New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tribute to former PM Indira Gandhi on the occasion of her birth anniversary.

PM Modi took to his social media platform X and said, “Tributes to former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi on the occasion of her birth anniversary.”

Indira Gandhi was born on this day in 1917 into an illustrious political family. She was the daughter of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Her early education took place at prestigious institutions such as Ecole Nouvelle in Bex, Switzerland; Ecole Internationale in Geneva; Pupils’ Own School in Poona and Bombay; Badminton School in Bristol; and Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan. She later attended Somerville College, Oxford. Over the years, she received honorary doctoral degrees from several universities around the world, along with a Citation of Distinction from Columbia University.

Indira Gandhi became involved in the freedom struggle from a young age. As a child, she founded the Bal Charkha Sangh and later, in 1930, established the Vanar Sena, a group of children dedicated to assisting the Congress Party during the Non-Cooperation Movement. She was imprisoned in September 1942 for her role in the Quit India Movement. In 1947, she worked in riot-affected areas of Delhi under Mahatma Gandhi’s guidance, providing relief and support to victims of communal violence.

On March 26, 1942, she married Feroze Gandhi, with whom she had two sons. Her political responsibilities grew steadily as she rose through the Congress Party’s organisational ranks. She became a member of the Congress Working Committee and the party’s Central Election Committee in 1955. In 1958, she joined the Central Parliamentary Board of the Congress. She also served as the Chairperson of the National Integration Council of the AICC, President of the All India Youth Congress, and head of the Women’s Department of the AICC. Indira Gandhi became President of the Indian National Congress in 1959, holding the position until 1960, and again from January 1978.

Her ministerial career began when she served as the Minister for Information and Broadcasting from 1964 to 1966. She went on to become the Prime Minister of India in January 1966, holding the office until March 1977, and then again from January 1980 until her assassination in October 1984. During her tenure, she simultaneously held several key portfolios, including Minister for Atomic Energy from 1967 to 1977, Minister of External Affairs from 1967 to 1969, Minister of Home Affairs from 1970 to 1973, and Minister for Space from 1972 to 1977. In January 1980, she became Chairperson of the Planning Commission.

Indira Gandhi served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha from 1964 to 1967 before being elected to the Lok Sabha in the fourth, fifth, and sixth general elections. In January 1980, she won from both Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Medak in Andhra Pradesh, ultimately choosing to retain the Medak seat. She also served as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party from 1967 to 1977 and again from 1980.

Her achievements earned her numerous national and international honours, including the Bharat Ratna in 1972, the Mexican Academy Award for the Liberation of Bangladesh, the FAO’s Second Annual Medal, and the Sahitya Vachaspati Award. Internationally, she received the Mothers’ Award in the United States, Italy’s Isabella d’Este Award for diplomacy, and Yale University’s Howland Memorial Prize.

New Delhi, Nov 19: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday reacted to the recent viral video of Delhi blast accused Dr Umar Muhammad, alias Umar Un Nabi, where he is justifying suicide bombings and said that killing innocents is “a grave sin” and is “terrorism”.

Days after the Delhi blast, a self-recorded video of the i20 car driver, Dr Umar Mohammad, has surfaced, in which he attempts to justify his malicious plan, and refers to it as “martyrdom operation”.

Reacting to this, Owaisi took to X and posted, “There is an undated video of Delhi blasts accused Umar Nabi justifying suicide bombing as ‘martyrdom’, and that it’s ‘misunderstood’. Suicide is haram in Islam, and the killing of innocents is a grave sin. Such acts are also against the law of the land. They are not ‘misunderstood’ in any way. This is terrorism and nothing else.”

He further questioned the Centre over the Delhi blast attack and demanded accountability for the “failure to detect” the terror module.

“During Operation Sindoor and Mahadev, Home Minister Amit Shah had assured Parliament that no local Kashmiri had joined terror groups in the last six months. Where did this group come from then? Who is accountable for the failure to detect this group?” Owaisi questioned.

In a heavily accented video that went viral on Tuesday, Umar attempts to give his terror plan a religious connection.

He is heard saying, “One of the very misunderstood concepts is the concept of suicide bombing; it is a martyrdom operation; as it has been known in Islam… There are multiple contradictions and arguments that have been brought against it — martyrdom operation.”

He further went on to explain that “martyrdom operation” is “when a person presumes that he is going, for sure, to die at a particular place and time.”

His video has revealed the suicide-bombing mindset, indicating that he had planned extensively on a large-scale terror operation.

The car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station on November 10 claimed the lives of at least 13 people and injured several others. The car was being driven by Dr Umar, a doctor associated with Faridabad’s Al Falah University.

The authorities reported that he went missing on November 9, following police raids in Faridabad that resulted in the seizure of almost 2,900 kg of ammonium nitrate from a storage facility and the subsequent arrests of several of his associates.

During the investigation, law enforcement discovered that Umar and Dr Muzammil, who was apprehended after the police dismantled the terror network, had travelled to Turkey, where it is believed their handlers are based.

Mumbai: Indian stock markets opened flat with a slight negative trend on Wednesday as mixed global cues and a lack of major domestic triggers kept investor sentiment muted. With the Q2 FY26 earnings season coming to an end, traders showed limited enthusiasm, leaving the indices stuck in a narrow range.

The Sensex slipped 81 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 84,592 in early trade. The Nifty also declined, dropping 34 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 25,877. “The broader benchmark Nifty 50 remains range-bound after the prior session, with resistance seen around 26,000–26,050 and near-term support in the 25,800–25,750 band — a potential accumulation zone for positional traders,” experts said. “Given this setup, a selective buy-on-dips strategy remains appropriate — apply tight trailing stop-losses, and book partial profits on rallies,” analysts mentioned.

Tata Motors PV, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal and Sun Pharma were among the major drags on the Sensex. However, gains in HUL, Infosys, TCS, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, and Trent helped cushion the fall and prevented a deeper decline. In the broader market, the trend remained weak. The Nifty MidCap index slipped 0.06 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 0.23 per cent. Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index was the only notable performer, rising 0.62 per cent as technology stocks saw selective buying.

On the other hand, real estate stocks struggled, with the Nifty Realty index emerging as the biggest loser, down 0.5 per cent. Analysts said markets may continue to remain rangebound in the absence of fresh triggers and ahead of global macroeconomic developments expected later this week. “Investors should prioritise safety at this juncture. Safety is in large caps. Large segments of the mid and small cap space are overvalued having been driven up only by liquidity flows from exuberant investors,” analysts said.