A late night bomb blast that shook a nation to its core
How HT reported the shocking news of the assassination of the former PM 31 years ago
HT Correspondent
Thirty one years ago, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi — who was on the campaign trail for the Lok Sabha elections — was assassinated. It left the country and his party in shock, traumatised his family and confidants, changed the course of national politics, and caused a major rupture in regional geopolitics.
Accompanying Gandhi on his campaign trail was HT’S Chand Joshi. From Sriperumbudur, he reported that the hand of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was suspected, a fact that was subsequently confirmed. The report described, in detail, the brutality with which the suicide bomber caused death and destruction at the site.
Capturing the final moments of Gandhi’s life, HT reported, “Just before he left Madras for Sriperumbudur, a beaming Mr Gandhi, who was on a country-wide campaign tour to regain power, told reporters that the Congress-i would come back to power at the Centre on its own. He sounded extremely cheerful and jubilant and was mixing with the press in an easy and relaxed manner.” On his way to the rally, Rajiv Gandhi paid respects at a statue of his late mother and former PM, Indira Gandhi.
Rajiv Gandhi was behind schedule when he reached the venue — and was greeted by supporters. And that is when the crowd heard an explosion. India’s former PM was dead. “Mr Gandhi’s body was identified on the basis of eyewitnesses who spotted his white sports shoes and part of the back of skull which remained intact.”
The air was filled with smoke and stench of burning flesh, as several women with blood-stained clothes wailed, “They have killed Rajiv.”
Later that night, the government made an official announcement. “The Government regrets to announce the passing away of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in a bomb blast at 10.10pm tonight,” Principal Information Officer I, Ramamohan Rao, told reporters. Party spokesperson, Pranab Mukherjee, said that bomb that killed Gandhi and several others at Sriperumbudur was concealed in the bouquet presented to the former PM.
HT reported, “In Madras city rioting broke out as soon as the news of Mr Gandhi’s assassination spread. Late night cinema goers went on rampage damaging vehicles. The city police has sought reinforcements and the Army has also been asked to stand by.”
On the front page, HT’S then editor in chief, HK Dua, wrote, “The brutal assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in a bomb blast in Tamil Nadu is a blow to the nation at a time when it is caught in intense political uncertainty. Here was a man who was striving hard along his comeback trail promising stability to the people who were in search of it.”
The piece said that the killing, which came in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections, placed a special responsibility in the hands of President R Venkataraman, and expressed support for the political decisions of the national leadership.
“The Government has to do everything it can to unearth the conspiracy that has cost Rajiv Gandhi his life.these elements are perhaps hitting at the root of Indian democracy and the stability of our political system.”
The piece also placed a special responsibility on the people, spread across the political spectrum in India, to reject the culture of violence.