Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.

Rajiv Gandhi was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become at the age of 40 the youngest Indian prime minister. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election, and then became Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination.

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, former prime minister of India, occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, India on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others, in addition to Gandhi and the assassin, were killed. It was carried out by 22-year-old Kalaivani Rajaratnam, a member of the banned Sri Lankan Tamil separatist rebel organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). At the time, India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Sriperumbudur, also known as Thiruperumbudur, is a Municipality and the headquarters of Sriperumbudur taluk located in Kanchipuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometers southwest of the capital city of Chennai on the National Highway 4, it falls under the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Since 2000, Sriperumbudur has seen rapid industrialisation. It is known for being the birthplace of Sri Ramanuja, one of the most prominent Hindu Vaishnava saints. The former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated here in 1991.