations with the Soviet Union, depending on that nation for support in India’s long-standing conflict with Pakistan.
During the early 1980s Indira Gandhi was faced with threats to the political integrity of India. Several states sought a larger measure of independence from the central government, and Sikh separatists in Punjab state used violence to assert their demands for an autonomous state. In response, Gandhi ordered an army attack in June 1984 on the Harimandir (Golden Temple) at Amritsar, the Sikhs’ holiest shrine, which led to the deaths of more than 450 Sikhs. Five months later Gandhi was killed in her garden by a fusillade of bullets fired by two of her own Sikh bodyguards in revenge for the attack on the Golden Temple.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225198/Indira-Gandhi
Aung San Suu Kyi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Daw Aung San Suu Kyi MP AC အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည် |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Chairperson and General Secretary of the National League for Democracy |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 27 September 1988 |
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| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2 May 2012 |
|
| President | Thein Sein |
| Preceded by | Tun Yi |
| Member of the Pyithu Hluttaw for Kawhmu |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2 May 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Soe Tint |
| Majority | 46,730 (71.38%)[1] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 June 1945 Rangoon, British Burma (now Yangon) |
| Political party | National League for Democracy |
| Spouse(s) | Michael Aris (m. 1971–w. 1999) |
| Relations | Aung San (father) Khin Kyi (mother) |
| Children | Alexander Kim |
| Alma mater | University of Delhi St Hugh's College, Oxford SOAS, University of London |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
| Awards | Rafto Prize Nobel Peace Prize Jawaharlal Nehru Award International Simón Bolívar Prize Olof Palme Prize Bhagwan Mahavir World Peace Congressional Gold Medal |
Suu Kyi received the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 1992 she was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding by the government of India and the International Simón Bolívar Prize from the government of Venezuela. In 2007, the Government of Canada made her an honorary citizen of that country,[12] the fourth person ever to receive the honour.[13] In 2011, she was awarded the Wallenberg Medal.[14] On 19 September 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was also presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the United States.[15]
On 1 April 2012, her party, the National League for Democracy, announced that she was elected to the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of the Burmese parliament, representing the constituency of Kawhmu;[16] her party also won 43 of the 45 vacant seats in the lower house.[17] The election results were confirmed by the official electoral commission the following day.[18]
On 6 June 2013, Suu Kyi announced on the World Economic Forum’s website that she wants to run for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections.[19]
Contents
Name
Personal life
| Part of a series on the |
| Democracy movements in Burma |
|---|
The fighting peacock flag
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| Background |
| Post-independence Burma |
| Internal conflict in Burma |
| Burmese Way to Socialism |
| State Peace and Development Council |
| Mass protests |
| 8888 Uprising · Protests of 2007 |
| Concessions and reforms |
| Roadmap to democracy New constitution Reforms of 2011 |
| Elections |
| 1990 · 2010 · 2012 |
| Organizations |
| National League for Democracy · 88 Generation Students Group · Burma Campaign UK · Free Burma Coalition · U.S. Campaign for Burma · Generation Wave · All Burma Students' Democratic Front · The Irrawaddy · Democratic Voice of Burma · Mizzima News |
| Figures |
| U Nu · Aung Gyi · Tin Oo · Aung San Suu Kyi · Min Ko Naing · Thein Sein |
| Related topics |
| Human rights in Burma · Politics of Burma · Foreign relations of Burma |
In 1988 Suu Kyi returned to Burma, at first to tend for her ailing mother but later to lead the pro-democracy movement. Aris' visit in Christmas 1995 turned out to be the last time that he and Suu Kyi met, as Suu Kyi remained in Burma and the Burmese dictatorship denied him any further entry visas.[25] Aris was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997 which was later found to be terminal. Despite appeals from prominent figures and organisations, including the United States, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul II, the Burmese government would not grant Aris a visa, saying that they did not have the facilities to care for him, and instead urged Aung San Suu Kyi to leave the country to visit him. She was at that time temporarily free from house arrest but was unwilling to depart, fearing that she would be refused re-entry if she left, as she did not trust the military junta's assurance that she could return.[33]
Aris died on his 53rd birthday on 27 March 1999. Since 1989, when his wife was first placed under house arrest, he had seen her only five times, the last of which was for Christmas in 1995. She was also separated from her children, who live in the United Kingdom, but starting in 2011, they have visited her in Burma.[34]
On 2 May 2008, after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, Suu Kyi lost the roof of her house and lived in virtual darkness after losing electricity in her dilapidated lakeside residence. She used candles at night as she was not provided any generator set.[35] Plans to renovate and repair the house were announced in August 2009.[36] Suu Kyi was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010.[37]
Political beginnings
Coincident with Aung San Suu Kyi's return to Burma in 1988, the long-time military leader of Burma and head of the ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down. Mass demonstrations for democracy followed that event on 8 August 1988 (8–8–88, a day seen as auspicious), which were violently suppressed in what came to be known as the 8888 Uprising. On 26 August 1988, she addressed half a million people at a mass rally in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital, calling for a democratic government.[25] However in September, a new military junta took power.Influenced[38] by both Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence[39][40] and more specifically by Buddhist concepts,[41] Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratisation, helped found the National League for Democracy on 27 September 1988,[42] but was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. Offered freedom if she left the country, she refused.
One of her most famous speeches was Freedom From Fear, which began: "It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."[43]
She also believes fear spurs many world leaders to lose sight of their purpose. "Government leaders are amazing", she once said. "So often it seems they are the last to know what the people want."[44]
Political career
1990 general election
In 1990, the military junta called a general election, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) received 59% of the votes, guaranteeing NLD 80% of the parliament seats. Some claim that Aung San Suu Kyi would have assumed the office of Prime Minister;[45] in fact, however, as she was not permitted, she did not stand as a candidate in the elections (although being a MP is not a strict prerequisite for becoming PM in most parliamentary systems). Instead, the results were nullified and the military refused to hand over power, resulting in an international outcry. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest at her home on University Avenue (16°49′32″N 96°9′1″E) in Rangoon, during which time she was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 1990, and the Nobel Peace Prize the year after. Her sons Alexander and Kim accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf. Aung San Suu Kyi used the Nobel Peace Prize's 1.3 million USD prize money to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people.[46] Around this time, Suu Kyi chose non-violence as an expedient political tactic, stating in 2007, "I do not hold to non-violence for moral reasons, but for political and practical reasons,"[47] however, nonviolent action as well as civil resistance in lieu of armed conflict are also political tactics in keeping with the overall philosophy of her Theravada Buddhist religion.1996 attack
On 9 November 1996, the motorcade that she was traveling in with other National League for Democracy leaders Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung, was attacked in Yangon. About 200 men swooped down on the motorcade, wielding metal chains, metal batons, stones and other weapons. The car that Aung San Suu Kyi was in had its rear window smashed, and the car with Tin Oo and U Kyi Maung had its rear window and two backdoor windows shattered. It is believed the offenders were members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) who were allegedly paid 500 kyats (@ USD $0.50) each to participate. The NLD lodged an official complaint with the police, and according to reports the government launched an investigation, but no action was taken. (Amnesty International 120297)[48]House arrest
Aung San Suu Kyi has been placed under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years, on numerous occasions, since she began her political career,[49] during which time she was prevented from meeting her party supporters and international visitors. In an interview, Suu Kyi said that while under house arrest she spent her time reading philosophy, politics and biographies that her husband had sent her.[50] She also passed the time playing the piano, and was occasionally allowed visits from foreign diplomats as well as from her personal physician.[51]The media were also prevented from visiting Suu Kyi, as occurred in 1998 when journalist Maurizio Giuliano, after photographing her, was stopped by customs officials who then confiscated all his films, tapes and some notes.[52] In contrast, Suu Kyi did have visits from government representatives, such as during her autumn 1994 house arrest when she met the leader of Burma, General Than Shwe and General Khin Nyunt on 20 September in the first meeting since she had been placed in detention.[25] On several occasions during Suu Kyi's house arrest, she had periods of poor health and as a result was hospitalized.[53]
The Burmese government detained and kept Suu Kyi imprisoned because it viewed her as someone "likely to undermine the community peace and stability" of the country, and used both Article 10(a) and 10(b) of the 1975 State Protection Act (granting the government the power to imprison people for up to five years without a trial),[54] and Section 22 of the "Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts" as legal tools against her.[55] She continuously appealed her detention,[56] and many nations and figures continued to call for her release and that of 2,100 other political prisoners in the country.[57][58] On 12 November 2010, days after the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won elections conducted after a gap of 20 years, the junta finally agreed to sign orders allowing Suu Kyi's release,[59] and Suu Kyi's house arrest term came to an end on 13 November 2010.
United Nations involvement
The United Nations (UN) has attempted to facilitate dialogue between the junta and Suu Kyi.[25] On 6 May 2002, following secret confidence-building negotiations led by the UN, the government released her; a government spokesman said that she was free to move "because we are confident that we can trust each other". Aung San Suu Kyi proclaimed "a new dawn for the country". However on 30 May 2003 in an incident similar to the 1996 attack on her, a government-sponsored mob attacked her caravan in the northern village of Depayin, murdering and wounding many of her supporters.[60] Aung San Suu Kyi fled the scene with the help of her driver, Ko Kyaw Soe Lin, but was arrested upon reaching Ye-U. The government imprisoned her at Insein Prison in Rangoon. After she underwent a hysterectomy in September 2003,[61] the government again placed her under house arrest in Rangoon.The results from the UN facilitation have been mixed; Razali Ismail, UN special envoy to Burma, met with Aung San Suu Kyi. Ismail resigned from his post the following year, partly because he was denied re-entry to Burma on several occasions.[62] Several years later in 2006, Ibrahim Gambari, UN Undersecretary-General (USG) of Department of Political Affairs, met with Aung San Suu Kyi, the first visit by a foreign official since 2004.[63] He also met with Suu Kyi later the same year.[64] On 2 October 2007 Gambari returned to talk to her again after seeing Than Shwe and other members of the senior leadership in Naypyidaw.[65] State television broadcast Suu Kyi with Gambari, stating that they had met twice. This was Suu Kyi's first appearance in state media in the four years since her current detention began.[66]
The United Nations Working Group for Arbitrary Detention published an Opinion that Aung San Suu Kyi's deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and in contravention of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, and requested that the authorities in Burma set her free, but the authorities ignored the request at that time.[67] The U.N. report said that according to the Burmese Government’s reply, "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not been arrested, but has only been taken into protective custody, for her own safety", and while "it could have instituted legal action against her under the country’s domestic legislation ... it has preferred to adopt a magnanimous attitude, and is providing her with protection in her own interests."[67]
Such claims were rejected by Brig-General Khin Yi, Chief of Myanmar Police Force (MPF). On 18 January 2007, the state-run paper New Light of Myanmar accused Suu Kyi of tax evasion for spending her Nobel Prize money outside of the country. The accusation followed the defeat of a US-sponsored United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Burma as a threat to international security; the resolution was defeated because of strong opposition from China, which has strong ties with the military junta (China later voted against the resolution, along with Russia and South Africa).[68]
In November 2007, it was reported that Suu Kyi would meet her political allies National League for Democracy along with a government minister. The ruling junta made the official announcement on state TV and radio just hours after UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari ended his second visit to Burma. The NLD confirmed that it had received the invitation to hold talks with Suu Kyi.[69] However, the process delivered few concrete results.
On 3 July 2009, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon went to Burma to pressure the junta into releasing Suu Kyi and to institute democratic reform. However, on departing from Burma, Ban Ki-moon said he was "disappointed" with the visit after junta leader Than Shwe refused permission for him to visit Suu Kyi, citing her ongoing trial. Ban said he was "deeply disappointed that they have missed a very important opportunity."[70]
Periods under detention
- 20 July 1989: Placed under house arrest in Rangoon under martial law that allows for detention without charge or trial for three years.[25]
- 10 July 1995: Released from house arrest.[20]
- 23 September 2000: Placed under house arrest.[49]
- 6 May 2002: Released after 19 months.[49]
- 30 May 2003: Arrested following the Depayin massacre, she was held in secret detention for more than three months before being returned to house arrest.[71]
- 25 May 2007: House arrest extended by one year despite a direct appeal from U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to General Than Shwe.[72]
- 24 October 2007: Reached 12 years under house arrest, solidarity protests held at 12 cities around the world.[73]
- 27 May 2008: House arrest extended for another year, which is illegal under both international law and Burma's own law.[74]
- 11 August 2009: House arrest extended for 18 more months because of "violation" arising from the May 2009 trespass incident.
- 13 November 2010: Released from house arrest.[75]
2007 anti-government protests
Main article: 2007 Burmese anti-government protests
Protests led by Buddhist monks began on 19 August 2007 following
steep fuel price increases, and continued each day, despite the threat
of a crackdown by the military.[76]On 22 September 2007, although still under house arrest, Suu Kyi made a brief public appearance at the gate of her residence in Yangon to accept the blessings of Buddhist monks who were marching in support of human rights.[77] It was reported that she had been moved the following day to Insein Prison (where she had been detained in 2003),[78][79][80][81] but meetings with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari near her Rangoon home on 30 September and 2 October established that she remained under house arrest.[82][83]
2009 trespass incident
Main article: Suu Kyi trespasser incidents
Her arrest and subsequent trial received worldwide condemnation by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Security Council,[98] Western governments,[99] South Africa,[100] Japan[101] and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.[102] The Burmese government strongly condemned the statement, as it created an "unsound tradition"[103] and criticised Thailand for meddling in its internal affairs.[104] The Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted in the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar as saying that the incident "was trumped up to intensify international pressure on Burma by internal and external anti-government elements who do not wish to see the positive changes in those countries' policies toward Burma".[92] Ban responded to an international campaign[105] by flying to Burma to negotiate, but Than Shwe rejected all of his requests.[106]
On 11 August 2009 the trial concluded with Suu Kyi being sentenced to imprisonment for three years with hard labour. This sentence was commuted by the military rulers to further house arrest of 18 months.[107] On 14 August, U.S. Senator Jim Webb visited Burma, visiting with junta leader Gen. Than Shwe and later with Suu Kyi. During the visit, Webb negotiated Yettaw's release and deportation from Burma.[108] Following the verdict of the trial, lawyers of Suu Kyi said they would appeal against the 18-month sentence.[109] On 18 August, United States President Barack Obama asked the country's military leadership to set free all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.[110] In her appeal, Aung San Suu Kyi had argued that the conviction was unwarranted. However, her appeal against the August sentence was rejected by a Burmese court on 2 October 2009. Although the court accepted the argument that the 1974 constitution, under which she had been charged, was null and void, it also said the provisions of the 1975 security law, under which she has been kept under house arrest, remained in force. The verdict effectively meant that she would be unable to participate in the elections scheduled to take place in 2010 – the first in Burma in two decades. Her lawyer stated that her legal team would pursue a new appeal within 60 days.[111]
2009: International pressure for release and 2010 Burmese general election
It was announced prior to the Burmese general election that Aung San Suu Kyi may be released "so she can organize her party,"[112] However, Suu Kyi was not allowed to run.[113] On 1 October 2010 the government announced that she would be released on 13 November 2010.[114]Burma's relaxing stance, such as releasing political prisoners, was influenced in the wake of successful recent diplomatic visits by the US and other democratic governments, urging or encouraging the Burmese towards democratic reform. U.S. President Barack Obama personally advocated the release of all political prisoners, especially Aung San Suu Kyi, during the US-ASEAN Summit of 2009.[115]
Democratic governments[which?] hoped that successful general elections would be an optimistic indicator of the Burmese government's sincerity towards eventual democracy.[116] The Hatoyama government which spent 2.82 billion yen in 2008, has promised more Japanese foreign aid to encourage Burma to release Aung San Suu Kyi in time for the elections; and to continue moving towards democracy and the rule of law.[116][117]
In a personal letter to Suu Kyi, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown cautioned the Burmese government of the potential consequences of rigging elections as "condemning Burma to more years of diplomatic isolation and economic stagnation".[118]
The Burmese government has been granting Suu Kyi varying degrees of freedom throughout late 2009, in response to international pressure. She has met with many heads of state, and opened a dialog with the Minister of Labor Aung Kyi (not to be confused with Aung San Suu Kyi).[119]
Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with senior members of her NLD party at the State House,[120] however these meetings took place under close supervision.
2010 release
Her son Kim Aris was granted a visa in November 2010 to see his mother shortly after her release, for the first time in 10 years.[126] He visited again in 5 July 2011, to accompany her on a trip to Bagan, her first trip outside Yangon since 2003.[127] Her son visited again in 8 August 2011, to accompany her on a trip to Pegu, her second trip.[128]
Discussions were held between Suu Kyi and the Burmese government during 2011, which led to a number of official gestures to meet her demands. In October, around a tenth of Burma's political prisoners were freed in an amnesty and trade unions were legalised.[129][130]
In November 2011, following a meeting of its leaders, the NLD announced its intention to re-register as a political party in order to contend 48 by-elections necessitated by the promotion of parliamentarians to ministerial rank.[131] Following the decision, Suu Kyi held a telephone conference with U.S. President Barack Obama, in which it was agreed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would make a visit to Burma, a move received with caution by Burma's ally China.[132] On 1 December 2011, Suu Kyi met with Hillary Clinton at the residence of the top-ranking US diplomat in Yangon.[133]
On 21 December 2011, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met Suu Kyi in Yangoon, becoming Suu Kyi's "first-ever meeting with the leader of a foreign country".[134]
On 5 January 2012, British Foreign Minister William Hague met Aung San Suu Kyi and his Burmese counterpart. This represented a significant visit for Suu Kyi and Burma. Suu Kyi studied in the UK and maintains many ties there, whilst Britain is Burma's largest bilateral donor. Aung San Suu Kyi is on her visit to Europe and is due to visit the Swiss parliament and collect her 1991 Nobel Prize in Oslo.[135]
2012 by-elections
In December 2011, there was speculation that Suu Kyi would run in the 2012 national by-elections to fill vacant seats.[136] On 18 January 2012, Suu Kyi formally registered to contest a Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) seat in the Kawhmu Township constituency in special parliamentary elections to be held on 1 April 2012.[137][138] The seat was previously held by Soe Tint, who vacated it after being appointed Construction Deputy Minister, in the 2010 election.[139] She ran against Union Solidarity and Development Party candidate Soe Min, a retired army physician and native of Twante Township.[140]
In an official campaign speech broadcast on Burmese state television's MRTV on 14 March 2012, Suu Kyi publicly campaigned for reform of the 2008 Constitution, removal of restrictive laws, more adequate protections for people's democratic rights, and establishment of an independent judiciary.[142] The speech was leaked online a day before it was broadcast.[143] A paragraph in the speech, focusing on the Tatmadaw's repression by means of law, was censored by authorities.[144]
Suu Kyi has also called for international media to monitor the upcoming by-elections, while publicly pointing out irregularities in official voter lists, which include deceased individuals and exclude other eligible voters in the contested constituencies.[145][146] On 21 March 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted as saying "Fraud and rule violations are continuing and we can even say they are increasing."[147]
When asked whether she would assume a ministerial post if given the opportunity, she said the following:[148]
On 26 March 2012, Suu Kyi suspended her nationwide campaign tour early, after a campaign rally in Myeik (Mergui), a coastal town in the south, citing health problems due to exhaustion and hot weather.[149]I can tell you one thing – that under the present constitution, if you become a member of the government you have to vacate your seat in the national assembly. And I am not working so hard to get into parliament simply to vacate my seat.
On 1 April 2012, the NLD announced that Suu Kyi had won the vote for a seat in Parliament.[150] A news broadcast on state-run MRTV, reading the announcements of the Union Election Commission, confirmed her victory, as well as her party's victory in 43 of the 45 contested seats, officially making Suu Kyi the Leader of the Opposition in the lower house.[151]
Although she and other MP-elects were expected to take office on 23 April when the Hluttaws resume session, National League for Democracy MP-elects, including Suu Kyi, said they might not take their oaths because of its wording; in its present form, parliamentarians must vow to "safeguard" the constitution.[152][153] In an address on Radio Free Asia, she said "We don't mean we will not attend the parliament, we mean we will attend only after taking the oath... Changing that wording in the oath is also in conformity with the Constitution. I don't expect there will be any difficulty in doing it."[154]
On 2 May 2012, National League for Democracy MP-elects, including Aung San Suu Kyi, took their oaths and took office, though the wording of the oath was not changed.[155] According to the Los Angeles Times, "Suu Kyi and her colleagues decided they could do more by joining as lawmakers than maintaining their boycott on principle."[155] On 9 July 2012, she attended the Parliament for the first time as a lawmaker.[156]
On 6 July 2012, Suu Kyi announced on the World Economic Forum’s website that she wants to run for the presidency in Myanmar's 2015 elections.[19] The current Constitution, which came into effect in 2008, bars her from the presidency because she is the widow and mother of foreigners. These measures seem to have been written in part to prevent her ever getting there. [157]
Ethnic Controversy
Some activists criticised Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence on the 2012 Rakhine State riots.[158] After receiving a peace prize, she told reporters she did not know if the Rohingya could be regarded as Burmese citizens.[159] Under the 1982 Citizenship Law, most Rohingya are unable to qualify for Burmese citizenship. As such, they are treated as illegal immigrants, with restrictions on their movement and withholding of land rights, education and public service.[158] Some describe her stance as politically motivated.[158] However she said that she wanted to work towards reconciliation and that she cannot take sides as "violence has been committed by both sides."[160] According to The Economist, her "halo has even slipped among foreign human-rights lobbyists, disappointed at her failure to make a clear stand on behalf of the Rohingya minority."However, she has spoken out "against a ban on Rohingya families near the Bangladeshi border having more than two children."[161]
Political belief
Asked what democratic models Myanmar could look to, she said: "We have many, many lessons to learn from various places, not just the Asian countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia and Indonesia." She also cited "the eastern European countries, which made the transition from communist autocracy to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s, and the Latin American countries, which made the transition from military governments. "And we cannot of course forget South Africa, because although it wasn't a military regime, it was certainly an authoritarian regime." She added: "We wish to learn from everybody who has achieved a transition to democracy, and also ... our great strong point is that, because we are so far behind everybody else, we can also learn which mistakes we should avoid."[162]In a nod to the current deep US political divide between Republicans led by Mitt Romney and the Democrats of Obama—battling to win the Presidential election on 6 November—she stressed with a smile "Those of you who are familiar with American politics I'm sure understand the need for negotiated compromise."[162]
International support
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:[186]
In 1995 Aung San Suu Kyi delivered the keynote address at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.[187]The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights. ...Suu Kyi's struggle is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades. She has become an important symbol in the struggle against oppression...
...In awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour this woman for her unflagging efforts and to show its support for the many people throughout the world who are striving to attain democracy, human rights and ethnic conciliation by peaceful means.—Oslo, 14 October 1991
Nobel Peace Prize winners (Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Shirin Ebadi, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan, Rigoberta Menchú, Prof. Elie Wiesel, U.S. President Barack Obama, Betty Williams, Jody Williams and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter) called for the rulers of Burma to release Suu Kyi in order to "create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United Nations."[25] Some of the money she received as part of the award helps fund London-based charity Prospect Burma, which provides higher education grants to Burmese students.[188]
On 16 June 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi was finally able to deliver her Nobel acceptance speech (Nobel lecture) at Oslo's City Hall, two decades after being awarded the peace prize.[189][190]
Michelle Yeoh Deported from Burma for her Role in The Lady
On 22 June 2011, the actress Michelle Yeoh was deported from Burma, allegedly over a new film The Lady, in which Yeoh portrays Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.[193]Organizations
- Freedom Now, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organisation, was retained in 2006 by a member of her family to help secure Aung San Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. The organisation secured several opinions from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that her detention was in violation of international law; engaged in political advocacy such as spearheading a letter from 112 former Presidents and Prime Ministers to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urging him to go to Burma to seek her release, which he did six weeks later; and published numerous opeds and spoke widely to the media about her ongoing detention. Its representation of her ended when she was released from house arrest on 13 November 2010.[194]
- Aung San Suu Kyi has been an honorary board member of International IDEA and ARTICLE 19 since her detention, and has received support from these organisations.
- The Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Université catholique de Louvain, both located in Belgium, granted her the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.[195]
- In 2003, the Freedom Forum recognised Suu Kyi's efforts to promote democracy peacefully with the Al Neuharth Free Spirit of the Year Award, in which she was presented over satellite because she was under house arrest. She was awarded one million dollars.[196]
- In June of each year, the U.S. Campaign for Burma organises hundreds of "Arrest Yourself" house parties around the world in support of Aung San Suu Kyi. At these parties, the organisers keep themselves under house arrest for 24 hours, invite their friends, and learn more about Burma and Aung San Suu Kyi.[197]
- The Freedom Campaign, a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma, looks to raise worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
- The Burma Campaign UK is a UK-based NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) that aims to raise awareness of Burma's struggles and follow the guidelines established by the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi.
- St. Hugh's College, Oxford, where she studied, had a Burmese theme for their annual ball in support of her in 2006.[198] The University later awarded her an honorary doctorate in civil law on 20 June 2012 during her visitation on her alma mater.[199]
- Aung San Suu Kyi is the official patron of The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway. She received the Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize in 1990.
- She was made an honorary free person of the City of Dublin, Ireland in November 1999, although a space had been left on the roll of signatures to symbolize her continued detention.
- In November 2005 the human rights group Equality Now proposed Aung Sun Suu Kyi as a potential candidate, among other qualifying women, for the position of U.N. Secretary General.[4] In the proposed list of qualified women Suu Kyi is recognised by Equality Now as the Prime Minister-Elect of Burma.[4]
- The UN' special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, met Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 March 2008 before wrapping up his trip to the military-ruled country.[200]
- Aung San Suu Kyi was an honorary member of The Elders, a group of eminent global leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela.[201] Her ongoing detention meant that she was unable to take an active role in the group, so The Elders placed an empty chair for her at their meetings.[202] The Elders have consistently called for the release of all political prisoners in Burma.[203] Upon her election to parliament, she stepped down from her post.[204]
- In 2008, Burma’s devoted human rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, was welcomed as Club of Madrid Honorary Member.
- In 2011, Aung San Suu Kyi was named the Guest Director of the 45th Brighton Festival.[citation needed]
- She was part of the international jury of Human Rights Defenders and Personalities who helped to choose a universal Logo for Human Rights in 2011.[205]
- In June 2011, the BBC announced that Aung San Suu Kyi was to deliver the 2011 Reith Lectures. The BBC covertly recorded two lectures with Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, which were then smuggled out of the country and brought back to London.[206] The lectures were broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service on 28 June 2011 and 5 July 2011.
- In November 2011, Suu Kyi received Francois Zimeray, France's Ambassador for Human Rights.
- 8 March 2012, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird presented Aung San Suu Kyi a certificate of honorary Canadian citizenship and an informal invitation to visit Canada.
- In April 2012, British Prime Minister David Cameron became the first leader of a major world power to visit Aung San Su Kyi and the first of a British prime minister since the 1950s. In his visit, Cameron invited San Su Kyi to Britain where she would be able to visit her 'beloved' Oxford, an invitation which she later accepted. She visited Britain on 19 June 2012.
- In May 2012, Suu Kyi received the inaugural Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent of the Human Rights Foundation.[207]
- 29 May 2012 PM Manmohan Singh of India visited Aung San Suu Kyi. In his visit, PM invited San Suu Kyi to India as well. She started her 6–day visit to India on 16 November 2012 where among one of the places she visited was her Alma Mater Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi.
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Bibliography
- Miller, J. E. (2001). Who's who in contemporary women's writing. Routledge.
- Reid, R., Grosberg, M. (2005). Myanmar (Burma). Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74059-695-4.
- Stewart, Whitney (1997). Aung San Suu Kyi: fearless voice of Burma. Twenty-First Century Books. ISBN 978-0-8225-4931-4.
Further reading
- Aung San Suu Kyi (Modern Peacemakers) (2007) by Judy L. Hasday, ISBN 978-0-7910-9435-8
- The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma's Prisoner (2002) by Barbara Victor, ISBN 978-0-571-21177-7, or 1998 hardcover: ISBN 978-0-571-19944-0
- The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi (2012) by Peter Popham, ISBN 978-1-61519-064-5
- Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi (2007) by Justin Wintle, ISBN 978-0-09-179681-5
- Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators (2006) by David Wallechinsky, ISBN 978-0-06-059004-8
- Aung San Suu Kyi (Trailblazers of the Modern World) (2004) by William Thomas, ISBN 978-0-8368-5263-9
- No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs (2002) by Naomi Klein ISBN 978-0-312-42143-4
- Mental culture in Burmese crisis politics: Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (ILCAA Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Monograph Series) (1999) by Gustaaf Houtman, ISBN 978-4-87297-748-6
- Aung San Suu Kyi: Standing Up for Democracy in Burma (Women Changing the World) (1998) by Bettina Ling ISBN 978-1-55861-197-9
- Prisoner for Peace: Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Champions of Freedom Series) (1994) by John Parenteau, ISBN 978-1-883846-05-3
- Des femmes prix Nobel de Marie Curie à Aung San Suu Kyi, 1903–1991 (1992) by Charlotte Kerner, Nicole Casanova, Gidske Anderson, ISBN 978-2-7210-0427-7
- Aung San Suu Kyi, towards a new freedom (1998) by Chin Geok Ang ISBN 978-981-4024-30-3
- Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle: Its principles and strategy (1997) by Mikio Oishi ISBN 978-983-9861-06-8
- Finding George Orwell in Burma (2004) by Emma Larkin ISBN 0-14-303711-0
- Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember (2005) by John McCain, Mark Salter. Random House ISBN 978-1-4000-6412-0
- The Political Thought of Aung San Suu Kyi by Josef Siverstein (1996)
- Under the Dragon: A Journey Through Burma (1998/2010) by Rory MacLean ISBN 978-1-84511-622-4
External links
| Find more about Aung San Suu Kyi at Wikipedia's sister projects | |
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Media from Commons |
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News stories from Wikinews |
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Quotations from Wikiquote |
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Database entry Q36740 on Wikidata |
- Aung San Suu Kyi at the Open Directory Project
- Aung San Suu Kyi's website via the Internet Archive
- Nobel Peace Prize 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi at NobelPrize.org
- Aung San Suu Kyi – Summary, biography, excerpts from books
- Works by Aung San Suu Kyi on Open Library at the Internet Archive
- Works by or about Aung San Suu Kyi in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Aung San Suu Kyi collected news and commentary at The Guardian
- Aung San Suu Kyi collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Burma's Suu Kyi, Free at Last – slideshow by Der Spiegel
- Peace Prize 2012 from India by Sarhad organisation PUNE City
- Awards Received by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
- Aung San Suu Kyi and Clinton
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Office Created |
Chairperson of the National League for Democracy 1988–present |
Incumbent |
| General Secretary of the National League for Democracy 1988–present |
||
| Assembly seats | ||
| Preceded by Soe Tint |
Member of the Pyithu Hluttaw for Kawhmu 2012–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Tun Yi |
Leader of the Opposition 2012–present |
Incumbent |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by Alexander Dubček |
Sakharov Prize Laureate 1990 |
Succeeded by Adem Demaçi |
| Preceded by Doina Cornea |
Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize Laureate 1990 |
Succeeded by Jelena Bonner |
| Preceded by Peter Molnar |
||
| Preceded by Mikhail Gorbachev |
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1991 |
Succeeded by Rigoberta Menchú |
| Preceded by Maurice Strong |
Jawaharlal Nehru Award Laureate 1993 |
Succeeded by Mahathir Bin Mohamad |
| Preceded by Dandeniya Gamage Jayanthi |
Gwangju Prize for Human Rights Laureate 2004 |
Succeeded by Wardah Hafidz |
| Preceded by Denis Mukwege |
Wallenberg Medalist 2011 |
Most recent |
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