List of assassination attempts on prime ministers of India explained

There have been numerous assassination attempts on prime ministers of India. The prime minister is the executive head of the Union Government of India, and is usually the most powerful person in the country.

Two prime ministers, namely Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (former prime minister) have been assassinated.

Assassinated prime ministers

!Name!Date!Place!Type!Assassin(s)
Indira Gandhi	31 October 1984	New Delhi, India	Shooting	Main convicts: Beant Singh Satwant Singh Co-conspirator: Kehar Singh
Rajiv Gandhi (former prime minister)	21 May 1991	Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, India	Suicide bombing	Main convict: Kalaivani Rajaratnam alias Dhanu alias Anbu Co-conspirators: A. G. Perarivalan alias Arivu Jayakumar Ravichandran Robert Pious S. Nalini Sriharan T. Suthendraraja alias Santhan V. Sriharan alias Murugan

Assassination attempts and plots

Jawaharlal Nehru

1947: Assassination attempt (as head of the Interim Government) during the partition of India while he was visiting the North-West Frontier Province in a car.^[1] ^[2]
4 May 1953: An alleged attempt to bomb the Bombay–Amritsar Express in which Nehru was travelling was thwarted when the police discovered two men crouched near the railway tracks in Kalyan, Bombay State.^[3] ^[4] It was later discovered that the object initially thought of as a bomb was a firecracker and the attackers had only intended to cause a sensation.
1955: Baburao Laxman Kochale, a knife-wielding rickshaw-puller, tried to kill Nehru near Nagpur.^[5]
1955: Plotted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).^[6] ^[7]
1956: A stone-throwing mob attempted to assassinate Nehru with a bomb in Bombay.^[8]
30 September 1961: A failed bombing attempt on train tracks in Maharashtra on a route to be followed by the Prime Minister.^[9]

Rajiv Gandhi

January 1985: FBI found out about an attempt to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi by Sikhs in New York. They planned to use bombs and target other key locations.^[10]
April 1985: FBI found that Sikh militants were plotting an assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and promised to give $60,000 to anyone who killed Rajiv Gandhi.
July 31, 1985: Harjinder Singh Jinda revealed that immediately after killing Lalit Maken he took position outside of a hospital anticipating Rajiv Gandhi and Zail Singh to visit. He planned to kill them both. He was unable to get a shot because of a large crowd.
October 1985: British police foiled a plan to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi.
16 June 1986: 4 Sikhs were jailed for trying to assassinate Gandhi in Leicester.
2 October 1986: Karamjit Singh, a Sikh gunman, fired rounds from an improvised, homemade firearm at Gandhi in Delhi, while he was leaving the Raj Ghat.^[11]
30 July 1987 A Sri Lankan Navy sailor Wijemuni Vijitha Rohana de Silva hit Gandhi with his rifle butt in Colombo, while he was inspecting Guard of Honour at the Sri Lankan President’s House at Colombo.^[12]
May 1991: Iqbal Singh Fauji, deputy chief of Khalistan National Army, and other members of Khalistan National Army again planned to kill Rajiv Gandhi with sticky bombs. The plan was that while everyone threw flowers at Gandhi they would throw sticky bombs hidden in baskets of flower. Tight security led to the plan not being carried out.

Notes and References

Book: Mathai, M. O.. Reminiscences of the Nehru Age. 1978. M. O. Mathai.
Web site: Dutta . Prabhash K . Nehru might be assassinated, a fear that kept Sardar Patel awake: 4 foiled plots . India Today . 25 May 2020 . 2019-11-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191114124447/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nehru-might-be-assassinated-a-fear-that-kept-sardar-patel-awake-4-foiled-plots-1618869-2019-11-14 . live .
Web site: The many plots to kill Jawaharlal Nehru from 1948 to 1955. Kothari. Urvish. 2018-12-28. ThePrint. en-US. 2020-02-07. 2021-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20211217153037/https://theprint.in/opinion/the-many-plots-to-kill-jawaharlal-nehru-from-1948-to-1955/170035/. live.
News: Policeman foils attempt to bomb Nehru's train. 5 May 1953. The New York Times.
News: Assassination Attempt on Nehru Made in Car . 22 March 1955 . 14 August 2021 . . 5 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064151/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19550312&id=xTAmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1451,3268287 . live .
Book: Covertaction Quarterly . Covert Action Publications . 1992 . 9 . 2023-07-08 . 2023-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230708093929/https://books.google.com/books?id=eytFAQAAIAAJ . live .
Book: . Rogue State: A Guide to the Worlds Only Superpower . . 2006 . 50 . 9781842778272 . 2023-07-08 . 2023-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230708093929/https://books.google.com/books?id=oBM8UiDYz1MC . live .
News: Police Say Nehru's Assassination Plot is Thwarted . 4 June 1956 . 14 August 2021 . . 5 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210205064322/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BDdEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3947,2134723&dq=nehru+assassination . live .
News: 30 September 1961. Bomb Explodes on Nehru's Route. Toledo Blade. 14 August 2021. 28 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211128100718/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19610930&id=v2cUAAAAIBAJ&pg=3440,1262437. live.
Web site: Jain Commission - Threats to Rajiv Gandhi - Chapter 1 Sections 1&2 . 2023-06-01 . tamilnation.org . 2024-01-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240119104541/https://tamilnation.org/intframe/india/jaincommission/threats_to_rajiv/ch1sec1.html . live .
News: Weintraub. Richard M.. Gandhi Unhurt in Apparent Assassination Attempt. 1986-10-03. The Washington Post. 2020-02-07. 2022-01-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20220117105611/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/10/03/gandhi-unhurt-in-apparent-assassination-attempt/06d6ce1a-321d-40e1-927f-779ee66ca6e6/. live.
News: 2013-08-30. No regrets for attack on Rajiv, says Lankan guard. The New Indian Express. https://web.archive.org/web/20160829151404/http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/No-regrets-for-attack-on-Rajiv-says-Lankan-guard/2013/07/30/article1708707.ece. 2016-08-29. 2016-08-29.