Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi (1944-1991) was the oldest son of Indira Gandhi and succeeded her as Prime Minister of India after her assassination in 1984. He had originally not wiehd to participate in politics and worked as a pilot for Indian Airlines, only entering politics after the death of his brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980. As Prime Minister he began a progress of liberalisation of the previously centrally-controlled Indian economy, and he sent Indian peace-keeping troops into Sri Lanka as part of a filed peace effort. His political image was damaged by the Bofors Scandal involving bribery y the Swedish arms firm, and he lost power in 1989. He was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in 1991.