Rajiv Gandhi on a live TV show said of the carnage, " When a big tree falls, the earth shakes.

Firstly, her younger son Sanjay had been her chosen heir ; but after his death in a flying accident in June 1980, his mother persuaded a reluctant elder son Rajiv Gandhi to quit his job as a pilot and enter politics in February 1981.

Over a decade later, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated.

* 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayawardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.

He was the father of Indira Gandhi and the maternal grandfather of Rajiv Gandhi, who were to later serve as the third and sixth Prime Ministers of India, respectively.

Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi immediately dispatched 1, 600 troops by air to restore order in Malé.

* 1991 – Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 ) was the sixth Prime Minister of India ( 1984 – 1989 ).

Following the death of his younger brother Sanjay Gandhi in 1980 Rajiv entered politics.

Rajiv Gandhi led the Congress to a major election victory in 1984 soon after, amassing the largest majority ever seen in the Indian Parliament, the Congress party winning 411 seats out of 542.

Rajiv Gandhi remained Congress President until the elections in 1991.

Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Highest National Award of India, Bharat Ratna ( 1991 ), joining a list of 40 luminaries, including Indira Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi was an active amateur radio operator, and used the callsign VU2RG.

Rajiv Gandhi was born into India's most famous political family.

Rajiv Gandhi was not related to Mahatma Gandhi, although they share the same surname.

It was widely perceived that Indira Gandhi was grooming Rajiv for the prime minister's job, and he soon became the president of the Youth Congress – the Congress party's youth wing.

Rajiv Gandhi was in West Bengal when his mother, Indira Gandhi was assassinated on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, to avenge the military attack on the Harmandir Sahib ( Sikhism's holiest shrine, also called " The Golden Temple ") during Operation Blue Star.

Commenting on the anti-Sikh riots in the national capital Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi said, " When a giant tree falls, the earth below shakes "; a statement for which he was widely criticised.

Rajiv Gandhi also officially became the President of the Congress party.

Rajiv was born in 1944 in Mumbai, during a time when both his parents were in and out of British prisons.

At the time of his father's death, Rajiv was away at a private boarding school for boys: initially at the Welham Boys ' School and later The Doon School, both located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

In 1992, the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award was instituted by All India Congress Committee ( AICC ) of the Indian National Congress Party ( INC ).

The International Airport constructed at Hyderabad has been named Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and was inaugurated by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

On 21 May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning in favour of a UCPI candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Tamil Nadu, when he was assassinated by a suicide bomber in the Indian town of Sriperumbudur, near Madras.

" He was responding to a call for attention from Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ).

The first of these events was the Rajiv Gandhi government's use of its large Parliamentary Majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict granting alimony to an old woman, a verdict that had angered many Muslims ( see the Shah Bano case ).

The passing of the Muslim Women ( Protection of Rights on Divorce ) Act, 1986 by the Rajiv Gandhi government, under pressure from conservative Muslims, to dilute the secular judgment of the Supreme Court, was opposed by Hindutva organisations.

He was a Minister of State in the Union cabinet under Rajiv Gandhi, holding the portfolios of Planning ( 1985 ), External Affairs ( 1985 – 86 ), and Science and Technology ( 1986 – 89 ).

The Central government attempted to seek a political solution to the grievances of the Sikhs through the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, which took place between the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal, the then President of the Akali Dal, who was assassinated a few months later.

Negotiations were held, and the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed on 29 July 1987, by Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Jayewardene.

Singh had become widely popular for exposing the role of the government of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the eldest son and successor of Indira, in the Bofors scandal.

Babita is the mother of today's actresses Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, she is the wife of actor Randhir Kapoor, and the eldest daughter-in-law of actor Raj Kapoor also she is the great-daughter-in-law of actor Prithviraj Kapoor, she is the sister-in-law of actors Rishi Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, she is also the sisters-in-law of actress Neetu Singh, her are uncle-in-laws are actors Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, she is also the aunt of actor Ranbir Kapoor.

Sonia is the widow of late Rajiv Gandhi, elder son of Indira Gandhi.

A fourth-generation scion of the politically powerful Nehru – Gandhi family, Gandhi is the son of Rajiv Gandhi ( 6th Prime Minister of India ) and incumbent Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and the grandson of Feroze Gandhi and Indira Gandhi ( 3rd Prime Minister of India ).

Her son Rajiv Gandhi succeeds her as Prime Minister.

They have a son Rajiv.

Rajiv Gandhi her son and successor as PM, along with his family, became the first occupant of 7, Race Course Road in 1984.

* Rajiv Gandhi ( son of Indira-late Prime Minister of India )

* Rahul Gandhi ( son of Rajiv Gandhi-MP current Parliament of India )

He produced successful films in the 1970s directed by Yash Chopra and in the 1990s directed by his son Rajiv Rai.

In the 1980s and 90s, he produced films in the action genre directed by his son Rajiv Rai, and were notable for their music ( composed by Kalyanji-Anandji & later by Viju Shah ).

The company was founded by Gulshan Rai in 1970 and his son Rajiv Rai is the current owner of the company after Gulshan Rai's death in 2004.

* Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, son of Indira Gandhi

The movie stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor, son of Raj Kapoor.

Eventually, Pardes sends Arjun back to India to lure the beautiful Ganga ( Mahima Chaudhary ) as a bride for his selfish, shallow son Rajiv ( Apoorva Agnihotri ).

He hopes to find an Indian girl for his westernized, American son, Rajiv ( Apoorva Agnihotri ) and feels that Ganga is just right.

He sends his foster son, Arjun ( Shahrukh Khan ) (' Little Master '), to play cupid and convince Rajiv to meet Ganga in India.

In disgust, Kishorilal disowns Rajiv and accepts Arjun as his real son.