Foreign Relations

Sri Lanka and Tamils Problem In the area of foreign relations, Indira Gandhi was unhappy with Sri Lanka’s turn away from socialism after Sirimavo Bandaranaike lost power to J. R. Jayewardene, who, Indira Gandhi felt was a puppet of the West. Though it is alleged that India under Indira supported LTTE militants in the 1980s to pressurise Jayewardene to be sensitive of Indian interests, the Indian prime minister refused demands that India attack Sri Lanka after the incidents of Black July 1983, in which Sinhalese mobs targeted the Tamils of Sri Lanka.

Pakistan: Siachen Conflict India-Pakistan relations reached low depths after the rise to power of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan in 1978. It was strongly felt in India that General Zia supported Khalistani militants in Punjab. In 1984, there were military skirmishes on the border. In the end, it became a conflict over the Siachen

India’s Man in Space

It was during the rule of Indira Gandhi that an Indian went travelling in space. As a part of the joint programme between Indian Space Research Organisation and the Soviet Intercosmos, Rakesh Sharma, an Indian Airforce pilot was selected in 1982 as a cosmonaut for a joint Soviet-Indian spaceflight. On April 2, 1984, Sharma flew on board Soyuz T-11 with two Soviet cosmonauts to the space station Salyut 7. During his stay of nearly eight days on the space station, he performed certain experiments in the fields of bio-medicine and remote sensing and exercises to study the effects of yoga on the body during weightlessness.

The most memorable aspect of that space mission for many Indians is the episode of Indira Gandhi asking Sharma, on a hazy live video link, how India looked from space, and he replied in Hindi: “Sare jahan se achcha (the best in the world). Today that would have become viral tweet!

Glacier lying between the Saltoro ridge line to the west and the main Karakoram range to the east in the Himalayas; located in the disputed Kashmir region it is claimed by India and Pakistan. The water melting off the glacier ultimately feed the Indus, crucial to both countries.

The roots of the conflict lie in the lack of proper demarcations of the territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842. Before 1984, neither India nor Pakistan had any permanent presence in the area. However, in order to reinforce their claim on the area, the Pakistanis encouraged expeditions to the glacier on the basis of permits given by their government. Becoming aware of this in about 1978, an Indian Army expedition was also sent to Teram Kangri peaks as a counter-exercise. To free the glacier from Pakistani domination, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Meghdoot in April 1984, and Siachen became the world’s highest battlefield. India was victorious in the conflict; two passes, namely, Sia La and Bilfond La, were secured by India while Pakistan retained control of the Gyong La pass. Non-Aligned Movement Under Indira Gandhi, India reasserted its prominence in the Non-Aligned Movement. India hosted the 1983 summit of NAM at Delhi and thus

Indira Gandhi became its chairperson. She brought attention to bear on the relationship between disarmament and economic development. She actively worked to project the need for a new international economic order that would be of benefit to the developing countries.