The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LLTE) assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, India's youngest prime minister, in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991 when he was 40. Gandhi became only the second prime minister of India to pass away while in office. While she was in office, his mother, Indira Gandhi, was also killed. On October 31, 1984, her bodyguards killed her.

Rajiv Gandhi is the grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, and the eldest son of Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi. He was married to Sonia Gandhi.