On the morning of October 31, 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in a shocking event that stunned the nation and the world. At about 9:20 a.m. Indian Standard Time, Gandhi was on her way to be interviewed by British actor Peter Ustinov, who was filming a documentary for Irish television. She was walking through the garden of her residence in New Delhi, unaccompanied by her usual security detail and without her bulletproof vest, which she had been advised to wear constantly after Operation Blue Star.

As she passed a wicket gate, two of her bodyguards, Constable Satwant Singh and Sub-Inspector Beant Singh, opened fire. Beant Singh fired three rounds from his revolver into Gandhi's abdomen, and after she had fallen, Satwant Singh shot her with 30 rounds from his sub-machine gun. The assailants then surrendered their weapons, with Beant Singh declaring he had done what he needed to do. In the ensuing chaos, Beant Singh was killed by other security officers, while Satwant Singh was seriously wounded and later captured.

The news of Gandhi's assassination was broadcast by Salma Sultan on Doordarshan's evening news, more than ten hours after the event. Controversy surrounded the incident, as it was alleged that Gandhi's secretary, R. K. Dhawan, had overruled intelligence and security officials who had recommended the removal of certain policemen as security threats, including the assassins.

The assassination was rooted in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, a military operation Gandhi had ordered against Sikh militants in the Golden Temple, which had greatly angered the Sikh community. Beant Singh, one of the assassins, was a Sikh who had been removed from Gandhi's security staff after the operation but was reinstated at her insistence.

Gandhi was rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, where she underwent surgery but was declared dead at 2:20 p.m. A postmortem examination revealed that she had been struck by 30 bullets.

Following her assassination, the Indian government declared a period of national mourning. Various countries, including Pakistan and Bulgaria, also declared days of mourning in Gandhi's honor. Her assassination marked a pivotal moment in Indian history, leading to significant political and communal upheaval in the country.