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Rajiv Gandhi 18th Death Anniversary : India Remembers

by Ravi Dixit | May 20, 2009 at 08:41 pm

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By Ravi Dixit

Rajiv Gandhi former prime minister of India, was campaigning in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and tonight 18 years ago he had gone to address an election rally in Sriperumbudur.

He was the youngest Prime Minister of the country. In his address to the joint session of the US congress; he used the famous speech of Martin Luther King and said I am young and I too have a dream and impress everyone present in the room. He was the first face of the young India that is coming to the fore now.

Martin Luther King - "I Have A Dream" Speech We've heard the sound bite hundreds of times... I have a dream. It's the tag-line of what is widely considered to be one of the greatest speeches ever delivered. And it was the heart cry of a man, Dr. Martin Luther King, whose birthdate we observe on the third Monday of January every year, around the time of his January 15 birthday.

In Sriperumbudur a female LTTE suicide bomb was ready to strike, with very little security Rajiv Gandhi was a sitting duck. He dies that night and after a few years LTTE chief Prabhakaran told the media that it was a strategic blunder.

As the Sri Lankan Army was making advances to capture the last strong hold of LTTE India demanded that if caught alive Prabhakaran should be handed over to India where he had been convicted of the murder of Rajiv Gandhi in abstentia.

This was never to be; after 18 years of Rajiv Gandhi's death Prabhakaran was no more.

India and the Gandhi family is remembring the second member of the Gandhi to be assasinated; first Indra Gandhi and then her son Rajiv Gandhi.

In a striking similarity to the assasination of Mahatama Gandhi (The two just share the surname but are not related) Rajiv Gandhi's assasin also bent down to touch his feet and blew herself up. Mahatama gandhi's assasin also touched his feet before pumping bullets into him.

The nation on Thursday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 18th death anniversary.

President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the departed leader's widow and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the first to pay floral tributes to the late leader at 'Veer Bhumi', the memorial of Gandhi.

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iambest

at 20:55 on May 20th, 2009

The Second Great Prime Minister Ever....

Who's First?? Indira Gandhi...!!!! The Great....

India Miss Them Always...!!!!

SamirJ

at 20:57 on May 20th, 2009

May his soul RIP

B12N

at 22:53 on May 20th, 2009

RIP. Also to the 6000 Innocent Tamil civilians killed by his Army in Sri Lanka.

One of many registered massacres

Jaffna hospital massacre happened on October 21 and 22, 1987 when soldiers belonging to the Indian Army entered the premises of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital in Jaffna, Sri Lanka an island nation in South Asia and killed about 68 - 70 patients, nurses, doctors and other staff members. Soldiers responsible for this massacre were not prosecuted by the Indian government.

8:30 a.m. - Dr. Sivapathasundaram, the Pediatrician was seen walking out with his hands up along with three nurses. They were walking with their hands up shouting:

We surrender, we are innocent doctors and nurses.

Dr. Sivapathasundaram was gunned down immediately and the nurses injured.

11:00 a.m. - A Sri Lankan Indian Army officer turned up at one of the wards and was confronted by a lady doctor. This doctor explained the situation to the officer and later with help of the officer she called out to her colleagues and those who were injured to come out with their hands up. About 10 staff members who were alive were escorted out. They found their colleague Dr. Ganesharatnam dead. The same day all the dead bodies were collected and burned.