LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI
Introduction
1. Lal Bahadur Shastri. (02 October 1904–11 January 1966) was the second Prime Minister of independent India and a significant figure in the struggle for independence. He was born in Mughalsarai, in United Province (now Uttar Pradesh). To take part in the non-cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, he began studying at the nationalist Kashi Vidyapeeth in Kashi, and upon completion, he was given the title Shastriji or Scholar, Doctor at Kashi Vidyapeeth in 1926. He spent almost nine years in jail in total, mostly after the start of the Satyagraha movement.
Political Career
2. After India's independence, he was Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh under Govind Ballabh Pant, the Chief Minister. He was appointed General Secretary of the Lok Sabha before gaining a ministerial post as Railways Minister. He resigned as Minister following a rail disaster near Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. He returned to the Cabinet following the General Elections and became Minister for Transport. In 1961 he became Home Minister.
Rise to Premiership
3. Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a vaccum. The major figures of the Congress Party were unable to find enough support thus the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri came up as the compromise candidate and he became Prime Minister on 09 June 1964. Shastriji, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus had wide appeal among the masses.
4. Shastriji worked by his natural characteristics to obtain compromises between opposing viewpoints. He commanded a great deal of respect from the masses, and he used it to advantage in pushing the Green Revolution in India; which directly led to India becoming a food-surplus nation, although he did not live to see it.
War with Pakistan
5. The chief problem was Pakistan laying claim to half of the Kutch peninsula, Pakistan sent incursion forces in August 1965, who skirmished with Indian tanks. But Pakistan's main aggressive intentions were upon Kashmir. And in September 1965, major incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers began, hoping not only to break-down the government but incite a sympathetic revolt in Kashmir valley. The revolt did not take place, India sent its forces across the Line of Control and war broke out on a general scale. Massive tank battles took place in Punjab, and while Pakistani forces made little gains, Indian forces captured the key post at Haji Pir, in Kashmir, and brought the Pakistani city of Lahore under artillery and mortar fire.
Tashkent
6. A ceasefire was declared, and the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Shastriji became a national hero. In January 1966 Shastriji and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan attended a summit in Tashkent (former USSR, now in modern Uzbekistan), organised by President Kosygin of USSR. Shastriji signed a treaty with Pakistan on 10 January 1966 known as Tashkent Declaration, but to the shock of nation the very next day he died of a heart attack. He is the only Indian Prime Minister to have died in office overseas. All his life, he was known for his honesty and humility.
Memorial
7. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna and a memorial ‘Vijay Ghat’ was built for him in Delhi. The slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (Hindi for "Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") is attributed to Shastriji.
1. Lal Bahadur Shastri. (02 October 1904–11 January 1966) was the second Prime Minister of independent India and a significant figure in the struggle for independence. He was born in Mughalsarai, in United Province (now Uttar Pradesh). To take part in the non-cooperation movement of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921, he began studying at the nationalist Kashi Vidyapeeth in Kashi, and upon completion, he was given the title Shastriji or Scholar, Doctor at Kashi Vidyapeeth in 1926. He spent almost nine years in jail in total, mostly after the start of the Satyagraha movement.
Political Career
2. After India's independence, he was Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh under Govind Ballabh Pant, the Chief Minister. He was appointed General Secretary of the Lok Sabha before gaining a ministerial post as Railways Minister. He resigned as Minister following a rail disaster near Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu. He returned to the Cabinet following the General Elections and became Minister for Transport. In 1961 he became Home Minister.
Rise to Premiership
3. Jawaharlal Nehru died in office on 27 May 1964 and left a vaccum. The major figures of the Congress Party were unable to find enough support thus the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri came up as the compromise candidate and he became Prime Minister on 09 June 1964. Shastriji, though mild-mannered and soft-spoken, was a Nehruvian socialist and thus had wide appeal among the masses.
4. Shastriji worked by his natural characteristics to obtain compromises between opposing viewpoints. He commanded a great deal of respect from the masses, and he used it to advantage in pushing the Green Revolution in India; which directly led to India becoming a food-surplus nation, although he did not live to see it.
War with Pakistan
5. The chief problem was Pakistan laying claim to half of the Kutch peninsula, Pakistan sent incursion forces in August 1965, who skirmished with Indian tanks. But Pakistan's main aggressive intentions were upon Kashmir. And in September 1965, major incursions of militants and Pakistani soldiers began, hoping not only to break-down the government but incite a sympathetic revolt in Kashmir valley. The revolt did not take place, India sent its forces across the Line of Control and war broke out on a general scale. Massive tank battles took place in Punjab, and while Pakistani forces made little gains, Indian forces captured the key post at Haji Pir, in Kashmir, and brought the Pakistani city of Lahore under artillery and mortar fire.
Tashkent
6. A ceasefire was declared, and the soft-spoken, mild-mannered Shastriji became a national hero. In January 1966 Shastriji and Pakistani President Muhammad Ayub Khan attended a summit in Tashkent (former USSR, now in modern Uzbekistan), organised by President Kosygin of USSR. Shastriji signed a treaty with Pakistan on 10 January 1966 known as Tashkent Declaration, but to the shock of nation the very next day he died of a heart attack. He is the only Indian Prime Minister to have died in office overseas. All his life, he was known for his honesty and humility.
Memorial
7. He was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna and a memorial ‘Vijay Ghat’ was built for him in Delhi. The slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (Hindi for "Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") is attributed to Shastriji.