<Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Bharat Ratna (1971) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Hindustani: (ˈɪnːdɪrə ˈɡaːnd̪ɦi) (listen); née Nehru; 19 November 1917--31 October 1984) was an Indian stateswoman and central figure of the Indian National Congress . She was the first and, to date, the only female Prime Minister of India . Indira Gandhi belonged to the Nehru--Gandhi family and was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian prime minister . Despite her surname Gandhi, she is not related to the family of Mahatma Gandhi . She served as Prime Minister from January 1966 to March 1977 and again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984, making her the second longest - serving Indian prime minister after her father . </P> <P> Gandhi served as her father's personal assistant and hostess during his tenure as Prime Minister between 1947 and 1964 . She was elected Congress President in 1959 . Upon her father's death in 1964 she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and became a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri's cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting . In the Congress Party's parliamentary leadership election held in early 1966 (upon the death of Shastri) she defeated her rival, Morarji Desai, to become leader, and thus succeeded Shastri as Prime Minister of India . </P>

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