Remembering Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated 33 years ago. He became the 6th and youngest prime minister in India’s history on October 31, 1984. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi is seen pressing the button to inaugurate Rajasthan Rural Water Project, which was aimed at providing safe drinking water to address water scarcity and fluoride contamination. Among other notable achievements of his government was the reduction of voting age from 21 to 18 years. (Express Archives)

In 1986, Rajiv Gandhi signed the Delhi Declaration with the last leader of united Soviet Mikhail Gorbachev, affirming the commitment to a world free of weapons of mass destruction. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi holding the torch at the inaugural ceremony of Asian Track and Field Meet in New Delhi in 1989. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated the International Subscriber Dialling Service between India and Bangladesh in New Delhi in 1987 which allowed direct communication without any operator assistance. In the same year, he made the inaugural STD call facility to Port Blair and Kavarathy allowing long-distance calls between two islands. (Express Archives)

A differently abled child tying a rakhi to PM Rajiv Gandhi on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan in 1988. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi visited Islamabad for the 4th SAARC Summit in 1988, marking an Indian PM’s visit to Pakistan after a gap of 28 years. This event marked a step towards improving the tense relations with the neighbour. Gandhi was welcomed by Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto for multiple meetings on leadership and decisions for cross-border relations. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi enjoying a boat ride. They tied the knot in 1968 in New Delhi and he had first met Sonia in Cambridge. (Express Archives)

Rajiv Gandhi in the traditional dress presented to him by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Gegong Apang when the late Prime Minister was visiting the state in 1987. (Express Archives)

Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru with Indira, Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi at Dehradun Jail. The first Prime Minister of India was imprisoned four times at the jail. (Express Archives)

Rahul Gandhi shared a childhood picture on X, remembering his father. He wrote, “Your dreams, my dreams, Your aspirations, my responsibilities. Your memories, today and always, always in my heart.”. Rahul was 20 years old when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. (X/@RahulGandhi)