Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, was assassinated on May 21, 1991, at 10:10 PM in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, during an election campaign rally.
The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber named Kalaivani Rajaratnam (also known as Dhanu), a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan Tamil separatist group. The bomber approached Rajiv Gandhi, pretending to garland him, and detonated an RDX-laden suicide belt, killing Gandhi, herself, and at least 14 others, including a senior police officer, T.K.S. Mohammed Iqbal. Over 40 people were injured.
The assassination was captured on film by a local photographer, Haribabu, who was also a conspirator and died in the blast, though his camera and film were recovered intact.
The motive was linked to Gandhi’s decision as Prime Minister (1984–1989) to send the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka in 1987 to enforce a peace accord during the Sri Lankan Civil War. The IPKF ended up fighting the LTTE, which led to resentment and the group’s decision to target Gandhi. The LTTE had conducted two dry runs at other rallies, including one at a V.P. Singh event in Chennai, before executing the attack.
The investigation was handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the Tamil Nadu government’s request. In 1998, a TADA court sentenced 26 individuals to death, but in 1999, the Supreme Court upheld death sentences for only four, commuting others to life imprisonment. Nalini Sriharan, one convict, had her death sentence commuted to life in 2000 following a petition by Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv’s widow, for the sake of Nalini’s daughter. By 2022, all seven remaining convicts were released by the Supreme Court, citing good conduct and over 30 years served in prison. One convict, Santhan, died in 2024, and others, including Nalini’s husband Murugan, returned to Sri Lanka.
Terrorist Attack In Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, Tourist Killed, 12 Injured
May 21 is observed as National Anti-Terrorism Day in India to commemorate Gandhi’s death and raise awareness about the impacts of terrorism.
Indian Peacekeeping Force
The Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) was a military contingent sent by India to Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990 to assist in resolving the Sri Lankan Civil War under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.
Here’s a concise overview:
● Background: The civil war (1983–2009) pitted the Sri Lankan government against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who sought a separate Tamil state. India, under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, aimed to mediate due to ethnic Tamil ties across the Palk Strait and domestic political pressures in Tamil Nadu.
● Formation and Deployment: The IPKF was deployed in July 1987 after the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, signed to establish peace and devolve power to Tamils. Initially, 3,000 troops were sent to enforce a ceasefire and disarm the LTTE, but the force grew to over 100,000 at its peak due to escalating conflict.
● Role and Challenges: The IPKF was tasked with disarming militants, maintaining peace, and supporting the accord’s implementation. However, the LTTE resisted, refusing to disarm, leading to hostilities. The IPKF faced guerrilla warfare, unfamiliar terrain, and logistical issues, turning their peacekeeping role into a counterinsurgency operation.
Operations like Pawan (1987) aimed to capture LTTE strongholds like Jaffna but incurred heavy casualties.
● Outcome and Withdrawal: The mission failed to achieve peace as the LTTE resumed fighting, and the Sri Lankan government, under President Ranasinghe Premadasa, grew hostile to the Indian presence, even covertly supporting the LTTE.
India began withdrawing in 1989, completing the pullout by March 1990. The IPKF suffered 1,200–1,500 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.
● Impact: The operation strained India-Sri Lanka relations and fueled domestic criticism in India. The LTTE’s resentment over the IPKF’s actions led to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991. The mission is often cited as a case study in the complexities of peacekeeping in civil conflicts.