As India's first and only woman Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi reshaped the country with her policies dedicated to ameliorating poverty, deprivation, conflict, and inequality, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi said on Wednesday (November 19, 2025).
She made the remarks after presenting the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2024 to Michelle Bachelet, who had served as the first and only woman President of Chile and is a former Chief of UN Human Rights.
Speaking on the occasion, she said the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development was instituted in 1985 in the memory of "one of the most extraordinary woman leaders of our time".
"The award commemorates Indira Gandhi's monumental contributions by celebrating women, men, and institutions that have worked towards social development, peace, sustainability, and numerous other causes. It reminds us that even in times of strife, there are those who fight for progress, justice, and the well-being of humankind," the former Congress chief said.
"As India's first and only woman prime minister, Indira Gandhi reshaped our country with her policies dedicated to ameliorating poverty, deprivation, conflict, and inequality. She once said, 'Peace we want because there is another war to fight against poverty, disease, and ignorance,'" Ms. Gandhi pointed out.
