Authoritarian Leanings and Imprisonment

Despite these advancements, Gandhi ruled with an authoritarian hand, and corruption boiled within her congress and her national and state governments. In 1977, the high courts found her guilty of a minor infraction during the years elections and called for her resignation. Gandhi responded by requesting that the president call for a state of emergency.Gandhi lost the next election and was later imprisoned. In 1980, the country responded differently and she won by a landslide majority. That same year, her son Sanjay Gandhi (b. 1946), who had been serving as her chief political adviser, died in a plane crash in New Delhi. After Sanjays death, Indira prepared her other son, Rajiv (b. 1944), for leadership.