The life of Smt. Indira Gandhi, twice Prime Minister of India, was a saga of service to the nation. She endeavoured to bring to India fruits of development, modernity  and  progress  and  ultimately laid down her life in  the cause  of  unity and integrity of the country. The immense challenges as presented by a country of India's  size,  population  and   diversity were successfully met by Smt. Gandhi, who served to weld this country as a modern nation, occupying a place of honour in the comity  of nations.

Smt. Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India  in  January  1966. But for a brief spell of three years from 1977 to 1980, she continued to lead the country to her cherished goal of social and eco­ nomic justice and all round progress and prosperity till her death in 1984. During her tenure as  Prime  Minister  she  took bold and pragmatic steps like the Nationalisation of Banks and Abolition of Bonded Labour. A firm believer in socialism, equality and secularism,  she worked tirelessly for advancement of the weaker sections and the minorities and took special care in safeguarding their cultural, religious and linguistic  rights  and traditions.

The policies of Smt. Gandhi  gave India a stable economic and industrial base and opened new vistas for prosperity all round. India achieved remarkable progress in the fields of science and technology due to her keen  encouragement. During her  tenure,  India  had  the  honour of putting her first man in space, launching communication satellites for mass education and testing her first nuclear device for peaceful purposes. India, under her stewardship, went all out in a big way in off­shore drilling to achieve near self­ sufficiency in oil. The expedition to Antarctica  was  a  landmark  of  her  time.

Smt.  Gandhi  always  laid  emphasis on youth welfare and education as essentials  to nation  building.    Her interest  in moulding the youth through sports manifested itself  in  India  hosting  the  Asiad in 1982. For her contribution to development of sports,. the Gold Order of the International Olympic Council was conferred on her. Proud of India's rich cultural heritage, she conceived of the Festivals of  India. The first  Festival  was inaugurated by her in Great Britain.

Realising that over-population   was the  root  cause  of  many  of  India's  problems,  she  made  strident  efforts  in  the area of family planning and was awarded the UN Population Award in 1983.    Smt. Gandhi   was   totally   committed   to   the cause  of  better  environment  and  ecological preservation. She pleaded passionately in international forums to take concrete measures to avoid thoughtless plundering    of nature and desecration  of  our  environment.

On the  international  front,  she voiced the concern for world peace and social justice on behalf of the developing countries. The  Non-Aligned  Meet  of which she was made the chairperson in 1983 and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in India were some of the important highlights, which will go down in history.  She  made  constant efforts to develop friendly relations with neighbouring countries in order to maintain peace in the  sub-continent  and for preserving Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. For her  untiring,  unmatched service to the nation she was awarded the Bharat  Ratna.

Department  of  Posts  pays  its humble tribute to the great  leader  who laid down her  life in  the  cause  of unity of the nation by issuing this third postage stamp in her honour on the solemn occasion of her first death anniversary.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India