Indira Gandhi: The Motherly Flame Who Lit the Dawn of Bangladesh

“She stood by us in our darkest hour, when the light of freedom seemed but a distant dream.

She was not merely a leader of India; she became the guardian angel of Bangladesh.”

On 19 November 1917, Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi was born into history. On 31 October 1984, at the age of sixty-seven, she fell to an assassin’s bullet. Between those dates lies a life that transcended national boundaries, a life that symbolized courage, resilience, and the sublime capacity of leadership to shape destinies. For us in Bangladesh, she was more than the Prime Minister of India—she was a motherly figure, a living goddess who helped give birth to our nation in 1971.

A Motherly Figure to a Generation

For those of us who came of age during the tempestuous years of the 1970s, Indira Gandhi was more than a distant political figure. She was a mother-like presence who guided with wisdom and guarded with strength. Her eyes carried warmth, her voice was filled with resolve, and her persona radiated both authority and compassion. She inspired confidence not by mere rhetoric but through decisive action in the crucible of history.

She was poetry in politics. As the dawn scatters the shadows of night, so did her courage scatter the forces of tyranny. “Beautiful were her eyes, heartening her voice, and timeless her lessons that we still cherish,” one might say of her, for her words and actions were etched not merely in policy but in our very souls.

The Test of 1971: When She Stood by Bangladesh

Patriotism, at its essence, is love for one’s homeland. Yet in 1971, Indira Gandhi demonstrated a rare and higher patriotism—love for humanity, for justice, and for freedom. As millions of our people fled into India from the genocidal terror unleashed by Pakistan’s military junta, she did not waver. She opened India’s borders, sheltering nearly ten million refugees at enormous economic and political cost.

But she went further. Indira Gandhi did not stand idle as Bangladesh bled. She carried our cry for freedom to the world stage, touring Western capitals to awaken international conscience. She told the United States bluntly that its support for Pakistan was a betrayal of human rights. In one memorable phrase, she declared: “Nothing can justify the killing of innocent people in East Bengal.”

Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it guarantees all others.” In 1971, Indira Gandhi embodied this truth. With steely resolve, she ordered the Indian Army to act decisively when all negotiations failed. The result was not merely a military victory but the birth of Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign nation on 16th December 1971.

For those of us who were students at the time, engaged in our bloody struggle for liberation, Indira Gandhi became a living goddess. She gave us hope when despair loomed, light when darkness threatened, and life itself when annihilation seemed imminent.

The Woman as Super Power

In 1971, the world witnessed the emergence of Woman as Super Power. Priyadarshini Indira Gandhi was no mere politician; she was a force of nature. There was in her an almost magical ability to act with timing and vision. She demonstrated that leadership is not about gender but about courage, clarity, and compassion.

She was elegant, poised, and graceful—an icon of style to the outside world. Yet beneath that elegance lay iron resolve. As delicate as rosewater, as resilient as tempered steel, she was the quintessential multitasker, balancing governance, war strategy, diplomacy, and the welfare of her people. For Bangladesh, she was not just a neighbor’s leader—she was a mother who breathed life into our nationhood.

The Personal Loss of a Generation

When news broke on 31 October 1984 that Indira Gandhi had been assassinated by her own bodyguards, I shed silent tears, as did millions of Bengalis. It was not just India that lost its leader; Bangladesh lost its benefactor, its guardian, its moral compass. Her death was an immense national tragedy for both nations, entwining our grief in a shared sense of bereavement.

Her loss was akin to the dimming of a great flame. She was one of those rare individuals whose presence altered the course of history. As Jawaharlal Nehru had once said, “The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.” By that measure, Indira Gandhi was herself the mirror of India’s courage and, indeed, of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle.

Global Reactions and Diplomatic Context

Indira Gandhi's support for Bangladesh's independence made the United States, under President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as furious. Because they maintained a pro-Pakistan stance during the conflict. Nixon, in private conversations, referred to Indira Gandhi disparagingly, even calling her a "bitch" and suggesting that "what the Indians need is a famine.”

Despite this, Indira Gandhi remained steadfast, navigating the complex geopolitical landscape with unwavering determination. She secured support from the Soviet Union, which provided diplomatic backing in the United Nations Security Council, and from other nations sympathetic to the Bengali cause.

In contrast, the Pakistani military's actions in the-then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) drew widespread international condemnation. The United Nations and various human rights organizations decried the atrocities committed during Operation Searchlight in 1971 in Bangladesh, which aimed to suppress the Bengali independence movement.

Legacy Beyond Borders

Indira Gandhi’s legacy is not confined to India’s political chronicles. It is etched into the very soil of Bangladesh. Every grain of our land, every wave of our rivers, every tear shed by our martyrs remembers her. Without her timely intervention, the story of Bangladesh might have been written in far darker ink.

She also proved something timeless: that women, too often relegated to the margins of politics, can rise not only as equals but as transformative leaders. She lived the truth of Margaret Mead’s words: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Indira Gandhi was that thoughtful, committed citizen—but writ large upon the canvas of nations.

Terminus Point: The Eternal Flame

Even today, decades after her passing, Indira Gandhi remains for us in Bangladesh a sacred memory, a name uttered with reverence. She was the light in our darkest night, the motherly hand that steadied us, the iron will that defied oppression.

Her assassination was a cruel blow, but her spirit lives on—in India, in Bangladesh, and wherever people believe that freedom and justice must triumph over tyranny.

Indira Gandhi was not merely India’s leader; she was humanity’s beacon. To us, she will forever remain Priyadarshini—the one who brought beauty, light, and life when the shadows of death surrounded us.

As we bow in gratitude, we say: Bangladesh owes its dawn to Indira Gandhi.

Written by: Anwar A. Khan 

Bio: Anwar A. Khan was a Freedom fighter in 1971 to establish Bangladesh and is now a political analyst based in Dhaka. He writes on South Asian politics, liberation history, and international affairs.

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