With the tributes pouring in for the late former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 78th birth anniversary, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has shared a photograph of Gandhi’s private pilot licence. The sixth Prime Minister of India was a professional pilot. Sharing the photograph, the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote, “#RememberingRajivGandhi on what would have been his 78th birthday. He piloted the nation to greater heights but was cruelly snatched from us in mid-flight.” The licence is imprinted with Gandhi’s photograph and his details, including his full name, Rajivaratna Gandhi; address, Safdarjung Road, New Delhi; nationality, Indian; date of birth, 20th August, 1944; and place of birth, Bombay. https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1560846669964787712?t=DyUS412RbPDZKJGpDoZVEw&s=08 August 20 this year marks Gandhi’s 78th birth anniversary. Born in 1944, Rajiv Gandhi had stayed away from politics for a long time and stepped in after his brother Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash. After the assassination of his mother and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he was sworn in as the country’s youngest PM at the age of 40 on October 31, 1984. He was assassinated by LTTE terrorists in 1991 and was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, in 1991.
