After Nehru’s death in 1964, she served as a Cabinet minister under Lal Bahadur Shastri’s leadership but later became Prime Minister of the country in 1966 after Shastri’s sudden death. Indira Gandhi enjoyed power till the period of Emergency (1975-77). After she returned to power in 1980, she ordered the storming of the Sikh holy shrine Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, know as Operation Blue Star, which led to her assassination later. (Express Archive)