AGARTALA, Aug 20 (TIWN): Along with the entire Nation, Tripura also observed the 72nd Birth Anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi on Saturday.

To mark the occasion, Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president Birajit Sinha hoisted the National Flag at Congress Bhawan.

The celebration was followed by the National Anthem.

As the nation commemorates the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, one must recall the fresh impetus he injected into Indian politics. Despite being a dynasty, he brought with himself a progressive vision which attracted country’s youth towards the grand-old Congress party, extending its dominance in the political sphere for another decade.

In 1981, Rajiv Gandhi was elected from Amethi in a parliamentary by-election to replace his deceased brother Sanjay Gandhi from the same constituency. Within months, he received adulation from the inner circles of Congress.

Ideologically, he was not overburdened by the Nehruvian form of socialism which staunch Congressmen had firmly adopted. Coming from a technocratic background, Rajiv was committed to develop India on modern lines and adopt pro-market policies to boost industrialization in the nation.

After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Rajiv was bound to head the party, since most of the Congress leaders believed that only someone from Nehru-Gandhi family could provide a ‘strong and stable’ government at the Centre.

In 1991, the nation suffered an irreparable loss when the young, flamboyant leader became the victim of terror. Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. He died at the age of 47.

Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944. He served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989. Rajiv Gandhi took office after the assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. He was assassinated in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.