Though she lived in her father's shadow through the 1950s -- her mother Kamla had died of lung cancer in 1936 -- she had a ringside view of domestic and international politics, which stood her in very good stead when she ruled the country.

In 1959, she made her formal debut in public life as president of the Indian National Congress. It was not a debut covered in glory. She is believed to have inspired the dismissal of the E M S Namboodiripad government -- the first democratically elected Communist government in the world -- in Kerala.

After Nehru’s death in 1964, and the sudden death of his successor Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent on January 11, 1966, Indira -- Shastri's information and broadcasting minister -- was elected Congress leader and subsequently sworn in as India's third prime minister.

Indira Gandhi was 48 when she became prime minister for the first time. Her elder son Rajiv was 40 when he succeeded his mother after her assassination on October 31, 1984.

Also See: Indira Gandhi and her advisers were surprised by the ease with which they could silence democracy