Gandhi, 46, was campaigning to return to power for the Congress party. Late that evening, a young woman who approached him with a garland and bent to touch his feet detonated explosives hidden under her dress. She was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan separatist group, which opposed his decision in 1987 to send Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka. Congress won the election weeks later, and P. V. Narasimha Rao became prime minister.
Rajiv Gandhi had become prime minister in 1984, the day his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by her bodyguards. In 1987 he signed an accord with Sri Lanka and sent Indian troops to disarm the Tamil Tigers; the force became embroiled in fighting with them and withdrew in 1990. The Tigers' leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, feared Gandhi would send troops again if he returned to power.
On the night of May 21, 1991, Gandhi arrived late at a rally ground in Sriperumbudur, near Madras. Security was loose, and people pressed forward to greet him. Among them was Kalaivani Rajaratnam, also known as Dhanu, who carried a belt of explosives packed with steel pellets. A photographer hired by the plotters recorded the last moments; his camera survived the blast and gave investigators crucial evidence.
The explosion killed Gandhi and 16 others, including the bomber and the photographer. An Indian court later convicted 26 people, though most were freed on appeal. His widow, Sonia Gandhi, at first refused to enter politics but later led the Congress party.
Key people: Rajiv Gandhi, Kalaivani Rajaratnam, Velupillai Prabhakaran