Yesterday the longest-serving Prime Minister ofJapan Shinzo Abe was shot while addressing a campaign in the city of Nara,later he succumbed to his wounds at the hospital. This news from a country likeJapan has shocked the entire world and has brought again the question of the safetyof the global leaders into the light.
There have been such incidents fromacross the globe in the past as well, which has left the world numb. These killingshave been recorded in pages of history which include leaders from India aswell, a brief look into the past.
John F. Kennedy, 35thPresident of the United States:
TheAmerican president is still remembered for some of his great works. 43 yearsold, Kennedy still holds the position of being the second-youngest president ofthe United States. Kennedy was shot dead in 1963 while he was travelling in anopen car in Dallas city of Texas. He was killed by a former Marine, Lee HarveyOswald. Oswald was arrested by police, however, he was killed by one of Kennedy’ssupporters two days later. This incident sends shock waves to the entire world.
Mother India, Indira Gandhi:
Theformer Prime Minister of India was brutally murdered by her two Sikhbodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh on October 31st, 1984. Theymurdered Indira in response to the military ‘Operation Blue Star’ on the Sikhholy Golden Temple that was ordered by her during her prime ministership. Therewas another man named Kehar Singh in the entire episode of killing Indira, he didn’tfire a bullet but was found guilty of conspiring to do Indira’s murder. BeantSingh was shot on the spot after killing Indira by other bodyguards. Hundredsof people were killed in the military operation against Khalistani Militants atthe Golden Temple.
Rajiv Gandhi
India’sFormer Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed on May 21st, 1991 in asuicidal attack. During his term in the office, he sent a peace force into SriLanka. Due to this the Tamil rebel force LTTE, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,was outraged by the step. In 1991 while campaigning for Lok Sabha elections ina place Sriperumbudur close to Chennai, LTTE was fully prepared and Gandhi waskilled in their suicidal attack. The LTTE militant, a woman named Thenmozi Rajaratnamcame close to Gandhi and pressed the button of the explosive tied around herwaist. The blast was so powerful that rags of people around Gandhi flew awayfor meters. The attack claimed the lives of 14 people, whereas 45 others were grievouslyinjured.
Abraham Lincoln
In the year 1865, the 16th Presidentof the United States was killed. At the time of the attack he was watching aplay titled, Our American Cousin’ in the Ford Theatre of Washington. At thetime this incident took place his bodyguard John Parker was not with him. The killerwho shot Lincoln was a professional drama artist, at around quarter past 10that night John Wikes shot at Lincoln’s head from a close range. He was rushed tothe hospital, where he died the next morning, April 15th. 10 dayslater the American forces gunned Wikes down in an encounter.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
MujiburRahman was the first President of Bangladesh, which was separated fromerstwhile undivided Pakistan. He liberated Bangladesh by leading the war from thefront. He was famous by the name of Sheikh Mujib. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman andsome of his family members were killed on August 15th, 1975.
Liaquat Ali Khan
Born in Karnal in present-day Haryana, FormerPrime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan was killed on October 16th,1951 in Rawalpindi. He was addressing a conference in the Company Garden. The manwho shot Khan was Syyed Akhbar Khan Babrakazai, he fired his bullet from thespot which was reserved for Intelligence Officers. The incident remains amystery of how he reached that spot and so remains his murder.
Benazir Bhutto
Thefirst female Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was killed on theevening of December 27th, 2007. She was the first-ever woman to leadany Islamic country. She was killed in a rally in Rawalpindi. The man whokilled Bhutto later killed himself. Besides Bhutto 20 of her party worker werekilled and more than 71 others were badly injured. The incident of Bhutto’sdeath is still pending at the Lahore High Court. The question of who laid downthe conspiracy behind Bhutto’s murder remained unanswered.
Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranasinghewas the third President of Sri Lanka. On the occasion of May Day in 1993, hewas killed in a suicidal attack in Colombo by an LTTE militant. After Ranasinghe’smurder Sri Lankan forces went into a straight war against LTTE, which went onfor 26 years that claimed 70 thousand lives.
MahatmaGandhi
The day January 30, 1948, started as usual forGandhi, with daily prayers. In the prayer hall of Birla House, Gandhi reached abit late that day, when he reached that day he attended the crowd with folded hands.Then only from the left side, Nathuram Godse bent over in front of him took outhis pistol and shot three bullets one after another. Gandhi’s last words were, ‘HeRam’ before falling on the floor. He was bleeding badly and was rushed tohospital but soon after he was declared dead by the doctors.
MartinLuther King Junior
In 1968 American revolutionary Martin Luther KingJunior was shot dead. He played a crucial role in the rights of the Afro-Americancommunity. King in the year 1963 delivered a speech ‘I have a dream which becametoo famous and later was patronized as the symbol of revolution for rights.It is recorded as one of the most influential and remembered speeches in history.
The Royal Family of Nepal
OnJune 1st, 2001, the crown prince of Nepal Dipendra Shah killed 9members of his family. Among the dead were his father, King Birendra, MotherQueen Aishwarya, and the other 7 people of the royal family. After killing membersof the family Dipendra killed him as well. Contention over his marriage andrift with the family member in that regard made Dipendra kill his familymembers.
Francis Ferdinand
OnJuly 28th, 1914 First World War started. Austrian PrinceFerdinand was killed in Serbia. Outraged by this Austria launched an attack onSerbia with Hungary. This was the cause behind World War 1, which graduallybrought small countries into it. However, this was one of the reasons behindWorld War 1, the policies and alliances in different forms were other reasonsbehind the war.