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Who was the First Woman Prime Minister of India?

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 9th, 2023

The First Woman Prime Minister of India was Indira Gandhi (Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi) who served three consecutive terms from 1966–1977. Indira Gandhi was the third Prime Minister of India and the first-ever female PM.

Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. She declared a state of emergency between 1975 and 1977. She served as Prime Minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984.

First Woman Prime Minister of India

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was a member of the Congress party. She defeated her rival Mr. Morajii Desai and became the first female prime minister of India. Indira Gandhi became the first woman PM after Lal Bahadur Shastri.

  • As prime minister, Gandhi was known for her political intransigency and unprecedented centralization of power.
  • She was a prominent Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress.
  • She was elected as India’s third prime minister in 1966 and remains the country’s first and only female prime minister to this day.
  • Gandhi was the daughter of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • She was the second longest-serving Indian prime minister after her father, serving from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 to 1984.
  • Indira Gandhi was born on November 19, 1917, in Allahabad, to a Kashmiri Pandit family.
  • Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a key figure in the movement for Indian independence from British rule, serving as the first Prime Minister of the Dominion (and later Republic) of India.
  • She was the only child (her younger brother died when he was young) and spent her childhood at the Anand Bhavan, a large family estate in Allahabad, with her mother, Kamala Nehru.
  • Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards in October 1984.

Summary:

Who was the First Woman Prime Minister of India?

The first female Prime Minister of India was Indira Gandhi (Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi). She served for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977. Indira Gandhi was India’s third Prime Minister and the country’s first woman.

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