New Delhi, May 21 (ANI): The country will continue to observe May 21 as Anti-Terrorism Day and remember former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who became a victim of a suicide bomber in Siriperambudur in 1991.

Rajiv Gandhi had gone to Tamil Nadu to campaign for the national election after casting his vote in Delhi.

The ninth Lok Sabha was dissolved on March 23, 1991, and Rajiv Gandhi was looking forward to returning as the Prime Minister of India.

Gandhi, who was the youngest Prime Minister of India when he assumed office on October 31, 1984, following the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi, soon called for elections and won 404 of the 485 seats that were contested.

I had the difficult task of covering the assassination of Indira Gandhi for All India Radio.

I was appointed by him as the Principal Information Officer and spokesman for the Government of India. Rajiv Gandhi worked hard to improve relations with India's neighbours, helped Bangladesh in its hour of crisis when the country was flooded, made sincere efforts to restore peace in Sri Lanka by negotiating with the government there to give autonomy to the Tamil residents in northern part of the country .

He worked hard to establish the SAARC to improve interaction with India's neighbours.

It was unfortunate that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam thought that Rajiv Gandhi was working against their interests and attacked the Indian Peace Keeping Force.

When there was a probability that he would return to office after the 1991 elections, they sent a suicide bomber to Siriperambudur where he had gone for campaigning.

The nation remembers him for having brought peace to Punjab through the Punjab Accord of 1985, finding a solution to the disturbances in Assam by signing the Assam Accord, and concluding the Mizo Accord.

Rajiv Gandhi will also be remembered for ushering India towards the 21st century through the technological revolution. I remember his statements that India had missed the Industrial Revolution, but would not miss the Technological Revolution. Steps were taken to improve communications in the country, make available drinking water in all villages, promote literacy, usher in a White Revolution by making milk available, and promote health care.

He tried to strengthen democracy by encouraging Panchayati Raj.

Rajiv Gandhi also played an important role in promoting international relations. His role in bringing to an end the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union will always be remembered.

With good intentions, he went against the Shah Bano Judgement , and brought about amendments on the advice of some minority leaders. The Bofors gun deal with Sweden dogged him in the latter part of his tenure, and the accusation was that Rs. 64 crores had changed hands -an insignificant amount in the present day context.

On the advice of his colleagues, he rushed to pass the Defamation Bill which sought to shift the burden of proof to the defendants. This resulted in bringing him in confrontation with the media, and ultimately he discarded the bill even though it was passed in one house of the Parliament.

Rajiv Gandhi had also taken steps to improve relations with Pakistan and it was expected that after the elections in India, the younger leadership in the two neighbouring countries - himself and Benazir Bhutto, would have succeeded in establishing better relations.

I recall what late P. V. Narasimha Rao , who became Prime Minister in 1991 told me , that if Rajiv Gandhi had survived, he would have provided leadership to the Congress Party for a couple of decades, and consolidated peace and understanding in the country and the region.

The Bharatiya Janata Party Government , headed by Narendra Modi, is taking forward some of the programmes initiated by Rajiv Gandhi, like the Ganga Action Plan, and taking the Technological Rrevolution to a higher level. It has also taken steps to strengthen SAARC and strengthen relations with major world powers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been underlining the need to fight terrorism in all his interactions with foreign countries. The Technological Revolution is being taken to a higher level by the 'Make in India' campaign.

Rajiv fell a victim to terrorism. As Principal Information Officer, it became my duty to announce his death in 1991. Terrorism has now spread the world over, and today, we are struggling to cope with its consequences

It is appropriate that all government departments are having meetings today to observe the day as Anti-Terrorism Day.